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Transmission reliability with the Elantra

8K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  OkieRich 
#1 ·
What is the maintenance for the 6-speed transmission in the Elantra? Is it considered "sealed" by Hyundai? What is the interval? I'm used to Honda/Acura vehicles, so I expect to change the transmission fluid every 30k for "fresh" fluid.

I know these days, many transmissions are sealed, and the maintenance is confusing. One example is Lexus/Toyota, where they say there is lifetime fluid and sealed transmissions, but I find that hard to believe.

I expect my vehicles to last til 200k miles, even with heavy stop and go traffic!
 
#3 ·
They not "sea;ed"... how the service tech supposed to fill 1 up during replacement ??

Hyundai on the lifetime kick... how about "lifetime" motor oil,,,, dont think so..

Interval called is 105,000 mile I think.. cut that in half and run with it if you choose, be advised the special Hyundai oil is $$,, but clean oil never wrecked anything either..
 
#4 ·
It all in the owners manual in section 7 either normal or severe driving this defines severe driving.

"Follow Normal Maintenance
Schedule if the vehicle is usually
operated where none of the following
conditions apply. If any of the following
conditions apply, you must follow
the Maintenance Under Severe
Usage Conditions.
• Repeated short distance driving.
• Driving in dusty conditions or
sandy areas.
• Extensive use of brakes.
• Driving in areas where salt or other
corrosive materials are used.
• Driving on rough or muddy roads.
• Driving in mountainous areas.
• Extended periods of idling or low
speed operation.
• Driving for a prolonged period in
cold temperatures and/or extremely
humid climates.
• More than 50% driving in heavy
city traffic during hot weather
above 90°F (32°C)."

Shows required maintenance for each additional 7,500 miles clear up to 150,000 miles and even at this point for normal driving says.

"No check, No service required
❑ Automatic transmission fluid (if equipped)"

But one requirement is periodically checking for leaks.

For severe driving says:

"Automatic transmission fluid to be replaced every 60,000 miles"

Section 8-7 shows Automatic transmission fluid capacity is 7.08 US qt. and use only MICHANG ATF SP-IV, SK ATF SP-IV,
NOCA ATF SP-IV, HYUNDAI genuine ATF SP-IV or other brands meeting the above specification approved by HYUNDAI Motor Co.

Sure haven't found a dipstick on this AT unless its buried someplace, one reason why I like having a shop manual. With others have two side plugs, lower drains the old fluid, top is filled cold, has to be pumped in. Mistakes are made even by dealers not to run the engine for even a short time and run it through all the gears then check it again. Other mistakes are made by checking it hot, this is about a quart less fluid. Vehicle has to be perfectly level.

I had 80's Honda's, could only use Honda AT fluids, and I recall it was every 30K miles, but was easy to change with a dipstick, a lot has changed since then. Remember when AT fluid was 30 cents a quart? Ha, my TH-400 motorhome AT required 18 quarts, darn near went broke.
 
#6 ·
I am not sure what type of maintenance for the transmission is required unless I look it up right now, I am not going too :wink: but I will tell you this, I had a 2007 Hyundai Sonata GLS , I brought it brand new in feb of 2007 and drove it till march of 2012 , it had over 170k miles on it and it still was shifting strong and ran great. I did flush it at 110k miles . You will get 200k out of the elantra if you take care of it. AKA do all the required maintenances . I would suggest, you call a hyundai dealership service center and ask them this Q vs relying on people from the internet to give you a def positive answer .

Dont worry, you have a great car , again my 07 sonata had over 170k miles when I traded it in, I regretted though trading it in as it was still 100% reliable, I just at that time wanted a truck . I actually try to find it googling the vin number to see who own it and if I could buy it back lol. No luck though on finding a name of the current owner.
 
#8 ·
+1 And if you call the dealership, this is exactly, almost verbatim, they will tell you the same thing @someguy said.

Remember, your dealership, nor mine, doesn't make their big bucks up front on the showroom floor. The "real Money's" brought in though the back, aka: the service department. One 50,000 mile service can be more than they made on the car in profit dollars.

It would be in the best interest of the service writer to get you in there faithfully, and as often as possible. He's getting a cut on your service. As is the service manager, tech(s), the guy whose name is on the marquee up front, even that little gal that takes your money at the window. That's a lot of hands being held out to be filled.

It's a money game, and this is how it's played.
 
#9 ·
Ha, just about anything in the Hyundai owners manual tell you to take your car to your Hyundai dealer, even replacing a light bulb or repairing a leaky tire. Nearest Hyundai dealer is an 82 mile drive.

Was faced with the problem with my Cruze with a manual transmission, owners manual said to replace it 45K miles that I just hit. Only suppose to use GM part number 19259104 that the dealer sells for 40 bucks a quart, comes in a quart bottle, takes 2 1/2 quarts, that's 120 bucks plus tax! Guys that had it done with labor, over 200 bucks.

I looked at mine, for years, OE's were using regular motor oil for a manual, from my taste and feel, swore this stuff was Mobile One synthetic, so what is this 19259104 stuff? Did find a cross reference for Royal Purple HPS 5W-30 that claimed to be an exact replacement for 19259104 at 8 bucks a quart, but a drunken driver solved this problem for me. But not even sure why, was super clean and moisture free.

Hyundai says the AT fluid is red, will turn dark, but perfectly normal, ha, this is when I would replace the fluild, A Ford C4 in a motorhome really turned black and really had a heavy load, replaced it every 30,000 miles. My was to do it was to open a coolant line, put the output side into a large container and idle the engine. That would get all the fluid out.

Filters use to be common, history now, claim that still have one, but have to remove the AT first and take it apart to do it. Where the fluid really gets hot is at a red light in traffic, not helpless, switch the AT to neutral. I see the Elantra does have an external cooler, these help a lot.

How do I check for leaks? Easy, when backing out of my garage, just glance at the floor, should be clean and dry. Torque converter lockup really increased the life of AT fluid, no turbine slip. I should be good for 150K miles.

What really has to be changed, three years is my limit is brake fluid, still using Dot 3 that is hygroscopic, gums up and can stall ABS valves so you don't get any braking at all to any given wheel. They lie like crazy when they say ABS does not interfere with your service brakes.

I use the vacuum method where all the fluid goes into jar, put the rear of the vehicle up on oil changing ramps, front I can get at with the wheels turned outward. But first remove the bleeder and coat with Permatex non-hardening gasket maker, if you don't do this, will be sucking air, very little fluid drips out. Do one wheel at a time, starting with the furthest, and pump until the fluid comes out clean with a clear plastic hose.

And you want to make darn sure that reservoir is full, if not, will get air in that ABS pump and really have problems.
 
#11 · (Edited)
@someguy: Good for your dad. I've spent my time under the hood, below the frame, upside down beneath the dash, front, sides, and back. About the only time I get tools out these days is modding something. KYB shocks, rear bumper LED's, interior LED's, hiding dash cam wiring, stuff like that. Doesn't take that long for any of the above. But it's enough to make me appreciate how wonderful a 10/100,000 warranty can be.

Now I have this GINORMOUS Craftsman case chocked full of everyday and specialty tools for the boys to fight over when I step outta the picture. But until then, there's alway a need...lawnmower, weed-wacker PM's...stuff like that. And the reason I have the tools they want to borrow is because I don't loan them out!!!

But you're right, driveway/home garage mechanics is diminishing in some cultures. The joy of running down to the local "You Pull-it" and getting that $200 part for $20? There's no end to that satisfaction. Truth be known, I'll still go down there, pay my $1 entry fee and spend a couple of hours on a nice weekend day just walking the lot and reminiscing the "good old days." Once in a while, I'll find a wrench, ratchet, or socket set left behind. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at the brand he left behind.

Just figured out what I'm gonna do Saturday morning! The missus just shakes her head as I'm walking out, dollar in hand, to begin my salvage yard infiltration. She doesn't get it. And I don't get her thrill of shopping for hours on end, either. Oh, well.
 
#14 ·
But you're right, driveway/home garage mechanics is diminishing in some cultures.
People are dumber these day than your generation. Because everything is available to everybody, cost is low (think garbage from Walmart) and quality is -100 (minus hundred). But who cares; when it breaks, they buy a new one. Landfills are growing bigger...
People lost sense of satisfaction when you complete a project, no matter how big or small, with your own hands.
We used to have Surplus store... you could find amazing things there and it was very dangerous place to enter as you might exit with hands full of 'stuff' you think they will be useful one day or you are going to make something really interesting.
Place closed, most likely due to lack of interest.
Why bother when you can get instant satisfactions and gratification staring at your puny dumb phone, getting latest tweets how many hears some celebrity found on toilet paper after wiping her/his ass today or chasing ****emon.
Your kind is Dead. Be proud, as one day you will be remembered as man-who-used-his-hand-to-do-things.
 
#13 ·
@NicholaD: agree on the caring. Our cars are family members to us. Cared for, the engine is like a well-maintained lawn mower. It should last just a tad bit longer than the rusted out deck that it falls through.
 
#15 ·
Even guys on that cruzetalk board had automatic transmissions replaced under warranty, just shy of five years or 100K miles, whichever comes first.

Not concerned about that 100K mile, our five years was just about up with only 45K miles on it, more concerned about the time limits. With the Elantra, this is ten years! Have to find something else to worry about.

Ha, maybe will even go back to driving a Model A Ford again, but doubt if I can find a real nice one for ten bucks. Still have the only special purpose tool to work on one, no concerns about gasoline, runs on kerosene just as well. Poor mix with ethanol? No problems, runs perfectly with even 75 octane fuel.

No concern about speed, never hit that 300 mph mark we were suppose to in the year 2000, speed limits are even lower than they were back then.

Certainly no concerns about mating an iphone to it with CarPlay, and XM sure won't pester me. As long as gravity works, no problems with way overpriced fuel pumps. Or compact spares, my old one had two full sized spare tires in the front fenders.

Rear ended! With those spring steel bumpers, if anyone hits those will bounce back. Error codes? What are these?

Ha, just some comments as to how we progressed in automotive over the last 85 years You do have to know how to double clutch. No problem driving these things in even 12" of snow.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Ha, just some comments as to how we progressed in automotive over the last 85 years You do have to know how to double clutch. No problem driving these things in even 12" of snow.
This would be so much simpler for me. In 2011, I agonized between Radiant Silver or Allure Red. FOR 6 WEEKS!!!

Old Henry Ford said you could get his Model A in any color you wanted...as long as it was black! ;)

And those skinny tires would "plow the road" in deep snow. Not too bad in deep mud holes, either. I always have wanted a convertible! :grin:
 
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