Castrol Import ATF OK for Hyundai Elantra?

[jlee9000]

My 2006 Hyundai Elantra is supposed to take an SP-III available from the dealer. I wound up doing a drain and fill using Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF (I replaced 4.5 quarts out of 8). The Castrol site claims it meets the specs for an SP-III, and this is what they recommend for this car. So far, no problems (this was done just a few hundred miles ago; the car has around 84K on it).

Some of the people over at the Elantra Club forum think this is taking a chance, and one person suggested flushing it all out and starting over. I certainly don't claim to know more about Elantra automatic transmissions more than they do, and I definitely won't claim to know a lot about ATF's. Their objection seems to be that something that is made for a variety of transmissions can't be nearly as good (or even harmful) compared to something that is strictly SP-III. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: jlee9000
Their objection seems to be that something that is made for a variety of transmissions can't be nearly as good (or even harmful) compared to something that is strictly SP-III.


Although I don't have any direct experience with that product or with Hyundais in general, that's generally my feeling as well. Unless I know for a fact that one manufacturer's XYZ is a re-labeled ABC from someone else, I'll assume that it's a different specification.

For example, I understand that the Ford and Chrysler HOAT coolant is essentially just Valvoline Zerex G-05. So I would not have an issue running that product in one of those vehicles, even if it claimed to meet other specifications. But for a GM vehicle that required Dexcool, I wouldn't run a generic coolant that claimed to meet G-05 specs, Dexcool specs, Toyota Super Long Life specs, etc. I'd only use a Dexcool coolant.

I'm about to do an ATF change on my Acura, and it requires the Honda Z1 fluid. I do think that Castrol multi fluid meets that spec. But it also is supposed to meet the Hyundai SP-III spec, Toyota's T-III and T-IV spec, and all sorts of others. I'm not comfortable that all of those specs are exactly the same, so I'm not comfortable using a product that is "acceptable" for all of them.

It's my general opinion that a product that is acceptable for all is optimized for none.

 

[cmf]

I have Red Line D4 in my Sonata that calls for SP3, it shifts better on the D4 than SP3. And by better I mean faster and smoother shifting between gears. And the tiptronic shifting is so much smoother it's not even comparable.

I think it's best worded as, if you are only using Quaker State oil in your car like Hyundai recommends, then stick with the SP3. If you have branched out to other non-recommended brands of motor oil, then how is the Castrol IMV ATF any different?

I wouldn't lose any sleep at night with Castrol IMV in my transmission. But I would also make sure to change it out on time because my one reservation with it is how high it's viscosity index is combined with how high it's 100 C viscosity starts (8 compared to the 7.5 with most ATFs). It makes me wonder if it has a lot of VIIs in it and it's going to shear down badly.

Edit: I doubt it'll shear down any worse than the SP3, I was more comparing it to other ATF's like Amsoil/RP/RL

 

[hemitom]

I running maxlife in a 06 kia, the transmission is smoother shifting than the SP111. And the overdrive engagement comes sooner as well.

 

[glum]

An awful lot of Hyundai forum members drink the SP-III Kool-Aid. Hyundai has done a good job of straddling the Magnuson–Moss line so that they scare people into either buying SP-III from their stealerships, or simply letting the stealership do the whole job.

I have read about plenty of people who used MaxLife DEX/MERC, Royal Purple Max ATF, or Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle. So far, no horror stories. I run MaxLife in my Sonata and it shifts as well as it ever did. (I chose MaxLife over Castrol because the former is synthetic, while the latter is not.)

 

[jlee9000]

Thanks. I'll skip the panic response of taking it to a dealer and paying them big bucks to flush the whole thing.

The general consensus is to do a drain and fill every 30K which I plan on sticking to. With this car, it's actually easier than a lot of oil changes. The funny thing is, I own two of these cars (same year); maybe I'll stick with SP-III in one and use the Castrol in another (it's readily available around here) and see which transmission lasts longer.

Never heard of MaxLife; I'll have to check that out. I use Redline in my Miata (although lately the Miata forum seems excited about Motorcraft Full Synthetic MTF).

Thanks again to all.

 

[CharBaby]

I'm currently using Castrol IMV in:
wifes Lexus RX that requires Toyota T-IV
my Altima 2.5 that requires Nissan Matic D
and daughters Mazda3 that requires Mazda MV

All are fine! Of course, I have only done drain/refills.

 

[glum]

Hyundai has a procedure for doing ATF flushes. I did it--to the letter--and got 5.5 quarts of ATF. When I do a simple drain plug removal, I get about 4.25 quarts. I get exactly the same amount (~4.25 quarts) using a fluid evacuator from the ATF filler neck. Actually once I learned the "trick" to doing ATF evacs, I was able to get 4.5 quarts or slightly more using an evacuator (and the ATF was not overfilled, so that does not explain the good results). The trick is to turn the evacuator hose around 180 degrees once it starts drawing air from its original orientation. Push the hose only until it meets resistance; don't force it.

There is nothing magical about SP-III fluid. It is non-synthetic, it seems to break down rapidly under high-heat conditions, and it's a ripoff. You can buy MaxLife DEX/MERC for not much more than $3/quart if you use AAP coupons or find a sale. Good luck finding SP-III for less than $8.50/quart.

 

[cmf]

I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that SP3 is a ripoff.

I got ~9-10 quarts doing Hyundai's procedure. You might have missed a step because it's worded really poorly. Translated into English it looks like:

• Disconnect return hose
• Run the engine in neutral until it stops pumping ATF.
• Drain via the drain plug, and then fill with roughly the amount removed from the transmission.
• Run the engine in neutral until it stops pumping ATF.
• Fill to the HOT point on the dipstick.

I figure you might have missed the second part because I had roughly 5 quarts drained out when I finished the draining via the drain plug. The second running in neutral is important though because it basically replaces the old fluid in the torque convertor with fresh fluid. Again, their wording is awful.

And to the OP, not sure about the Elantra, but the Sonata is a "replace" every 30k severe service transmission. You'd have to follow the above steps or fluid exchanger machine or something similar to the above steps to replace most of the ATF.

 

[glum]

I didn't miss a step. It says to run it for one minute or until ATF stops coming out, whichever comes first. For me the one minute limit came first (each time), and at the end of it all I had removed 5.5 quarts. I imagine it would differ by vehicle however.

 

[jlee9000]

Originally Posted By: cmf
[*]
And to the OP, not sure about the Elantra, but the Sonata is a "replace" every 30k severe service transmission. You'd have to follow the above steps or fluid exchanger machine or something similar to the above steps to replace most of the ATF.


Same for the Elantra. The "normal" service is 105K, but apparently "severe" is the new "normal." If the truth is somewhere in between, I'm hoping that I'll be OK just replacing half of what's in there every 30K (yeah, I know that 1/8 of the original stuff might still be in there after three such drain and fills). I actually went in and spoke with the guy in charge of the local dealership's service department, and he sort of winked and said this would be OK. They must make a bundle off people flushing the whole thing every 30K. I never heard of a car that required servicing a transmission that frequently.

 

[glum]

Originally Posted By: jlee9000
I never heard of a car that required servicing a transmission that frequently.

I think that 30K service is required because SP-III is such a terrible fluid, especially under "severe service".

 

[KrisZ]

I don't know about Hyundai's ATF, but my Mazda had Mazda's MV ATF for the first year of ownership, which then was flushed with Castrol Import ATF. Castrol was in there for three years, with a drain and fill in between, last year I did a full flush with Petro Canada Multivehicle ATF. The car has now almost 75k miles and the transmission shifts like new.

 

[cmf]

Originally Posted By: glum
I didn't miss a step. It says to run it for one minute or until ATF stops coming out, whichever comes first. For me the one minute limit came first (each time), and at the end of it all I had removed 5.5 quarts. I imagine it would differ by vehicle however.


Ah, very true. I figured you just did it once and didn't pump the second time because the numbers matched almost exactly with what pumping + drain plug got for me. And I also get a little over 4 doing a drain plug so I just assumed you had the same vehicle. My fault. It also says to only do the second part if the fluid looks dirty (which is really silly because you wont get a full exchange if you stop there).

Anyways, mine pumped all the fluid out (a little over 3 quarts I'd say) in ~20 seconds. That left me wondering how it would possibly take a minute. I have a 2008 Sonata 2.4L. I measured the fluid level when the engine was hot about 3 days before doing the fluid change and it was within the HOT range (little over halfway between).

Back on topic. I'm sure the service your car really needs is somewhere between 30k and 105k, depending on how it's driven. I think the 30k is a very conservative number for warranty reasons. For example, a person that makes tons of short trips all day in stop and go traffic. And like glum said, SP3 is a pretty awful fluid, especially under severe conditions. Imo 105k is there to show that the car can be maintenance free for the warranty period. I think 105k would only be achievable with 95% highway miles or something equally as unheard of. Not sure about the Elantra but both of the Sonata transmissions are both lockup so highway miles are pretty easy on the ATF.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: glum
An awful lot of Hyundai forum members drink the SP-III Kool-Aid...


That's a fact, although one by one they quietly come over to the other side.



Jeff, don't sweat it in the least. You can mix/match Castrol Import ATF all day long with SP-III with zero cause for concern.

Your Elantra will work perfectly with it. Same goes with Maxlife, Amalie or Amsoil to name a few.

Joel

 

[lewdwig]

My wife's Mitsu specifies SP-III and I've used the Castrol Import ATF without issues for 158,000+ miles. My next fluid change I'll be using some Amalie-made synthetic ATF that's Parts Plus branded.

 

[jlee9000]

Thanks to all. I'm not going to sweat it.

I did some digging in the Hyundai forum, and someone wrote (albeit four or five years ago) that there was some concern that any other ATF would result in melting down some rubber parts that exist in the transmission. There was nothing from anyone that stated they had used this stuff and had a bad experience with it.

 

[kgb007stb]

Would it be incorrect to do a drain and refill, then start the engine and evacuate the rest of the atf (5gts) through the return line? I always get nervous when any oil pump runs dry.

 

[cmf]

Originally Posted By: kgb007stb
Would it be incorrect to do a drain and refill, then start the engine and evacuate the rest of the atf (5gts) through the return line? I always get nervous when any oil pump runs dry.


That is a completely acceptable method and will yield similar results as the one Hyundai recommends.