Can Maxlife mix with SP-III?

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Hi i have a kia rio ub, 98k km (60k-ish miles) with 4-speeder that calls for SP-III fluid. I'm going to service the gearbox with filter change and using Maxlife. I know the old fluid will not be fully drained and will have Maxlife mixed in with old fluid from factory by some percent. is this ok or do i have to do a full flush?
 
I would never flush any AT. I'd do a drain and fill with the OEM spec'd fluid if possible. Is SP-III not available in Malaysia?

I don't know how it will mix with your SP-III.

If you research Maxlife ATF, the bottle says it is recommended for pretty much any transmission ever made.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
It will mix fine. You do not need to flush.


thanks.

Originally Posted by Gebo
I would never flush any AT. I'd do a drain and fill with the OEM spec'd fluid if possible. Is SP-III not available in Malaysia?

I don't know how it will mix with your SP-III.

If you research Maxlife ATF, the bottle says it is recommended for pretty much any transmission ever made.


SP-III still aplenty but mostly from unknown brands unless i go for OEM which is expensive. I also heard good stuff about Maxlife. Or is it? Is it considered an upgrade or just merely a compatible replacement?
 
I have done a drain and fill on my own 07 Kia Rio. It had a Valvoline service with presumably maxlife in it's service history around 70k miles, then I changed the fluid again at 120k miles with idemitsu hk sp3 replacement. It's not oem fluid and it does a good job. The shift feel before and after did not change for the worse or better, but it was good to begin with and the fluid was red before and after the change. I also added 1oz lubegard red per quart to the total fill of the transmission. The fluid after almost a year looks nearly identical to when I did the service. I'm sure it's a mix of factory fill, Valvoline maxlife, idemitsu hk and lubegard red. It shifts very smoothly.
 
ahh..right from the horse's mouth.appreciate that. as of now the old fluid still looks clear but im getting a little bit of delay when engaging reverse. hope the service will cure it
 
I had been using 7ish cSt branded Mobil 3309 and branded Toyota Type IV interchangebly in a Yota calling for Type IV at 12-15 k miles oci with smooth shifts .
Current odo is 300k km or 180k miles , original .
SPIII is likely a 7ish cSt ATF and I personally won't opt for 6ish Maxlife ,granted it's popular on Bitog .
 
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Originally Posted by kschachn
It will mix fine. You do not need to flush.
+1 Linked is a thread which discusses SPIII alternatives, included are several MaxLife anecdotes. As can be seen by thread date, the SPIII spec not a new one, been around awhile.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2502685/1

As for the term "flush", in my observation many use that term for any complete fluid exchange, eg., a cooler line exchange. As an example this popular youtube for a cooler line exchange refers to it as a flush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdPAadc9fY . At least in Honda's case, my understanding the warning against a "flush" comes when any type cleaning agent is used in the process ie., anything other than ATF. An example of that would be the Pat Goss promoted BG cleaning agent flush process.
 
Originally Posted by Icyd
Originally Posted by kschachn
It will mix fine. You do not need to flush.


thanks.

Originally Posted by Gebo
I would never flush any AT. I'd do a drain and fill with the OEM spec'd fluid if possible. Is SP-III not available in Malaysia?

I don't know how it will mix with your SP-III.

If you research Maxlife ATF, the bottle says it is recommended for pretty much any transmission ever made.


SP-III still aplenty but mostly from unknown brands unless i go for OEM which is expensive. I also heard good stuff about Maxlife. Or is it? Is it considered an upgrade or just merely a compatible replacement?


Ok, here's my logic. I have different models of Lexus and a Toyota. The Toyota calls for Dexron III, the Lexus calls 2 different transmission fluids. The old Lexus calls for T-IV and the newer Lexus call for WS. These are all very different transmission fluids. How in the world can anybody make a transmission fluid that will satisfy the requirements of all three different ATF's? Maxlife says it can replace all 3 of these fluids. I don't subscribe to "one size fits all." The fact of the matter is, you could run D-III in your car and it would probably run fine, for a while. Many people here love Maxlife Universal ATF and they seem to almost worship it. You are just gonna have to pick one. I would guess you will see about a 60:40 split between Maxlife and OEM here on this forum so there is no clear winner. LOL

Whatever you do, please don't do a flush. Research flushes first.
 
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You should be using SPiv-M now anyhow. It is the latest upgraded fluid from Kia/hyundai. Max life will probably work, but keep in mind, from the bottle: Max life is recommended by Valvoline for use... is Valvoline going to pay for your Tranny if it goes out?
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Unless this is some beater, I'd get the factory fluid and avoid universal multi-make brands that claim to work in many different cars.

in his case SP-III would also be the same as KIA fluid or Mitsubishi Diamond. Probably easier to find since Mitsubishi has a big market in Asia.
 
Originally Posted by Sayjac
At least in Honda's case, my understanding the warning against a "flush" comes when any type cleaning agent is used in the process ie., anything other than ATF.

No

When Honda says "flush", in the Honda world, that means draining and refilling with Honda ATF. When it comes to aftermarket flush systems, they "strongly recommend that you avoid using them on any Honda vehicle".

[Linked Image]
 
OT As noted in my previous the term "flush" can have multiple meanings including but not limited to a cooler line exchange as one example. Thus the use of eg. in my previous post and the youtube linked as documentation. If one reads this forum often, I know of no one knowledgeable that would say anything wrong with doing a cooler line exchange on a Honda which is sometimes referred to as a flush. In fact, a cooler line exchange frequently is recommended by some in place of a d&f or multiple d&fs on this forum

So, while Honda may refer to multiple d&f as a flush that doesn't eliminate a cooler line exchange like the one linked as a type of flush as properly noted. I also believe that flush machines that use a cooler line exchange with no cleaning agents is also suitable for that purpose. Based on this thread some/many would agree. So I maintain that as "my understanding". Whether a Honda dealer may call a d&f a flush is irrelevant to me.

I would note that left out of the 08 service notice is an added reference in the cited link below* that states, "Due to confusion, I must add that this procedure was written for service technicians at a DEALER who will do this while on a lift." So a Honda dealer telling a customer they are going to do a flush on a trans, is really doing multiple d&fs. That said, safe to say imo 'most' on this forum are sophisticated enough to know the differences between a d&f or multiple d&fs sometimes called a spill and fill and a complete return line exchange sometimes called a flush.

I think that more than clears up what my previous post said including but not limited to snippet not indicted as such.

https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/honda-auto-trans-flush-procedure-official.2324/

Note the re: to me as clarification of previous post.
 
by now i can safely conclude that maxlife is ok for use. if i want to up the game a bit, is there any other alternative that can perform better than both maxlife and oem?
 
Further reading this thread I would be interested in seeing an 'other than' topic OEM Hyun/Kia OEM SP III or 'apparently' the fluid that has now superseded it, SP4-M that has either an OEM license and/or specific H/K approval or endorsement. In other words, ANY aftermarket fluid that carries a license or approval by H/K on the bottle/jug or product literature. Also IF such a product(s) exists the corresponding US price and availability of that product

I would also 'speculate' that much like GM Dex VI has superseded Dex III, if as previously stated SP4-M has superseded SPIII, that similarly has to do a change to synthetic based fluid. That being the case, reading this forum I know 'some' would say the latter is not original OM spec and thus not appropriate/acceptable to use. I'm not speaking of myself as I understand and accept the difference between synthetic based ATF sheer stability vs mineral based fluid as frequently cited on the bitog white paper/tech disc subforum. The includes the science behind it.

With that in mind and as follow up there is relatively recent bitog thread about the SP4-M spec linked.* I'd be willing the wager that even the referenced BG fluid which according to replies is apparently being used by some Hy/Kia dealers carries neither a 'license or approval" by H/K. Some of the other member recommended fluids worth noting too.

Hyundai SP4-M Compatible ATF?
 
Genuine Hyundai SP-III is available for $8.45 a quart on Amazon. Get a dealer to beat that. SP-IV M is not SP-III and there has been no claim by Hyundai that it is backwards compatible with SP-III.
 
Originally Posted by wdn
SP-IV M is not SP-III and there has been no claim by Hyundai that it is backwards compatible with SP-III.

Correct, they are different viscosity spec. SP-IV M is Low Viscosity type and would be wrong to be used where SP-III was specified.
 
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