Good ATF for 2017 Hyundai Sonata

[Oro_O]

Tomorrow I need to change the ATF in a 2017 sonata, six speed. I understand the proper fluid is Hyundai specific SP-4M, though the owners manual says nothing other than "see a dealer" wrt transmission fluid.

Is that the only fluid to use, or...? I read online some people saying the preferred MaxLife, it gave better performance. I don't know much about Hyundais in detail, other than this is a proprietary transmission.

 

[Jetsfan421]

If it's still under warranty use the sp-4m. If it's not I'd go with maxlife. Do you like the shift feel with the factory fill?

 

[Oro_O]

The drivetrain warranty will be up in a few months (at 90k now) - sees heavy mileage, clearly.

I have not driven it yet; I will tomorrow before I change the fluid and then afterward. It has 90k on it, so the difference will probably be quite noticeable. I will use the MaxLife, I believe. I'll post what I observe.

 

[csandste]

I'm out of warranty and will use Maxlife from here on out. Great stuff.

 

[JustN89]

If you take it to a Hyundai dealer, there's a better chance than not that they will fill it with BG ATF. Of the 4 dealers within 30 minutes of me, they all use BG and all but one will refuse to fill SP4-M and the one that does will charge $100 more. When questioned about using a non-licensed fluid, they say that BG offers their own warranty, so the dealer doesn't worry about maintaining Hyundai's warranty. No joke, that's the response I get.

I've heard of many different fluids being used in Hyundai's 6 speed autos, and no one seems to have a bad report. Between the Hyundai forums and on here, I've read of people using Valvoline Maxlife, Castrol, Amsoil, and of course OEM all without issue. Use whichever you like and don't lose sleep over it. I've got OEM fluid in mine, but the next ATF service will be something else, I imagine, as the OEM fluid is pretty pricey.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You can use Maxlife with no problem

Castrol Full Synthetic ATF is also a great choice

 

[walterjay]

Have used Maxlife with good results. Running it in my 17 SantaFe

 

[dubber09]

to OP:

just get a drain and fill, and MaxLife is great ATF, using it in my 2 cars and daughter's Acura with 30k miles drain/fill schedule.

 

[JustN89]

If you take it to a Hyundai dealer, there's a better chance than not that they will fill it with BG ATF. Of the 4 dealers within 30 minutes of me, they all use BG and all but one will refuse to fill SP4-M and the one that does will charge $100 more. When questioned about using a non-licensed fluid, they say that BG offers their own warranty, so the dealer doesn't worry about maintaining Hyundai's warranty. No joke, that's the response I get.

I've heard of many different fluids being used in Hyundai's 6 speed autos, and no one seems to have a bad report. Between the Hyundai forums and on here, I've read of people using Valvoline Maxlife, Castrol, Amsoil, and of course OEM all without issue. Use whichever you like and don't lose sleep over it. I've got OEM fluid in mine, but the next ATF service will be something else, I imagine, as the OEM fluid is pretty pricey.

Just wanted to piggy back off of my own comment and add that I've even heard of people running the KIA ATF which can be found cheaper than Hyundai's most of the time, as it is the same fluid.

 

[Oro_O]

Well, it ended up not happening, as within 24 hours his brother was at the Subaru dealership deciding to give it up and get a 'ru... .

I did swap the fluid on his Lexus ES330. Toyota dealership gave me a great price on T-IV; I got some extra for my Volvo and our ES.

 

[rob1715]

Under warranty, use SP4M. Out of warranty? Use what you want that specs for it.