2015 Santa Fe 3.3L Coolant Change Question……..

[dkryan]

Hello BITOGers and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

The owner’s manual for the 2015 Santa Fe 3.3L states the coolant should be changed after the first 120,000 miles or 60 months, then it should be changed every 30,000 miles thereafter.

I’m the second owner which means the 10 year/100k miles powertrain warranty was reduced to 5 years/50k miles, so warranty compliance is not a consideration in this matter.

The SUV was built in January 2015 and currently has 50,400 miles on it.

No, I haven’t tested the coolant to determine what level of protection it’s at.

I’m debating whether to change it. Thoughts?

More particularly, I’m confused as to why the OEM/factory coolant is “good” for 120k miles or 60 months, with any new coolant added via a system flush being good for only 30k miles.(?)

On another note (literally) in the same maintenance recommendation section, Hyundai said the automatic transaxle fluid doesn’t require changing. Uh, right.

Thanks!

 

[Propflux01]

If the coolant looks good, leave it. The time portion is really not that important. It is just a baseline. If you cannot stand the thought of that, then by all means, use the (an) Asian formula of coolant and press on with pride. The 5 year-120000 is to get past warranty with the least amount of maintenance. They know the fluid will at least last that long. Change it, then look at it 30K later. It'll probably look and test as good as it was when you put it in. When I had my 3.3L, I changed mine right at 100K. it wasn't bad at all, really.

Transmissions, are "filled for life". Again, another "get by with little maintenance". I pan dropped mine at 60K, then again at 100k. On my newer Hyundai's, I pan dropped at 25K and again at 100K. I've already pan dropped my 2021 Tucson when it hit 25K. for me, I use Hyundai/KIA sp-iv-4M. The KIA version is usually cheaper, but it is identical fluid.

 

[The Critic]

More particularly, I’m confused as to why the OEM/factory coolant is “good” for 120k miles or 60 months, with any new coolant added via a system flush being good for only 30k miles.(?)

For the longest time, Hyundai did not have a long life coolant available for service fill. They just had a generic recommendation of Ethylene glycol coolant. So, not being able to specify the service fill probably affected their confidence in the subsequent service interval.

Also, perhaps the service instructions only called for a radiator drain and refill, so only 1/2 of the coolant was removed.

Lastly, stripped head bolts are a real problem on the 3.3’s. The issue is similar to the early 2AZ-FE Toyotas.

 

[dkryan]

Thanks for the replies.

I’ll give the coolant another couple of years before I flush the system.

On another note, while the owner’s manual cites “120k miles or 60 months,” several online websites have shown “120k miles/10 years,” versus 5 years, which fits the original warranty period.

CRITIC - can you elaborate on the stripped head bolt issue?

I had seen a YouTube video of “the three most common problems with the Hyundai 3.3L” and stripped head bolts was not one of them.

 

[The Critic]

CRITIC - can you elaborate on the stripped head bolt issue?

I had seen a YouTube video of “the three most common problems with the Hyundai 3.3L” and stripped head bolts was not one of them.

I seem to see the question pop-up on a few professional tech groups at every month (or two). I assume we are talking about the same 3.3L that is used in the Sorento, correct?

 

[Supersonic]

Just watched a couple of related head bolt video's;

 

[dkryan]

I seem to see the question pop-up on a few professional tech groups at every month (or two). I assume we are talking about the same 3.3L that is used in the Sorento, correct?

I’m not certain but I would guess it’s highly likely they are the same engine.

 

[slomo]

the coolant should be changed after the first 120,000 miles or 60 months, then it should be changed every 30,000 miles thereafter.

Wow, big spread there. Something doesn't add up. Other words I wouldn't follow that factory 120k change interval. Just dump it every 5 years and never look back.