Hi all. We had our 2002 Santa Fe serviced yesterday. The mechanic mentioned the transmission fluid was about $8.00 a quart and that we needed about 10 quarts. Is there some alternative to Hyundai's factory fluid? Is 10 quarts about right? Thanks for any info.
Zaxdad
Not yet. For now you're stuck with Hyundai's fluid. You can beat the dealer price on the internet but then you've got to do the work yourself. The couple of times that I've had to buy items from my local Hyundai dealer I negotiated prices with them and found it easy to get them to match, or nearly match what I found on the net. Good for everyone - I saved money and they still made money. Not to mention that next time I need stuff they will be high on my list.
For a drain and fill 5 quarts should do it. If they're doing a flush, it'll depend on the machine they use.
What you need is called "SP-III ATF". You can get the exact fluid that Hyundai calls for from Hyundai, KIA, Mitsubishi, and any well-stocked Chrysler (Make sure you get SP-III, not Chrysler ATF+3 or ATF+4, tell them its for a mitsu-built transmission) dealer. Only one local parts store was able to even *order* it, and they wanted more for it by the case than the Chrysler dealer wanted by the quart.
Around here Hyundai wants about 70% more for their SP-III than the KIA dealer 12 miles away. The Chrysler and Mitsu dealer prices being somewhere in-between (the local Chrysler dealer has quit stocking it). I figure if its good enough for KIA's Sportage 2.7's and Optima 2.7's, its good enough for my Santa Fe's.
Neither car had much (more than a small smear on a paper towel) crud on the drain plug. About 1/100th as much as my 1992 Explorer's A4LD at the same milage/interval (and it had a filter...)
My 01 required right at 6 quarts to refill back to middle of 'full hot' (filled back up to 'cold full', drove it about 6 miles, was about 1/4 way up into the "full hot' range, another 3/8 of a quart brought it to the top), the 03 required 5.5 quarts. I also noticed the bottom of my
01's transmission is much flatter than the 03's, which may explain the quantity difference.I personally wouldn't 'powerflush' a properly working transmission. If the transmission has burned up fluid or excessive 'trash' its time to diagnose the problem - usually involving removal from the vehicle and cracking the case. Might as well just overhaul it if you've got that much labor invested already.
JS
The KIA dealer wants $9.00 a quart!
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