I have anew 2009 Accent w/ auto transaxle. The owners handbook says to use SP III fluid. The only fluid at the locals parts house that mentions SP III is Synthetic. A call to 4 parts houses produced the following results: 3 said the right fluid is all-purpose Dexron/Mercon, which I happen to have for my old Ford Ranger. One said you cannot use any standard fluid and have to buy the stuff at the Hyundai dealer. What's correct?

Your owner's manual says use SP III, otherwise you could void the warranty. Do you want to use Dextron/Mercon and void the warranty? I don't think so. The object of this game is to not void the warranty.

Whoever told you use Dexton/Mercon should not be consulted again.

Just like HMAService says you "can't use most aftermarket oil filters due to sputtering".

It's a lie. I'm running Dexron 3 (did a tranny fluid change @ 25,000 miles... it came out thick sludgey black, I'm guessing because the tranny had been worn in on that original fluid). I'm also using a cheapo oil filter from Walmart (the one the machine thing on the shelf told me to use) for 3 bucks. It works just fine. No issues.

Because dealerships have the capacity to set up a chem lab and test to see what fluid you put in, right? no.

That and it has absolutely no impact on your warranty.

Ok then, it's your car. It's up to you. I sure wouldn't do it though. The owners manual is very specific about such things, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize my warranty.

Incidentally, about the oil filter thing...

I have heard people say they were having engine knock problems using after market "high mileage" oil filters. They switch to OEM filters and the problems went away.

(waiting for a certain someone to say they changed to some ridiculous ATF and raced a bullet train and won)

I've done a lot of reading on Hyundai automatic transmissions and it would appear that Dexron-III contains friction modifiers that are incompatible with the clutch material used in Hyundai automatics.  Use of that fluid will eat away at your clutches. 

If you ever have transmission problems, good luck getting Hyundai to warranty anything if you have not used an approved fluid (SP-III.)  I'm sure they have the ability to determine whether you have been using the proper fluid - whether they have to send a sample off or whatever before the district parts/service manager signs off on the repair. I've read that they allegedly put a tracer substance in the SP-III fluid so it is easy to detect that was what was being used at the time of the failure.

It's not that I want to pimp the dealer's parts or services, god knows every brand of dealer I've been to has tried to pull crap over on me at one time or another... But SP-III is the way to go.  You'll no doubt save a few bucks over buying something off the shelf at mal*wart but if you have to plop down several thousand later to replace the slushbox after Hyundai denied the warranty claim, my calculations put the SP-III being cheaper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laughing.gif)

Although over on the NF Sonata forum, I see they have good luck with Castrol Multi-Vehicle Import ATF something or other. I don't know what the warranty implications would be on that fluid as I don't think it's an approved fluid by Hyundai's standards, but I would certainly rather use that than a fluid designed for GM transmissions like Dexron.

But use whatcha like, it's your car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)

Even still... It literally takes about 5 minutes to change the tranny fluid if need be lol... it's even easier than changing the oil. So maybe I'll do that for my 50,000 tranny fluid change (I'm doing it every 25,000 miles because tranny fluid really is quite cheap all things considered). JUUUUST in case something goes wrong. I guess it is better to not be able to give them any excuses to void anything. I wonder if you can buy SP-III wholesale.

This post has been edited by bloodninja: Oct 11 2009, 08:34 PM

That's really interesting about the friction modifiers, I never heard that one. Mainly I thought it was all about the seals and gaskets, which could lead to psi loss.

Hyundai SP-III is really not expensive. If you call around to different dealers you discover that the price differs wildly.

I bet... I'm looking to see if I can buy it from a Hyundai supplier, rather than my dealership... I guarantee you mine will charge $100+ for a tranny flush.. which makes no freakin sense.

I did not think this was such a controversial issue. I suppose the best compromise would be to use the synthetic which specifically says it replaces SP III fluids. The problem would be to get all the conventional fluid out before changing over to synthetic as I understand they are not compatible. I guess that means flush and replace.

I do it the cheap and easy way.

I change my trans fluid every time I change my oil (which is every 10k because I use synthetic and change the filter every 3k or so.) I just dump what's in the pan, I don't worry about flushing the torque converter. I pay about $6 a quart for the fluid, It usually takes about 3 1/3 quarts. It's not the perfect solution, but my fluid is always clean and unsmelly.

 

Mine was $170 but like an idiot, I ran with that.  But I wasn't living in a place where I could work on my car (apt. where that was against the lease.)  Now that problem is resolved and I'll be doing drain & fills in my driveway. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/banana.gif)  Probably do one right before my timing belt change so the stealer will have one less thing to try to upsell (although the fluid was just changed at 45k I'm sure they'll try.)

wufibug, if you're changing to a different type I would definitely consider flushing it all out.  Way too much fluid is held in the torque converter.

 

I just jogged over to the Valvolene website from which I take the following quote: "8. Is MaxLife ATF an SP-111 fluid?
Ans: MaxLife Dex/Merc ATF is 100% compatible for use in SP-II and SP-III applications." If that is accurate, I doubt there is any difference between Valvolene's formulation of Dex/Merc and Castrol's. That website also says that their sythetic and conventional can be mixed.
There is also an interesting discussion at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbth...;Number=1274810 that parallels ours about the difference between what is Hyundai "approved" and what other lubricants meet the SP III specs. It would appear that the bottom line is if you have a premature tranny failure, whether one wants to end up arguing the compatibility issue with the dealer if they deny a claim because they are able to ascertain that you did not use their approved fluid.
Under California law, the consumer would probably win. But that involves small claims courts and gathering some pretty sophisticated evidence.

This post has been edited by Login: wufibug: Oct 11 2009, 09:47 PM

Personally I would only use hyundai approved or hyundai fluid in the trans. There are differences in transmission friction devices that require the different additives of the different fluids. (different, huh? haha) Try and put a Dextron fluid in a trans that requires Mercon. It might work for a little while but not well and it certainly won't last very long. Differences in friction modifiers and flow make a big difference.

yeah, point taken. I'm gonna swap out the tranny fluid again soon.

^^^Oh, for some reason I thought you drove a manual. lol. I guess it says 4-speed in your sig... I feel dumb...

lol, I would imagine I should prolly still use what Hyundai says I should anyway though, either way

Yeah, especially with automatics. Manuals are a bit less tempermental. But I know in my Ford, I still use the Ford manual trans fluid. Its commonly thought it works best, so why not. Stuff is expensive though! The car takes 2.1 (yes... you need that .1 quart...) of the stuff and its 21 bucks a quart... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angry.gif)

HMAService
 09_AT_006.pdf ( 22.19K ) Number of downloads: 9


“Use only Hyundai Genuine ATF or other brands meeting the specification approved
by Hyundai Motor Company.”
So I take it that means we can use ANY SPIII, so long as it meets or exceeds Hyundai's expectations? I called up my Hyundai Dealership and that's what they said, but they said (of course) it's safest to just buy it from the dealership @ $7/qt.