transmission fluid change

IMO, the only reason to do it is if the warranty says it needs to be done. How does the fluid look? If it is dark, smells burnt, then yes, it should be changed and you should try to find the reason it is in bad condition. It does not have to be done by the dealer, in any case. Save the receipts.

Personally, I don't change fluid at all. The one car I did change the fluid is the only car that ever had transmission problems. Others still functioned normally and the fluid was clean at 150,000+ miles. Engine oil is contaminated from the exhaust gasses, blowby and such, but the transmission is a relatively closed environment that can stay clean for years and many miles.

Who would know if the dealer "ripped you off"? What did they charge you? What reason did they give you for offering to change it? Did you agree to have them change it? Have you read your owner's manual?

The maintenance interval for replacement is 105,000 miles. Inspection is required at 30,000 miles, and replacement is only needed at that time if warranted by the fluid condition. Wherever you have the servicing done, be absolutely certain that only SPIII fluid is used.

I agree with you that the environment inside an automatic is MUCH nicer than that inside the engine, but automatic transmissions still have many wear parts, in particular the clutch packs. These wear particles have to go somewhere and that somewhere is the oil and filter. I've always changed my fluid and filter at about 50,000 mile intervals and I've never yet had an automatic transmission fail, including a Chrysler minivan that had 178,000 miles on it. And these minivans (1996 Plymouth) supposedly had an especially trouble-prone transmission. I personally think much of the trouble was driver abuse combined with improper (wrong fluid type) or nonexistent maintenance.

Matt

My gf has a 2002 Hyundai Elantra, that imho is nothing but a piece of crap.. at 63k the motor went in it, she went to hyundai dealer and they told her that the motor wasnt covered under the 100k warranty cause its a wearable item.. $800 later for a used motor and install, recieved a card in the mail from hyundai dealer saying that they thought it was time for the 105k transmission filter change and fluid change.. me being mechanically inclined and having access to a garage i bought the filter and the sp3 fluid and proceeded back to the garage to do the drain/fill the filter they gave me was of the spin on type, couldnt figure out where the filter went, this was on a friday, monday morning went back to the dealer they asked for the vin i gave it, they said oh this car doesnt have the spin on filter, they sent a mechanic out to verify, they told me it has an internal filter that the only way to change would be to split the case and it doesnt need to be changed because it is a 'disposable' transmission.. i figured if she has a disposable transmission than it doesnt need the fluid changed if there isnt a filter to change. .they gave me a quote of around $3800 for the disposable transmission.. wtf is up with that? ?

"illusion123a" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...

I never heard of such a thing. Did you pursue it with Hyundai or another dealer? Wear items are things like brakes, wiper blades. light bulbs. Timing belt is a wear item and should be changed at 60k miles. If that is the situation and the belt was not changed, they are correct.

That's the problem with posts like the OP's Edwin. Grossly oversimplified statements like "the motor is a wear item" mean nothing. But then again, the tactic of grossly misrepresenting something is common among those who wish to piss in their own pants about things and blame those around them for having noticed the wet spot.

I find your story quite interesting. My local Hyundai dealer states a filter change at 100k miles with a fluid flush every 30k miles. We live in Arizona (dusty conditions) and all my vehicles are serviced the same way (oil-3k, tranny flush 30k, K&N filters, etc.)

As far as the engine, they should've pro-rated it, as long as she was the original owner. The clutch was going on my 02 Sonata and the pro- rated (wearable item) price was $600. Hyundai had a $3500 owner loyalty rebate, traded it in on a 06 LX. My dealer stands behind my cars. Even had a dentless paint removal guy remove a dent (paint shop wanted $600, their body guy- $100) and they said no charge, removed only 99% of the ding.

Steve

I find your story interesting as well. I don't see the logic of changing the fluid and not the filter and I definitely don't see the logic of using K&N filters in dusty conditions!

Matt

Dentless Paint Removal... Errrr.. I mean Paintless Dent Removal is the way to go. I had a Town and Country that had a garbage can get blown into it during a windstorm. I got two quotes of over $650 from body shops before I traded it. I called the local PDR guy, and he did a great job. $200. 2nd row, pix #3 and 4 - light blue T&C.

He did the work in an hour in the parking lot where I work. The dealer I traded to has you sign off whether the vehicle has ever had paintwork - another way of asking if it's been in an accident. Of course, being no paint was used, I could honestly say no... Of course, a trash can, or a shopping cart putting a divot in a door - no matter how bad - doesn't even begin to create the same kind of issues any collision would.

Sorry for the delay in responding to you Edwin. At the time I was driving a tow truck, on my shift I got a phone call from my gf she was broke down at the firestation parking lot, I went over and popped the hood she said it just quit, figured it was anything but the motor being gone. Everything looked fine under the hood, spun over very fast.. Hooked onto it with the tow truck towed it directly to the Hyundai dealer.. they tore the valve cover off and on inspection the key that holds the timing chain gear onto the read cam shaft had sheared off which had caused only the front cam the one attached to timing belt to spin and not the rear very fast.. but they wouldnt cover this.. the next closest hyundai dealer is 100mi away. my boss wasnt gonna go for a free tow there :)

The thing is, Steve, if your using a K&N filter thats great for you, this hyundai does not have a filter that can be 'user' changed. they told me the case has to be split to change the filter that is in this car .. its a 2002 Hyundai Elantra 2.0 3spd with OD automatic. that is then when they said its a disposable tranny

Certainly sounds like a part that should be covered. I never heard of declaring an engine a 'wear part' , especially a key. like that. Timing belt, air and oil filters, spark plugs, are wear parts.