Originally Posted By: pemdas
Ok. So who do I need to get in touch with at Hyundai to find out which SPIII compatible after market ATF fluids are "Hyundai Approved"? They must have some type of list somewhere. I just find it absurd that there is no other alternative other than the dealer fluid.
I am under the impression that any multi-vehicle ATF that supports the SPIII standard but is not "Hyundai Approved" will work just fine as many others on these boards have used with no issues. It would be silly for an after market manufacturer of ATF fluid to put their reputation of their product on the line by making false claims. The engineers that put these ATF formulations together have to meet standards as quoted in the e-mail form Warren distribution. "When a fluid’s characteristics and additive technology are consistent to the OEM product, our additive supplier makes a recommendation, “suitable for use” as to what transmissions a certain product can be used in." It seems Hyundai is using the warranty and lack of "approved fluids" to play the warranty game and quite frankly I am shocked that this has not become a legal issue for them.
I will be digging further to see how far I can get with Hyundai on this matter. The engineers that designed these transmissions would understand it best and would be the ones that would give a true final answer.
If anyone has any type of contact numbers to Hyundai they can provide on here it would help on the quest.
In case anyone is interested I managed to find the manucaturer of the factory Hyundai Diamond SPIII fluid that the dealers sell. They are Petro Canada and the MSDS sheet is at
http://www.worldpac.com/msds/pdfs/WP-127.pdf. I called and asked them if they sell the fluid under a different label but no luck. They are claiming that they just produced a new multi-vehicle ATF about a month ago and will be showing up on shelves in the US starting on the east coast and is also "suitable for use" in transmissions requiring SPIII.
Well, here are a few things for you to consider:
1. Manufacturers are not required to have a fluid licensing program. They are allowed to keep their formulation proprietary, which is what many manufacturers are doing, such as Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.
2. From a conversation that I had with a transmission engineer at a leading automaker, I was told very explicitly that it is extremely difficult to prove a fluid related failure. However, this doesn't stop your local dealership from denying your warranty solely based on your fluid choice. While you may be right under the Magnuson-Moss Act, is it worth the uphill battle?
3. The wording from Warren distribution's e-mail claiming "consistent to the OEM product" is a bit concerning. As I mentioned in item #1, when a fluid is proprietary (such as SP-III), the complete fluid specifications are not released. Chances are, the fluid only undergoes minimal field testing to ensure compatibility, which is not as extensive as the OEM validation program for transmission fluids. The multi-vehicle products probably work OK for most customers though. After all, depending on your driving conditions, you might be able to run tractor fluid if you only drove it to the liquor store once-a-week. Nevertheless, is the multi-vehicle product truly equivalent to the OE approved product? Unlikely. If you'd like to gain a better understanding as to why a multi-vehicle fluid is a compromise, see
SAE Paper # 2007-01-3987.
See the e-mail reply below from Warren Distribution. If there is anything else you would like me to ask them let me know.
