Synthetic Transmission Fluid

OK folks just looking for thoughts & advise if any is required.
I am thinking on changing the tranny fluid on my 05 Accent GT with just over 6k on her. IS it just that simple to drain the OEM tranny fluid and add the Aimsoil Synthetic ATF fluid. Also the tranny fluid capacity??
Thanks,
Brant

Can't help ya there buddy, I am not familiar enough with that tranny to give advice. Sorry sarge

On a manual....I would have to say it would be a good idea. Just like the advantages of synthetic oil in the engine, the advantages of a synthetic tranny would be the same. As long as it doesn't reduce the protection..... go for it. I was thinking of the same thing for my '03.

It really is as easy as draining it out through the axles.....then just fill it through the fill port on the front till it starts to seep out of the fill hole. Put the plug in and call it a day.

An automatic.....would have to do some research in the additives. Auto trannys can be very picky.....and very expensive to fix. Replace the fluid with non-dealer fluid, get your checkbook out.

Just don't drop the pan. I would take the car to a quick lube or oil change place and have them suck it out. You just droping the pan doesn't help it out. There is still old oil in the trans. As far as the oil goes. Amsoil is the best out I think..

I spoke with a tech from Amsoil. According to them I could just drain the fluid at this point & refill with their synthetic tranny fluid which is compadiable with Hyundai's tranny fluid. Still giving it some thought before going through with it.
Brant

I would suck out all the oil.. I am telling you'll still have some of your old trans oil in the pan..

Well Sarge, if the tech said so I guess that it might be a good move.

The deed is done. We are now fully synthetic!!! What a difference in the cold weather to be honest. The tranny appears to warm up faster which is great since I'm only a few miles from the Garden State Parkway. Thus far....zero problems.
Brant

Is your car an auto or manual?

My car has an auto-tranny. This morning heading out to work the outside temp was at 22 degrees. It took half the distance for the over-drive to kick in. Sweeeeeeeet!!!!
Brant

Very cool, happy to hear that synthetic has once again saved the day.

Brant, I'm kinda late here but on any automatic tranny, draining the trans pan will get approximately half of the fluid out of it. the rest of it is in the torque converter and held in the clutch paks.

If you ever pull the pan again to do it, add a drain plug. makes life easier.

errr on major caution!!! if you have any trouble with your tranny and the dealer finds out you put anything other than hyundia sp3 in their, your warrenty is in the toilet!!! i work at a hyundia dealership, and see it on a regular basis that poeple have tranny flushes done elsewhere whish usually always use regular mercon/dextron, which toastes the tranny, and it comes from the customers pocket!!

The drain plug is a great idea!! As for the warrenty, I checked with Amsoil & my dealership before doing so. Since no alterations were made of any kind and the fluid is compadable to Hyundai's. Everything is cool.
Brant

that could have been scary, way to plan ahead sarge.

Poach,
Scary would not be the word I'd use. Amsoil was hesitant at first when answering my question about the switch. The Hyundai dealer was also a bit hesitant however, after researching the product they stated it would have no effect on my warrenty. So off I went, right across the street, had the Cottman man do the dirty work. $65.00 bucks plus tax & estimated 45 minutes later the job was done. I don't understand why the car manufacturers don't use this stuff. It's far better all round and I bet most folks wouldn't mind laying out an extra few bucks for the synthetic ATF.
Brant

Hyundai specs a ceretain kind of fluid, what most people dont realize is that if Hyundai was to tell you that you could only use their fluid and filter in order to maintain the warranty, under something called the Moss-Magnuson act they would have to do the maintnence for free if that was the case.

my 99 doesn't call for a gluid and filter change in auto tranny for 102,000 miles.


as far as fluid, you can use just about anything slippery in an automatic transmission. it is a hydraulic transmission.

by using the fluid that meets specs the manufacturer desired, you will find that the transmission operates in the manner the MAN desired.

you could use engine oil in a auto tranny, but the shift charactersitics might be different.

Dexron is probably the main type of fluid, somebody else may call say their particular fluid need s to meet their own standard when in fact that standard is just a renaming of Dexron.

interesting facts Mr. KICK

Mr. Kick;
I am sure many read what you posted and just laughed and were afraid to tell you that you are totally wrong on this

quote:

as far as fluid, you can use just about anything slippery in an automatic transmission. it is a hydraulic transmission.

by using the fluid that meets specs the manufacturer desired, you will find that the transmission operates in the manner the MAN desired.

you could use engine oil in a auto tranny, but the shift charactersitics might be different.

Dexron is probably the main type of fluid, somebody else may call say their particular fluid need s to meet their own standard when in fact that standard is just a renaming of Dexron.

This is only my opinion but I feel certain that my opinion is shared by many thousands of Hyundai owners and I would like to warn anyone that does not want extensive repair bills and loss of warranty to not follow such off the wall advice.
W.Y.

quote:

ORIGINAL: William Young

Mr. Kick;
I am sure many read what you posted and just laughed and were afraid to tell you that you are totally wrong on this

quote:

as far as fluid, you can use just about anything slippery in an automatic transmission. it is a hydraulic transmission.

by using the fluid that meets specs the manufacturer desired, you will find that the transmission operates in the manner the MAN desired.

you could use engine oil in a auto tranny, but the shift charactersitics might be different.

This is only my opinion but I feel certain that my opinion is shared by many thousands of Hyundai owners and I would like to warn anyone that does not want extensive repair bills and loss of warranty to not follow such off the wall advice.
W.Y.

Mr. Young, just because you've never heard of it doesn't mean it aint true.

there arent thousands of people on this board so who gives a shyt what the rest of the Hyndai owners think?

If you read into what I said, you will notice that I didn't tell anybody to use motor oil, just that it will work. In fact it will work fine BUT the shift characterisitics will be different.


some of the people that are on this board are the kind of WEENies who go to the dealer to get their oil changed and get hosed on all things mechanical. So what I'm trying to imply is that the automatic tranny doesn't particularly care what kind of oil it gets, just that the manufacturer specs a certain kind to get the desired shift characterisitics.

I guess you missed that.

some of them are willing to learn and some of them have their heads stuck in the sand or somewhere else, what ever the case may be.

they don't know that an automatic transmission uses Hydraulic Pressure to engage the clutches ,that the engine provides rotational power thru the torque converter to the input shaft of the transmission thru what is termed a fluid coupling.. they dont understand vortex flow, the difference between the turbine and the pump, what a planetary gear is as comparied to the helical or hypoid gear etc....

they assume that an automatic transmission is magic and that the clutches and torque converter have to have SPECIAL OIL or they wont work. they assume that if they dont use this SPECIAL OIL the whole thing will go up in smoke. This is what dealers and mechanics want you to believe because it lines their pockets.

so the car owners are told to think transmission fluid is SPECIAL and you must use Hyundai Fluid # whatever in order for your warranty to be valid.

they dont know that the Moss Magnuson act forbids a manufacturer of a vehicle from spec'ing a certain type of oil and making you use it to keep you vehicle under warranty. the law states if the manufacturer insists on one type of oil toprotect the warranty the manufacturer must provide it for free.


I dont even know what Hyundai tells anybody as far as service on the automatic tranny except mine, but mine says to service it at 102,000 miles which is well past the warranty anyway.


speaking of warranty MR YOUNG, are you of the opinion that if you didn't change the tranny oil with theirs that they wouldn't honor the rest of the warranty. ????

I'm willing to bet that 75% of the automobiles on the road have never had the transmission fluid replaced.


KICK...

There are only really two reasons why I switched my tranny fluid to synthetic.
1) Whatevers in the fluid heats up quicker in colder weather, thus allowing the over drive to kick in quicker. #1 reason for the change.
2) I've noticed no drastic change in the shifting however, the thought of a better fluid that won't break down over time and will last longer.
After checking in with the dealer and the manufacturer, both agree it would not effect on the warrenty.
Sold & done!!! I have no complaints.
All this "hub-bub" between Mr. Kick & Mr. Young with respect to each others opinion is pretty much un-necessary however, it does make interesting reading.
God, I love this place....LOL!!!!
Brant

I think that I just fell in love with KICK. You are one fast talkin guy.

im sorry to say but if you do not use sp3 or fluid equal like atf+ 3 which has speacial additives, hyundai will not cover your trans under there warranty
i am a tech at hyudai dealer and im telling you right now that it wont be covered.


sorry i dont care what people say here but believe me

also reply to using engine oil as a sub for trans fluid{ are you high?}

and yes you can take you vehical to other places to have maintanence done but you do have to use either factory parts or equivalent



ps. i have denied warr on such vehicals

and it states clearly in you owners manual about use of after market parts that are not equal or better quality


we have also had replace about 6 engines on vehicals (1 with 3,300 miles on it ) because of after market oil filters
not having check valve, size and such


so listen to people who have exparience on hyundai

OOh, this is a fun subject, I'm not going to chime in it is just fun to watch.

Hi Brant;
I was just trying to be helpfull.
I respect the fact that you got authorization from Hyundai to use a full synthetic transmission fluid and you gave good advice and it makes sense that going one step further and using full synthetic was a wise decision..
Th Hyundai part # fluid after all is a semi synthetic fluid so I can see your reasoning for going full synthetic with Hyundai's approval
On the other hand , I didn't want to see anyone get led astray about someone suggesting dexron fluid in any Hyundai Accent that is still under warranty.

The bottom line is that if the transmission becomes defective under warranty and is found to be using dexron fluid the warranty is automatically null and void. Customer pays total bill , , full parts and labour . . . no if and's or buts.
To validate warranty , receipts MUST be produced showing the exact brand name and type and number of liters of fluid that was used and the mileage at which it was changed whether it was changed by the owner or the dealer..
After the warranty is over I don't care what they use in it. They are going to pay for repairs then anyway if ever required but hopefully they will never have to do a transmission repair if they continue to use the right fluid recommended for their vehichle according to Hyundai and their owners manual..
W.Y.