QUOTE (dh431218 @ May 26 2010, 05:42 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=326448
Now, I have to correct you in 2 statements you made. Honda has never advertised a 100K tranny fluid change interval. They have a 3X drain every 30K interval, but you'd be crazy to even do that in a hot climate. For the same cost, I do it 1X every 10K miles; that way I always have semi-fresh fluid in there. The reason for the 3X is Honda doesn't have a torque converter drain plug (very few cars have it), so less than half the fluid gets out with every drain, hence requiring it THREE times in succession. MUCH better to do it once every 10K miles for the same money. Oh, and the second correction is the $75 price tag to DIY. My Hondas only need 4 quarts at best, and I always buy it for $5.25 locally, so it's about $25 after tax. I also have to comment Honda is probably the only manufacturer NOT to use planetary gears on their trannies, so they're a lot less robust, needing more frequent oil changes. And also that's why they require a special oil, and prefer not to gamble with anything else. With a typical planetary gear tranny like on the Sonata, as long as you buy the specified oil (SP-4, I believe) you should be fine; no need to use OEM tranny oil, just like the majority of us don't use OEM motor oil.
Finally, I'm sure the Sonata doesn't have a converter drain plug (I've only seen RWD vehicles with them, and it's a royal pain to get to it when they do anyway), so I assume you can only get out the typical 4 quarts at best when draining the tranny. For that reason, I plan to change the oil every 15K miles, but man, what a PITA it'll be on this car, with no dipstick. There's a TSB floating around on how to check level, and I have the procedure from the service manual, but no mention of how much oil is required for a drain & fill. Car has to be running, on a FLAT surface, at certain temperature, and with the check and fill plugs removed.
What I plan on doing is removing the belly pan with the car on ramps and engine cold, and let the tranny drain (without spilling anything) until nothing comes out. Precisely measure how much fluid came out, then just fill the same amount of new fluid and call it a day. But knowing me, I'll probably want to check it anyway. To do that, I'll remove the check and fill plugs, raise the car with my floor jack, remove ramps, lower car to the ground (with no belly pan, of course, or can't use a floor jack), and follow the manuals instructions but using an infrared thermometer rather than a dealer interface we don't have, and verify the amount that drained is the right amount to fill the tranny. And next time no need to check it. Without checking level is going to be a much quicker job. Now, if most of the fluid comes out, which I hope to learn from here before it's my time (don't use the car much), then I might do it every 20 or even 30K miles, but oil is so cheap that why take chances to leave it more than that? I'd also like to know if fluid is fully synthetic or not. Take care gang.
Yeah, there's no such thing as 'lifetime' fluid... unless you want the life of your tranny to be pretty short :grin:. This is especially true in a hot climate, like TX.
Now, I have to correct you in 2 statements you made. Honda has never advertised a 100K tranny fluid change interval. They have a 3X drain every 30K interval, but you'd be crazy to even do that in a hot climate. For the same cost, I do it 1X every 10K miles; that way I always have semi-fresh fluid in there. The reason for the 3X is Honda doesn't have a torque converter drain plug (very few cars have it), so less than half the fluid gets out with every drain, hence requiring it THREE times in succession. MUCH better to do it once every 10K miles for the same money. Oh, and the second correction is the $75 price tag to DIY. My Hondas only need 4 quarts at best, and I always buy it for $5.25 locally, so it's about $25 after tax. I also have to comment Honda is probably the only manufacturer NOT to use planetary gears on their trannies, so they're a lot less robust, needing more frequent oil changes. And also that's why they require a special oil, and prefer not to gamble with anything else. With a typical planetary gear tranny like on the Sonata, as long as you buy the specified oil (SP-4, I believe) you should be fine; no need to use OEM tranny oil, just like the majority of us don't use OEM motor oil.
Finally, I'm sure the Sonata doesn't have a converter drain plug (I've only seen RWD vehicles with them, and it's a royal pain to get to it when they do anyway), so I assume you can only get out the typical 4 quarts at best when draining the tranny. For that reason, I plan to change the oil every 15K miles, but man, what a PITA it'll be on this car, with no dipstick. There's a TSB floating around on how to check level, and I have the procedure from the service manual, but no mention of how much oil is required for a drain & fill. Car has to be running, on a FLAT surface, at certain temperature, and with the check and fill plugs removed.
What I plan on doing is removing the belly pan with the car on ramps and engine cold, and let the tranny drain (without spilling anything) until nothing comes out. Precisely measure how much fluid came out, then just fill the same amount of new fluid and call it a day. But knowing me, I'll probably want to check it anyway. To do that, I'll remove the check and fill plugs, raise the car with my floor jack, remove ramps, lower car to the ground (with no belly pan, of course, or can't use a floor jack), and follow the manuals instructions but using an infrared thermometer rather than a dealer interface we don't have, and verify the amount that drained is the right amount to fill the tranny. And next time no need to check it. Without checking level is going to be a much quicker job. Now, if most of the fluid comes out, which I hope to learn from here before it's my time (don't use the car much), then I might do it every 20 or even 30K miles, but oil is so cheap that why take chances to leave it more than that? I'd also like to know if fluid is fully synthetic or not. Take care gang.
. Thankfully, our tranny has everything you need to service it: a drain, check, and fill plugs. 
