I moved to Denver a month ago - had snow and a freeze about two weeks ago. I have a 2003 Sonata which has 35000 miles- had 30000 mile checkup at AAA Repair Facility in San Diego - they used non-Hynudai Transmission Fluid - and gave me documentation that it was OK. In last week I have heard a low level whine when the engine is in third between 38 and 42 mph (approx 2300 rpm) - only when accelerating or steady speed. When car shifts to 4th it goes away - when car downshifts it is not present. Any suggestions?

 

You voided the warranty by using the unapproved trans fluid.

 

according to the documentation I have - both from the AA Repair Facility and the Transmission Fluid Manufacturer (a major manufacturer in the field) they say that the Warranty is not VOIDED - but I guess we shall see.

 

If the documentation you got from the shop says the fluid is compliant with the specs of the fluid Hyundai uses (SP-III), then you should be okay. It sounds like they've already agreed with this. You're actually pretty lucky because using non-SP-III fluid can cause transmission failure, and if you used the wrong fluid the warranty would be voided. At lot of shopsclaim they have a "universal" AT fluid that conforms to all specs, but usually that means just Dexron and Mercon, but not SP-III. Your recourse then would be to go after the shop that used the wrong fluid.

If they said it was SP-III and Hyundai is honoring it, thank your lucky stars you kept your receipt!

 

A few years ago, a customer came in with a bads transaxle, full of Dexron II. She sued the quick-lube place that installed it in Small Claims Court. She lost. The judge said it was HER responsibilty to make sure the fluid specified in her manual was used.

Nice, eh?

 

See, I've always heard that you can sue an expert you're paying to do something they are supposed to be expert in, if they do it wrong. Doesn't mean you'll win, I guess, but until recently I never paid much attention to which AT fluid to use; if a shop advised me to use the "universal" stuff, I wouldn't have questioned it.

I noticed that when I got my AT flushed at my Hyundai dealer, they listed some random part number for the fluid and not the fluid type. I asked before they did the change what they used, and they said *only* SP-III; I asked again afterwards and they confirmed that (even though you can't tell from the receipt. So I made a little notation on the invoice that the service advisor (I included her name) stated that SP-III was used. Just in case.