ATF drain and refill, fluid and procedure

[actionstan]

Hello All,

I recently asked a question about my transmission in my 2013 kia forte with 13,000 miles being a life time fill. Most of you said what i thought you would, and how I felt aswell.. that life time fill means the life of the transmission, and NOT the life of the car.

So.. I have been contemplating on how to handle this. The process to do the drain and refill on this transmission is quiet in depth and difficult, and requires a scan too.

That being said.. If I just drained as much out of the transmission fluid AS possible, and measured it out, then put exactly that much fresh transmission fluid back in.. could this cause issues? I know the old transmission fluid will have wear particles and probably have broken down some, So to the eye what looks like the same volume may actually not be?(if that makes sense.)

I want to avoid taking it to the dealer for the ATF changes as I have heard they are quiet expensive. 2-300 dollars using the oem fluid.

Also the Kia requires a SP-IV specced fluid, the hyundai version is obtainable from amazon at 17-20 dollars a quart.

But I did notice that valvoline offers Valvoline Import Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid that meets the specs of Kia's SP-IV. Would this ATF be ok, or should I try to stick with OEM?

http://www.valvoline.com/products/brands/valvoline/automatic-transmission-fluid/137


Thanks!

 

[ABerns]

Interesting question. I can't comment as to how much your particular car gets out, but a lot of people (myself included) do a simple drain-and-fill and call it a day. I do it more often than I would do a full exchange, but I don't want to hassle with the full exchange effort.

 

[2oldtommy]

With 100K warranty on the Kia drivetrain, I would certainly use ONLY factory fluids. IMO you are very early in your accessment that the transmission needs a drain and refill at 13K miles. Is there a problem? if so, let the warranty take care of it. I don't see a need for service anytime before 50K miles, if then. FWIW

Oldtommy

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: ABerns
Interesting question. I can't comment as to how much your particular car gets out, but a lot of people (myself included) do a simple drain-and-fill and call it a day. I do it more often than I would do a full exchange, but I don't want to hassle with the full exchange effort.


Yea what I'm looking to do is a simple drain and refill, but this car doesn't have a dipstick to check the ATF level, which is why i was wondering if draining out what I can, and measuring it and refilling with that much fresh ATF would be accurate.

Thanks!

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: 2oldtommy
With 100K warranty on the Kia drivetrain, I would certainly use ONLY factory fluids. IMO you are very early in your accessment that the transmission needs a drain and refill at 13K miles. Is there a problem? if so, let the warranty take care of it. I don't see a need for service anytime before 50K miles, if then. FWIW

Oldtommy


No issues, smooth as can be.. I am just wondering what to do at the point and time when I determine it will need one, I don't buy into the lifetime fill stuff. I had also considered a early change as preventative maintenance as most say auto transmission have the most wear particles In the first few thousand miles.

 

[panthermike]

That's a good question, I hope someone knowledgeable on the subject stumbles on this thread. I've wondered the same thing, I know ATF changes on sealed units usually call for a certain temp while doing the service. You bring up a good point, would draining off and refilling with the exact same amount be ok?

FWIW, I believe you can get the Kia ATF for much less than 17-20. Actually, I think Hyundai is the one that charges much more than Kia does for the exact same ATF.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: actionstan

Yea what I'm looking to do is a simple drain and refill, but this car doesn't have a dipstick to check the ATF level, which is why i was wondering if draining out what I can, and measuring it and refilling with that much fresh ATF would be accurate.
Thanks!


This has been an issue for LX owners since late 04! No dipstick. But if the fluid level is correct when you begin and you carefully measure it then you simply cannot do any harm.

As you stated most of the junk is formed early in the life of a slushbox. This is an excellent time to change the filter. Why not consider a fluid exchange instead? You would follow the exact same protocol...

 

[tommygunn]

There is no reason to change the ATF before the 100k mark

If something does happen during the warranty period, they will ask you why you changed it needlessly.

At the very minimum, use OEM ATF until 100k or 10 years, but a fluid change isn't even necessary at all. If it fails, it's on them.

However, Maxlife ATF is a great product, as is Mag 1 Low-Vis ATF

 

[Donald]

How about just installing a Magnefine inline filter and not messing with the ATF for now. It should catch most of the wear particles.

There must be a way to check the fluid level without a dipstick.

The question is not whether it will fail during the first 100K miles. But maybe you will get it to 200K if you got rid of the wear particles now and only 125K if you do not. (Just examples).

 

[dnewton3]

I am on record, many hundreds of times, of calling into question the rationale (or lack thereof) of frequent lube changes. That is because I'm speaking of the reoccuring engine oil changes, typically.

However, I am ALSO a fan of flushing out the factory fill fluids as soon as practical. Not because the fluid themselves are in question, but the remnants of machining and assembly, and break-in. Diffs, transmissions, transfer cases and such are no different than engines in that they see an inordinate amount of "stuff" floating around when new. To get this stuff out, is a "good thing" (credit to Martha Stewart).

I am in favor of changing the transmission fluid in question. Drain, measure and fill as much as you can easily get, and don't worry about the small drops sitting in the corner of the pan, or in the TC. You will get the majority out if you just drain/fill. On my Fusion, there was a small drain plug at the bottom of the case (not the pan) that allowed me to do this very act.

Since your vehicle is still under a nice long warranty, I'd use a fluid that is specifically approved (may not be OEM, but certainly needs to be fully "approved" by OEM), or use a fluid that has a strong warranty statement and the fiscal might to back it up such as Amsoil.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: actionstan
Originally Posted By: ABerns
Interesting question. I can't comment as to how much your particular car gets out, but a lot of people (myself included) do a simple drain-and-fill and call it a day. I do it more often than I would do a full exchange, but I don't want to hassle with the full exchange effort.


Yea what I'm looking to do is a simple drain and refill, but this car doesn't have a dipstick to check the ATF level, which is why i was wondering if draining out what I can, and measuring it and refilling with that much fresh ATF would be accurate.

Thanks!


If you drain it at full operating temp (which is a good idea to get out all of the junk), then allow the fluid to get to ambiant temp and then measure it's volume and put that much back in.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I am on record, many hundreds of times, of calling into question the rationale (or lack thereof) of frequent lube changes. That is because I'm speaking of the reoccuring engine oil changes, typically.

However, I am ALSO a fan of flushing out the factory fill fluids as soon as practical. Not because the fluid themselves are in question, but the remnants of machining and assembly, and break-in. Diffs, transmissions, transfer cases and such are no different than engines in that they see an inordinate amount of "stuff" floating around when new. To get this stuff out, is a "good thing" (credit to Martha Stewart).

I am in favor of changing the transmission fluid in question. Drain, measure and fill as much as you can easily get, and don't worry about the small drops sitting in the corner of the pan, or in the TC. You will get the majority out if you just drain/fill. On my Fusion, there was a small drain plug at the bottom of the case (not the pan) that allowed me to do this very act.

Since your vehicle is still under a nice long warranty, I'd use a fluid that is specifically approved (may not be OEM, but certainly needs to be fully "approved" by OEM), or use a fluid that has a strong warranty statement and the fiscal might to back it up such as Amsoil.


The point you make is exactly my thought process, Id like to get most of the factory fluid out in a timely manner, just to try to get any large debris out. That being said, is their a way to find out if the Valvoline I linked above is approved by KIA? The Valvoline says it meets the SP-IV specs, And my manual calls for SP-IV ATF.. so in my mind this should mean it would be covered under warranty, but then again I have no idea, But I think this would fall under the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. (just like as long as I use any brand of oil that meets specs, they cant (in theory) deny a warranty claim)

 

[David1]

I would leave it alone.... If it drives great then why waste the $... I mean you never know what could happen.

Just leave it alone and leave $ in your bank.