Hyundai Accent 2003 ATF recommendations?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Messages
84
Location
Louisville, KY
I have a Hyundai Accent 2003.
http://www.accent-club.ru/club/accent_manual.pdf
The manual says
F070E03A-AAT
"Use HYUNDAI ATF SP-II M or GENUINE DIAMOND ATF SPII M when adding or changing fluid."

This thread lists my driving habits and the driving conditions (tl;dr: hard and fast, hills, stop and go, highways, and average 20F temperatures in wet snow and thick ice):
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3603691/2003_Accent,_might_need_winter#Post3603691
Don't know when the last time the fluid was changed. Only going to have the 2003 Hyundai Accent until around June and buy any old Honda manual to practice with, then get a 2003 or later Honda manual that has had aftermarket work done on it.

There's already a thread for Hyundai/Kia SPIII replacement fluid, but the manual for the 2003 accent says to use ATF SPII M, not SPIII. The thread has a different pick for almost every user, with no consensus as to which type or brand of ATF is superior.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2502685/What_to_replace_Kia/Hyundai_SP

I made a spreadsheet showing the various ATF recommended as SPIII replacement fluid to organize the different picks. Let me see if I've got this right...there's five different types (SPII, ATF SPIII, ATF +4, SPIV, and multi-vehicle) and seven different brands people have picked. Two of the types don't have specific brand recommendations at all (ATF +4 and SPIV). Sheet 5 has the relevant information.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...#gid=1484667637
 
Last edited:
ATF +4 is a great oil to use, also Enuos has an SP III product- Type SP. Those are my first two choices and I've ran both without issues.
 
I'm currently running Maxlife [with LG Red] in my 2008 Elantra and it shifts great. I would think that Maxlife alone would do the same in your application.

Eric: Have you ran ATF+4 in your Hyundai?...and if so how did it do?

My 1992 Sonata spec'd ATF 7176 (I think that was the #) which was a precursor to ATF +3 so I have wondered how ATF+4 would work in place of SPIII? I have 5 quarts of Genuine Chrysler ATF+4 to use somewhere as my b-I-l sold his Neon.
 
Any full synthetic universal multivehicle ATF that mentions the SPii/iim/iii will work great. I've used ATF+4 in that vintage Accent and multiple Kia/Hyundais requiring that spec and they never skipped a beat.

At the local autoparts store, Valvoline, Peak, Mag1, Castrol, RoyalPurple... are available. Amsoil Redline Amalie Lubegard... have fluids online that can be delivered to your doorstep.
 
I have a 2003 Santa Fe. I have done an ATF drain/fill with genuine Hyundai SPIII every 30K miles since new and almost have 200K miles on the vehicle. It still shift like new. I would highly recommend sticking with the original ATF. It really isn't that expensive. I ordered a case of it online (via eBay I think) last time.

I asked the same questions about aftermarket ATF. I thought about it and decided that for me it was a better idea to go with the OEM fluid. Oil? Use whatever. ATF? I like using the OEM stuff unless there is a direct replacement after market. The multi-vehicle fluids concern me. I'm not saying they won't work, but I just decided that there was no compelling reason for me to experiment with them.
 
Is not that expensive but by cumulative web experience spIII is nothing special. In my opinion the equivalent of Supertech.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I'm currently running Maxlife [with LG Red] in my 2008 Elantra and it shifts great. I would think that Maxlife alone would do the same in your application.

Eric: Have you ran ATF+4 in your Hyundai?...and if so how did it do?

My 1992 Sonata spec'd ATF 7176 (I think that was the #) which was a precursor to ATF +3 so I have wondered how ATF+4 would work in place of SPIII? I have 5 quarts of Genuine Chrysler ATF+4 to use somewhere as my b-I-l sold his Neon.



Just fine- in spite of the Hyundai freaks claiming it was going to splode my tranny into little bits and pieces... well it did... but for completely different reasons.

In fact once I exhaust my current supply of Eneos SP III, I'll likely go back to ATF +4. It seems to be a better oil all together.
 
Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Is not that expensive but by cumulative web experience spIII is nothing special. In my opinion the equivalent of Supertech.


Possibly. I've seen the same research. What I *haven't* seen is specific examples of Hyundai owners going 200K+ miles using a works-in-almost-everything aftermarket ATF. They may exist, but none ever responded to the thread I started a few years ago and I've not seen any examples. Therefore, I decided to play it safe and stick with SPIII. When in doubt, use OEM fluid. I have a Toyota that specs DexIII, and have used non-OEM DEXIII since new. I don't have an issue with that. I do wonder about the one-size-fits-all fluids, however. They are probably fine, but I don't like to take any chances. I keep my vehicles a LONG time.
 
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Is not that expensive but by cumulative web experience spIII is nothing special. In my opinion the equivalent of Supertech.


Possibly. I've seen the same research. What I *haven't* seen is specific examples of Hyundai owners going 200K+ miles using a works-in-almost-everything aftermarket ATF. They may exist, but none ever responded to the thread I started a few years ago and I've not seen any examples. Therefore, I decided to play it safe and stick with SPIII. When in doubt, use OEM fluid. I have a Toyota that specs DexIII, and have used non-OEM DEXIII since new. I don't have an issue with that. I do wonder about the one-size-fits-all fluids, however. They are probably fine, but I don't like to take any chances. I keep my vehicles a LONG time.


I have an older Sonata, at 108k miles with 100% Redline D4 in it for 50k miles.
Car is mechanically cheaply made, parts are chosen/anticipated to last only for the duration of manufacturers warranty. Many times they die before. Redline might not be needed, the car does not deserve it. But it is in now.
In short Hyundais Kias of last decade were not engineered to last as long as 200k. Exceptions do not break the rule.
 
pbm, which is superior, Lubegard red or platinum? Assume I'm going to drain, flush, and refill with only one fluid (rather than mixing different types).

Greasymechtech, that's quite a list in the second paragraph of your first post: "At the local autoparts store, Valvoline, Peak, Mag1, Castrol, RoyalPurple... are available. Amsoil Redline Amalie Lubegard... have fluids online that can be delivered to your doorstep." Can you narrow it down to your first or second top picks?

The_Eric, can you name at least one ATF +4 brand that you plan to buy, or is reviewed higher than other ATF +4 brands? The list of ATF +4 top picks is at zero as of the time of this post.

Since there has been no concession in kozanoglu's argument against SPIII, I'm rejecting it as a possibility until counterarguments are made. Specifically, kozangolu's proposition that SPIII is no better than Supertech has not been argued against other than mrdctaylor's anecdotal evidence (I realize that all evidence is generally anecdotal, but it's still a relatively small sample size).

Thanks for the responses everyone. There hasn't been a consenus in this thread either--take a look at the spreadsheet for the showdown breakdown:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...#gid=1484667637
There haven't been any specific ATF +4 brand recommendations (if there's even one, I'll include it as a possibility). Greasymechtech didn't make a top pick for a multi-vehicle ATF, but it's got to be synthetic. It appears it is down to two choices (both of which must have Lubegard Red added (as long as the added quantity doesn't exceed the 6.1L capacity of the system--I'm guessing it gets a whole bottle per fill)): Valvoline MaxLife® DEX/MERC ATF (recommended by JC1 and pbm) and Redline D4 (recommended by kozanoglu)--both fluids are fully synthetic. Based on Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc getting two recommendations versus Redline D4's one recommendation, I'd go with it, but only if the thread died off for a week with no replies.
 
Probably Valvoline due to it's price and availability.

I did have some Amsoil in there for around 50k miles- until the diff cross pin slid out at grenaded the case.
 
joel96:

I have only used LG Red so I can't comment on the other versions.
It's my understanding that LG Platinum is a 'converter'...(it makes Dex 3 suitable for use in other apps) while LG Red is used with the recommended fluid. I've used LG Red with Toyota T-IV, Honda Z-1, Maxlife, etc...always with good results....
 
Use whatever ATF is available/affordable to you, that mentions the spec, that you require, on the bottle or datasheet. There is no best or top pick.

Lubegard is not needed but can be added. Differences between red, black, and platinum can be found on lubegards website.

Consensus also means nothing to me. Do what YOU think is best.
 
Just noticed the manual says to use PSF-3 fluid, but everyone has said to use the same fluid placed in the ATF reservoir. Can I safely ignore that bit of instruction from the official manual?
 
Originally Posted By: joel96

Since there has been no concession in kozanoglu's argument against SPIII, I'm rejecting it as a possibility until counterarguments are made. Specifically, kozangolu's proposition that SPIII is no better than Supertech has not been argued against other than mrdctaylor's anecdotal evidence (I realize that all evidence is generally anecdotal, but it's still a relatively small sample size).


True, my sample size of 1 may not be compelling. Nevertheless, I have 190K on the tranny and have had zero issues. YMMV. I guess we're coming at it from different angles. For me, I couldn't find any compelling reason to use something other than the factory-installed and recommended fluid (SPIII), so I stuck with it. It looks like you are wanting to specifically use something different unless you can find a compelling *TO* use SPIII. It may or may not be spectacular fluid from a VOA perspective, but it *is* what Hyundai engineers specifically recommend. I have no idea if it is better than Supertech or not. I do know that when I drain ~ 4 quarts every 30K miles it looks to be in great shape. That's--and the fact that my transmission is working as well as ever--keeps me using it. If it ain't broke...

Anyway, to each their own. I'm not arguing against using something different. I considered it and just decided to share the my thoughts since I'd come to a different conclusion years ago. Good luck. Hyundai made much better vehicles in this era than they were given credit for. My Santa Fe has been trouble free.
 
The shift quality on my wife's new 2007 Elantra started to go south at about 40K miles. Did a fluid exchange and put in ATF+4, probably SuperTech, whatever was cheapest. Shifted like new again. Now up to about 160K miles total still on the same ATF+4, still shifts like new. No plans to change the fluid, it just works. I had the same experience on our '99 Dodge Grand Caravan. Exchanged out the ATF+3 for ATF+4, and it just works seemingly for ever. We traded the minivan at 220K miles, transmission shifting like new.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top