The transmission fluid should be either red or somewhat transparent light to medium brown. Some vehicles were shipped from Korea with little or no dye in the transmission fluid, so they won't necessarily have the same red coloring. If the fluid is dark brown it probably needs to be changed. If the fluid smells burnt, the car probably has a transmission problem.
Actually, that lack of red dye seems to be one of the trademarks of a lot of the "SP-III" fluid sold. SP-III is the recommended replacement for a lot of Hyundai and Kia vehicles. In fact, of all of this type of fluid, none that I have seen or purchased is nearly as red as most of the other brands (Dexron, ATF+3, F, etc.).
That does NOT mean it isn't as good a fluid. But it does make it harder to see when it is getting time to replace it.
Tom Wenndt
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