Hyundai Santa Fe 4spd AT = F4A51?

[JTK]

Wow what a complicated web manufacturers can weave for us when it comes to trying to figure out what transmission you've got! As far as I know, the only automobile manufacturer that actually "makes" their own transmissions are GM, Ford and some Chrysler units. All other manufacturers pretty much source them out to Aisin-Warner, Jatco, ZF, etc.. Long story short, the Santa Fe and Sonata apparently use a derivative of the Mitsubishi F4A51, that is also shared with the Dodge Stratus, Mitsubishi Galant and Eclispe. To further twist things, Mitsubishi really never 'made' their own transmissions as far as I know and sourced them from Jatco. So in essence, the F4A51 is really a Jatco derivative as far as I can tell. Anyone know this to be different? BTW, I'm at 40500mi on this trans and I'm sure it's never been drained/filled. I'm REALLY temped to use "suitable for use where SP-III is spec'd" Valvoline Maxlife ATF, but I may use dealer SP-III if they are not ridiculously marked up on price. I'm still covered by the remainder of the Hyundai B/B 5/60 warranty.

Joel

 

[StevieC]

Joel,

Use any SP-III rated fluid and drive happy. (Preferebly a synthetic or semi-synthetic) Out of all the fluids I have tried the Amsoil ATF is the best. It lasts a very long time, stays cherry red and leaves very little residue on the magnet on the drain plug. You will get your money out of that fluid because you can double-triple the OCI on it depending on your driving.

Also the shifting is much much smoother than the dealer stuff.

 

[Familyguy]

Whatever you choose, it can't be any worse than the factory fill. One of my neighbors has a 3 year old SantaFe and he's on his THIRD transmission in 60k miles. They were all replaced under warranty, but egads......

 

[StevieC]

What year and what engine size does he have... I have over 200K KM (120K miles) on my '06 and mine shifts smooth as silk...

 

[caravanmike]

Originally Posted By: JTK
F4A51, that is also shared with the Dodge Stratus, Mitsubishi Galant and Eclispe.
Joel
don't forget select models of chrysler sebring.

i have heard good things about the maxlife atf.

also meeting the spec (or labeled suitable for sp III) are Pennzoil multi vehicle atf, castrol import atf, mobil 1 multi vehicle atf. their might be more! mike

 

[Familyguy]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
What year and what engine size does he have... I have over 200K KM (120K miles) on my '06 and mine shifts smooth as silk...


It's an '05. Not sure which engine is in it...it's a V6 w/AWD.

 

[StevieC]

It would be the 3.5 Litre engine if it's AWD and an '05 as that was all that was offered.

That's interesting... I haven't heard of any transmission issues other than 01's which had burn't clutches due to excess heat which was later corrected with Hyundai outfitting the trucks with Auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: caravanmike
[
also meeting the spec (or labeled suitable for sp III) are Pennzoil multi vehicle atf, castrol import atf, mobil 1 multi vehicle atf. their might be more! mike


+1 The Castrol import or the Mobil 1 is what I would suggest.

 

[Familyguy]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
It would be the 3.5 Litre engine if it's AWD and an '05 as that was all that was offered.

That's interesting... I haven't heard of any transmission issues other than 01's which had burn't clutches due to excess heat which was later corrected with Hyundai outfitting the trucks with Auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator.



Yeah, not sure what the issue is either, but I know I'd be pretty torqued if I lost the use of my SUV 3 times (for about a week each time) for the same issue again and again. His plan is to drop it like a hot potato when he hits 100K miles and the powertrain warranty is over. My little sister has a new FWD Tuscon and loves it.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
I haven't heard of any transmission issues other than 01's which had burn't clutches due to excess heat which was later corrected with Hyundai outfitting the trucks with Auxiliary coolers in front of the radiator.



My 2.7L AWD does not have an auxiliary trans cooler. Just the radiator in-tank cooler. It does however have a small finned aluminum cooler for the PSF.

Joel

 

[StevieC]

If it is in the front with the two hoses running in front of it, then it is for the transmission. The PSF on mine runs below the radiator at the bottom and is a copper tube.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
If it is in the front with the two hoses running in front of it, then it is for the transmission. The PSF on mine runs below the radiator at the bottom and is a copper tube.


No Sir. You can see a pic of the little PSF cooler on my "bug screen" thread. The hoses are clearly plumbed to the PS system. Like said, there is no aux. ATF cooler on my 2008.

Joel

 

[caravanmike]

my bro's 2004 has a trans cooler!

 

[JTK]

They must have cheaped out on my particular make/model/year. Thankfully the trans has a drain plug on the case and a dipstick tube to fill from. There's no removable bottom pan on it. There is a big front mounted stamped steel pan on it for access to the guts. I gotta grab a new crush washer, some ATF and have at it.

Joel

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: StevieC
If it is in the front with the two hoses running in front of it, then it is for the transmission. The PSF on mine runs below the radiator at the bottom and is a copper tube.


No Sir. You can see a pic of the little PSF cooler on my "bug screen" thread. The hoses are clearly plumbed to the PS system. Like said, there is no aux. ATF cooler on my 2008.

Joel
Joel... Sorry I mixed you up with another BITOG-er that was talking about an '01... My bad. You are correct and I did see that in the PIC. I guess they put a bigger cooling element in the radiator or a bigger transmission sump size or something... Very interesting...

Joel if you can afford it and intend on keeping the truck for a while, I would purchase a small external cooler and run the line that goes from the Radiator back to the transmission to an auxiliary cooler first and mount it in front of the radiator. I would even add a Magnefine filter to that line to help filter out debris in the oil. Will certainly help keep your transmission in better shape and help it to last a very long time.

 

[JTK]

Yep that would be ideal Steve. I'd have to get creative with rubber hose and some wire loom for chafe protection. The 'rubber' cooler lines running from trans to radiator are super short and there's no room to work in that area. I'd have to route everyting out front where there's room galore. I may just stick w/ more frequent partial drain/fills & see how that goes.

Joel

 

[1 SX]

EDIT.

 

[caravanmike]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: StevieC
If it is in the front with the two hoses running in front of it, then it is for the transmission. The PSF on mine runs below the radiator at the bottom and is a copper tube.


No Sir. You can see a pic of the little PSF cooler on my "bug screen" thread. The hoses are clearly plumbed to the PS system. Like said, there is no aux. ATF cooler on my 2008.

Joel
Joel... Sorry I mixed you up with another BITOG-er that was talking about an '01... My bad. You are correct and I did see that in the PIC. I guess they put a bigger cooling element in the radiator or a bigger transmission sump size or something... Very interesting...

Joel if you can afford it and intend on keeping the truck for a while, I would purchase a small external cooler and run the line that goes from the Radiator back to the transmission to an auxiliary cooler first and mount it in front of the radiator. I would even add a Magnefine filter to that line to help filter out debris in the oil. Will certainly help keep your transmission in better shape and help it to last a very long time.

why would they go back wards and delete a trans cooler? mind boggling!

 

[StevieC]

Maybe this vehicle has a bigger radiator or something... Or they felt it wasn't needed as the temperature wasn't getting too high like in the old models? Who knows...

 

[unDummy]

ATF coolers cost money.
The inadequate in-radiator ATF cooler is deemed adequate for some.

You are due for an ATF flush. Start a yearly drain/refill regimen now. And, if you want more new ATF, do a couple weekly drain/refills to remove more of the old ATF.
Install an ATF cooler if budget allows. Salvage yard OE ATF coolers are a great choice.
Besides the universal or multi-vehicle ATFs, ATF+4 is another option.