MaxLife or Hyundai ATF for 2011 Elantra

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Hi All,

Based on some great advice in my brakes thread, the Centric rotors and Posi-Quiet pads are doing very well! The pads have a nice feel, and are dead silent on the new rotors. The work to rehab my wife's somewhat neglected Elantra is now almost complete.

I want to do the transmission fluid at the 60k interval (along with M1 + OEM filter). I will not be doing this myself due to time and resource constraints, and I have two options:
-Dealer service - $189 using Hyundai OEM fluid
-NTB - $109 using MaxLife ATF

I've seen some posts where users feel MaxLife is actually a step up from a lot of OEM fluids, which is the main reason I want to ask. I'm not sensitive to price on this, since $80 is not much for this in the grand scheme of things. For all the concerns of national chains, there is an NTB near me where I have had some work done previously, and I know the store manager, they do good work at this one.
 
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I have used Maxlife in the two Sonatas in our extended family. Make sure your estimates are apples to apples. Drain and fill or flush and fill?
A drain and fill might be 3-4 quarts and if you did that 3x at $25/gallon for the Maxlife, you are at $75 DIY. If the services are the same, I would choose the NTB if you are comfortable with the manager.
 
Originally Posted By: PhillyJoe
I have used Maxlife in the two Sonatas in our extended family. Make sure your estimates are apples to apples. Drain and fill or flush and fill?
A drain and fill might be 3-4 quarts and if you did that 3x at $25/gallon for the Maxlife, you are at $75 DIY. If the services are the same, I would choose the NTB if you are comfortable with the manager.


Good point on comparable services. I believe they are both flushes, but will confirm for sure. I've done two drain & fill on my Corolla (now at 95k), and that route has been fine there as well.
 
Used MaxLife on the old Elantra and our current Sonata. Worked great and no problems. Last I heard, Hyundai was still spewing "Hyundai fluid only", but I don't visit their dealerships anymore (because of this and other reasons).
 
Maxlife is fine; it's full-synthetic and I've used it for the last 150K miles in my '02 Camry that now has 263K miles on it---and it still shifts very smoothly and reliably. If your '11 Elantra's transmission is like my '10 Sonata's, the Hyundai transmission has no serviceable filter without transmission removal and disassembly--which your dealer isn't going to be doing for $189---so, there is no pan to drop or filter for the dealer to replace for his $189. More likely, they'll be hooking up their BG flush machine. I'm not a transmission flush fan; in a no-pan, no-filter transmission like these (we had a Honda with a tranny like this, too) just regular drain and fills are fine. I inherited Dad's '10 Sonata at 62K miles, and the transmission hadn't been serviced and fluid looked pretty black-ish. I did a couple of drain and fills, and the fluid looks much better and shifts fine at 86K miles. I'll do it another drain and fill at 90K miles, and then every 30K after that.

You should also check to see if there are any TSBs for your transmission; there was one for the '10 Sonata transmission that required a dealer reflash of the transmission software, and it completely resolved a hard 2-1 downshift that, early on, had me thinking that Dad's transmission was not long for the world. Works fine ever since the reflash.
 
I am running Maxlife ATF in my daughters 08' Elantra without issues....in fact it runs excellent on it.
When you drop the fluid only about 2 quarts comes out so I do it every year (after doing it 2 or 3 times initially). It's easier than changing oil so I wouldn't pay somebody to do it.
 
I have used maxlife in many newer and older Kias and Hyundais. No problems and works great.
 
Sounds like a lot of support for MaxLife + drain & fill in here so far! I'm hoping the fluid change helps the somewhat harsh (compared to my Corolla) shifting that occurs between 1-2-3, mostly when cold. I'll also check to see if there are any outsanding TSBs, though I did have the dealer do all outstanding ones last summer, and I don't recall either of the two being for the trasnmission.

The plan is to regular D&F every 30k from here out, along with the 7,500 OCI.
 
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$189 seems too cheap for a fluid exchange with SP4-M. Dealers in my area are charging $18 per quart for it. When I investigated this in my area this past spring, I found out that service advisors were not well informed on transmission fluid changes. What really shocked me is that ALL (8) dealers in my area use BG ATF fluids, even during warranty periods. One Jeep dealer used Maxlife. Nothing wrong with BG fluid, but it really puts a damper on the notion that a person should only use OEM ATF fluids.

Be wary that service advisors may not be giving out accurate estimates.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
$189 seems too cheap for a fluid exchange with SP4-M. Dealers in my area are charging $18 per quart for it. When I investigated this in my area this past spring, I found out that service advisors were not well informed on transmission fluid changes. What really shocked me is that ALL (8) dealers in my area use BG ATF fluids, even during warranty periods. One Jeep dealer used Maxlife. Nothing wrong with BG fluid, but it really puts a damper on the notion that a person should only use OEM ATF fluids. Be wary that service advisors may not be giving out accurate estimates.


Hmm, I'll give the dealer a call shortly to find out. What's so strange is a drain and fill in my Corolla was $99 using Toyota WS ATF. If the dealer isn't going to use SP4-M, anyway, then there's really no point in going to them. If this car wasn't so picky about oil filters, I wouldn't take it there for oil changes either. Hyundai dealers are generally a notch below Toyota/Honda in terms of service and quality, in my experience. Unfortunately, I am growing to like Hyundai cars much more these days.
 
IMO, if ML can be used in your application, you're good to go. Just remember that ML may cause different shift characteristics (not necessarily better or worse - just different). With a flush, the tranny will be all ML, making those characteristics more pronounced versus if you just did a drain & fill.

FWIW, I just did a ML D&F in my Honda and am pleased. When I gun it, the shifts are a little firmer but I don't mind.
 
Originally Posted By: smc733
Hmm, I'll give the dealer a call shortly to find out. What's so strange is a drain and fill in my Corolla was $99 using Toyota WS ATF. If the dealer isn't going to use SP4-M, anyway, then there's really no point in going to them. If this car wasn't so picky about oil filters, I wouldn't take it there for oil changes either. Hyundai dealers are generally a notch below Toyota/Honda in terms of service and quality, in my experience. Unfortunately, I am growing to like Hyundai cars much more these days.


For $20 plus the cost of fluid ~ $20 = $40 you could have an ASE Master mechanic do the fluid change for you. Look on CL and type in the words "ASE Master". Not sure where you're located in Mass but in Boston you would have these options to choose from:

https://boston.craigslist.org/nos/aos/d/must-see-brakes-and-much-more/6287779652.html

https://boston.craigslist.org/search/nos/aos?query=ase+master

Not that it's a for sure thing but it sure weeds out a lot of bad ones for a very simple service.
 
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Update on pricing and services:

The $109 at NTB is a flush w/MaxLife, $89 for D&F. The $189 at the $tealer is a drain & fill only, though with OEM fluid. Seems like letting NTB do the flush is the way to go.
 
Don't flush an automatic transmission. Especially one so new. Just get the drain and fill at NTB with Maxlife.

And like others have said, there's no guarantee that the dealer will use OEM dealer ATF, and the Hyundai OEM ATF isn't anything special anyway
smile.gif
 
Actually, the SP4-M has been discussed here as a very high quality synthetic fluid. And, today's fluid exchange machines to replace most of the fluid are no more harmful than any of us doing a cooler line exchange. I think it would be best to get as much of the original wear matter out of the tranny as possible.
 
At my dealership transmission service includes up to 10 quarts automatic transmission fluid for $189.99. Removes and replaces 100% of dirty fluid. Labor included. SP4 fluid additional $50.
 
Does the 2011 Elantra have a drain plug and dipstick on the AT? If so, it will be easier than an engine oil change. If not, I don't blame you at all for wanting to have it done.

FWIW, the last Hyundai product I used Maxlife ATF on was my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD with the F4A51 AT. It worked great in it for the ~36K-76K miles I kept the vehicle. The factory ATF was as black as well used motor oil at 36K miles. I had a thread on it back then.
 
Originally Posted By: smc733
Update on pricing and services:

The $109 at NTB is a flush w/MaxLife, $89 for D&F. The $189 at the $tealer is a drain & fill only, though with OEM fluid. Seems like letting NTB do the flush is the way to go.

I would let the dealer do this service for several reasons. If vehicle is under warranty and anything happens to the trans, aftermarket fluid will be deemed the cause and denial of warranty. Hyundai/KIA are pretty against "flushes" stated in numerous tsb's. Lastly its pretty easy to overfill/underfill these trans, unless you have experience with them. Drain & Fill is sufficient to service the trans, might as well use the correct fluid.
 
Originally Posted By: Thax
Originally Posted By: smc733
Update on pricing and services:

The $109 at NTB is a flush w/MaxLife, $89 for D&F. The $189 at the $tealer is a drain & fill only, though with OEM fluid. Seems like letting NTB do the flush is the way to go.

I would let the dealer do this service for several reasons. If vehicle is under warranty and anything happens to the trans, aftermarket fluid will be deemed the cause and denial of warranty. Hyundai/KIA are pretty against "flushes" stated in numerous tsb's. Lastly its pretty easy to overfill/underfill these trans, unless you have experience with them. Drain & Fill is sufficient to service the trans, might as well use the correct fluid.


I own 2 Hyundai and they are both excellent cars. But the comments above are one reason I do my own service. Mr certified tech............. you are completely wrong and typical of the of the [censored] that "service advisors" spew out. No one can deny warranty if the fluid or parts used meet specs........which Maxlife certainly does. Far better than SP III for those using it and equal if not better than SP 4 at a far lower price. Get off your high horse and give the DIYer some credit - not a difficult job.

Have used it many times on many cars and never a problem.
 
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Originally Posted By: smc733
Sounds like a lot of support for MaxLife + drain & fill in here so far! I'm hoping the fluid change helps the somewhat harsh (compared to my Corolla) shifting that occurs between 1-2-3, mostly when cold. I'll also check to see if there are any outsanding TSBs, though I did have the dealer do all outstanding ones last summer, and I don't recall either of the two being for the trasnmission.

The plan is to regular D&F every 30k from here out, along with the 7,500 OCI.



I'd suspect that the dealer last summer only addressed "outstanding recalls" (which your Elantra may've had several of), rather than the much longer list potential non-safety functionality complaints covered by technical service bulletins (TSBs). Most dealers only check TSB items if the owner is complaining about a problem that is addressed by a TSB. Annoyingly harsh transmission shifting behavior is not typically a safety issue that would result in a "recall"; it's more likely a common service complaint that would prompt the manufacturer to issue a TSB. If you're going to keep the car for awhile, you may find it useful to spend $20 on an Alldata subscription for your Elantra; the subscription includes info on the flat rates for various standard repairs to the car, as well as updated lists of TSBs for the vehicle. The TSBs let you know what other owners are experiencing and complaining about, and the flat rate labor estimates are really great for avoiding unpleasant surprises when your mechanic/service advisor slides their invoice over to you for the check.
 
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