Thoughts on 100K Mile Sealed ATF ?

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ChrisD46

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The Sonata in my signature has a "sealed" transmission supposedly good for 100K miles using Hyundai SP-IV-M ATF .
The transmission is really not "sealed" per se and there is a way to do a semi-reasonable drain & fill on it .
My thoughts : Hyundai may warrantee the transmission to get past 100K miles but I would not believe it's going to last much longer than that ... If you were to plan on keeping the vehicle would it not make sense to do a drain & fill sooner than 100K miles ? I currently have 31K miles on my Sonata and plan to keep it past 100K miles - what are your thoughts on doing a drain & fill prior to 100K miles ? If so - what mileage would you do the first drain & fill ? As for ATF the 2017 and newer Hyundai / Kia use SP-IV-M which goes for $18 to $20 per qurst (must have unicorn tears included) ! That's expensive - Maxlife ATF meets SP-IV-M and is much less expensive ($17 per gallon) .

So what are your thoughts on above statements and thought process ? Break it down and advise your thoughts ... Thanks in advance !
 
I would.
Our GS 350 F Sport has lifetime WS ATF; you don't need to change it. According to Toyota.
I am gonna service it soon and ain't gonna use WS. Take that Toyletta.

A sound point of view is an early service, like you mileage, will remove break in debris.
I say go for it and use whatever fluid makes you happy.
 
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sp IV is a very good atf. If i were in your shoes i'd do one very soon to get some break in materials out and from there do anything from 30-60k depending on driving circumstances after that. I would stick with sp IV at least during warranty because Hyundai is known to test fluid to void them. Even post warranty i would stick with sp IV but im sure maxlife would work well too.
 
You are right at that mileage for the first dump and fill. It's not really hard, but just use the Kia branded SPlV-M. Same exact stuff, just cheaper. You will get most of the break in shavings out and your Tranny will be happy. While it's prolly good fluid and while Vavoline recommends it, stick with OEM (hyundai/Kia). It's just better in the long run, and half the price at a Kia dealer. I've done 4 Hyundai's this way and have no issues. I used maxlife the first time, and while it does work, if you really know your car you'll tell a difference. Using OEM alleviates any BS that can be given if something does go wrong. PM me if I can explain or help more.
 
Originally Posted by Propflux01
You are right at that mileage for the first dump and fill. It's not really hard, but just use the Kia branded SPlV-M. Same exact stuff, just cheaper. You will get most of the break in shavings out and your Tranny will be happy. While it's prolly good fluid and while Vavoline recommends it, stick with OEM (hyundai/Kia). It's just better in the long run, and half the price at a Kia dealer. I've done 4 Hyundai's this way and have no issues. I used maxlife the first time, and while it does work, if you really know your car you'll tell a difference. Using OEM alleviates any BS that can be given if something does go wrong. PM me if I can explain or help more.

This guy gets it
 
Mercedes used to have filled for life transmission fluid, then they updated their specs and a regular change was speced at 39k. So probably somewhere in the 30-40k range is a good time to change it.
 
I'll admit that I know nothing about Hyundais, and very little about transmission fluids... But I can say that the factory ATF in my '99 S70 (sealed transmission with no change interval in the manual) has 271,000 miles and 21 years on it and is still going strong.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
I would service it. Don't tell them you did if it fails. They would try to use that as a means to not warranty it even though your servicing it was not the reason it failed.


+1 Just make sure if it does fail the level was correct.
 
Ford is pulling the same thing. The fill plug is on the trans body and has a small measuring dipstick inside of it. I pulled the cap off and used my topside oiler to pull as much fluid as possible out. Measured it and then refilled - between 5-6 quarts, every 30k. When I finally pulled the pan around 110k miles everything looked great, even the filter which I disassembled to check the foam media. I really didn't need to pull the pan and R&R the filter, the pan very little residue on the bottom.
 
Change it!!! Do a 100% changeover of fluid though the radiator cooler line. First off, drop the pan and put in a new filter. The add new XXXXXXX ( I would use Amsoil or Redline personally) and put in 4 qts. Pump it out until you hear the ATF grab air and have another person turn off the car add another 4 qts until you hear the pump grab air and repeat until you get nice new red oil coming out of the line. Level as per what you find on the internet. You will have no need to change the filter again since it is a rock catcher large micron filter and you have ridden yourself of the first break-in material. Repeat in another 50,000 miles. Hyundai fluid is a good fluid, But no need to use it. I have ran Redline in my Elantra GT without any issues. If you worry about warranty even though you have the Magnuson-Moss warranty Act behind you you can feel comfortable Hyundai fluid is far superior then say Toyota WS that I just hate. That crap would be out in 6,000 miles if I had a new Toyota. My wife's Rav4 had full toasted WS at 22,000 miles because the Rav4 has no external cooler. WS can't take the heat.
 
Originally Posted by dadto2
I'll admit that I know nothing about Hyundais, and very little about transmission fluids... But I can say that the factory ATF in my '99 S70 (sealed transmission with no change interval in the manual) has 271,000 miles and 21 years on it and is still going strong.

I am willing to bet is you serviced your car's transmission you would feel a difference.
Smoother, firmer shifts and better around town pull.
Your car is a perfect candidate because it has not been serviced.

This has been my experience every time.
 
I had my mechanic do a drain and fill (he said around 4 quarts came out) with MaxLife ATF and then drive it around the block, then do it again. So 2 drain and refills at 100k miles.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by dadto2
I'll admit that I know nothing about Hyundais, and very little about transmission fluids... But I can say that the factory ATF in my '99 S70 (sealed transmission with no change interval in the manual) has 271,000 miles and 21 years on it and is still going strong.

I am willing to bet is you serviced your car's transmission you would feel a difference.
Smoother, firmer shifts and better around town pull.
Your car is a perfect candidate because it has not been serviced.

This has been my experience every time.


I hear ya, but it's got a small leak in the head gasket, cat is on it's last legs, and everything rattles. I'm just going to let the head gasket or cat kill it. And hope I didn't just fill the gas tank when it dies...
 
I do a drain & fill every 30k miles, +filter every 60k miles. Don't know about Hyundai's, but cheap and easy to do on the cars I have.
 
9 posts back dad2do said, "I'll admit that I know nothing about Hyundais, and very little about transmission fluids... But I can say that the factory ATF in my '99 S70 (sealed transmission with no change interval in the manual) has 271,000 miles and 21 years on it and is still going strong."

All I can say is congrats. I'm on my 3rd Volvo (a '99, an '02 and my current '07) and I remember the '99 having "lifetime fluid" and how black and watery it was when I did a pump-out. My '02 improved when I refreshed it's fluid. So many people on Volvo boards cited bad operations and improvements when they refreshed theirs too.

I don't know what to tell you.
 
Do it around 30 - 40 thousand miles. Lots of break in debris. Maybe every 50k after that.
 
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