Just bought a used car...should I change tranny fluid?

[mrdctaylor]

I just bought my wife a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. It has 32K miles on it. Severe service lists 30K as the automatic tranns fluid/filter change interval (100K for normal service). I guess I am trying to decide whether or not to go ahead and get it changed now or to split the difference and do it later at 50K or 60K. Any recommendations out there?

 

[JHZR2]

I am of the opinion that people who buy/lease cars only to get rid of them at such low mileages probably took VERY few pains to treat the car well, maintain it, etc. Id sugggest all fluids to be replaced (including brake fluid, but not PS fluid).

From what Ive seen of 100k service fills for auto transmissions, the people who service them regularly, or at least drain a little fluid out and replace at regular intervals are able to get LONG service life out of the trans without issue, even if its driven hard or sees hard use. Those who are typical stomp on it and not care about PM types usually change the fluid and then need a rebuild shortly thereafter.

My father's toyota previa gets it done ever 36k. The van has 186k on it, and the trans shifts like new.

Replace all the fluids for their own good and your piece of mind. Nobody ever made a bad choice replacing fluids prematurely, ESPECIALLY when they didnt know the history of the vehicle that well.

JMH

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I agree with JHZR2. The three vehicles I purchased used at dealerships were not well maintained, or somewhat abused. The advantage of changing the transmission fluid now, is you don't have to guess if the previous owner qualified for a severe service. After one transmission rebuild, I tend to change sooner, rather than later.

 

[Korean_redneck]

My car was previously owned by a female driver and it was never maintained.. i did every single Severe interval maintanance job in teh book. Car runs 100 times smoother

 

[medic]

I also agree - change it.

When I was younger and couldn't afford a new vehilce, I bought used vehicles. I would always change the oil, tranny fluid (if it was any color other than bright red), spark plugs, wires cap & rotor. I would also check the coolant for temp rating.

 

[Alan]

I'd change it in a heatbeat.
You'd be doing that tranny a favor by getting that old stuff out.

I wonder if Hyundai uses drain plugs on their automatics?

 

[T-Keith]

Change it, since odds are it wasn't changed.

 

[serious II]

By all means change and establish a new PM "Baseline". You should NOT have it flushed.

 

[chas3]

if you have one of those 30 day warranties change the trans fluid now. you want to know about any problems asap.

 

[mrdctaylor]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think I will change it this weekend. From what I can gather, this vehicle has a tranny drain plug and a non-replaceable filter like that in my Toyota Tacoma! That is SWEET IMHO. I love being able to drain the fluid.

 

[Brian Miller_dup1]

quote:

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Originally posted by Alan:
I'd change it in a heatbeat.
You'd be doing that tranny a favor by getting that old stuff out.

I wonder if Hyundai uses drain plugs on their automatics?

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It's easy. You have to have a 21mm or 22mm wrench (I can't remember, but it's pretty good sized) to get the drain plug out. You will get out a little over 4 qts of fluid. There is no servicable filter on these, that is why I do the drain and fill every 15K... Just to be safe.

Make sure you get the correct fluid. I get mine at the Hyundai dealer. It's $5.00 a qt, or $4.00 if you buy a case. I just get the case since I change it fairly often (overkill I'm sure).

Brian

 

[mrdctaylor]

Awesome! Thanks for the response.