Santa Fe Owners-Change your transmission fluid!

[SoNic67]

It turns out the dealers recommend a 50,000 mile flush-and Hyundai says it's "lifetime". Which I guess means 100,000 miles-the length of the power train warranty!

You have guessed wrong. Read the owner manual.
Hyundai/Kia says that basically any vehicle driven in US urban areas (stop and go, short trips), in ambient temperatures above 90F, is considered used in "hard conditions" and that "lifetime" doesn't apply anymore.

All Hyundai’s burn up some transmission fluid, at least around here in the dc-metro area. I’d pull a dipstick at a 10-15k oil change and the fluid would be dark brown and smell…although Hyundai stated brown fluid doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to service it.

In my experience all Asian original ATF fill do that. Kia, Toyota... that was my experience with my cars. My friend's Honda too. All look dark after about 30-50k miles driven in city traffic.
When I drained and filled with Castrol it barely changed color between changes.

You can bet, the OEM does not have ultra-longevity at the top of their priorities list. So when they say "lifetime" transmission fluid, take that with a grain of salt. I have preached this for a long time. Change early and often.

BTW no manufacturer defines the meaning of "lifetime". It's just s marketing term. They have the small print to take them out of any liability claims.
They will happily sell you a car every 5-10 years.

 

[CKN]

You have guessed wrong. Read the owner manual.
Hyundai/Kia says that basically any vehicle driven in US urban areas (stop and go, short trips), in ambient temperatures above 90F, is considered used in "hard conditions" and that "lifetime" doesn't apply anymore.


In my experience all Asian original ATF fill do that. Kia, Toyota... that was my experience with my cars. My friend's Honda too. All look dark after about 30-50k miles driven in city traffic.
When I drained and filled with Castrol it barely changed color between changes.


BTW no manufacturer defines the meaning of "lifetime". It's just s marketing term. They have the small print to take them out of any liability claims.
They will happily sell you a car every 5-10 years.

I did look in the owners manual-last night as a matter of fact. Granted-I was looking at the "Chart" and not reading any fine print. But it said no service is needed on the transmission. BTW-the Service Manager where I had the work performed said he gets transmissions in all the time that hasn't been touched-transmission fluid wise for over 100,000 miles. He said any vehicle with over 100,000 and hasn't had a transmission service before he turns away and won't perform the service. He says he doesn't want to "buy" anybody a new transmission.

 

[wemay]

@CKN

I agree. Our Santa Fe Sport 2.0T gets changed every 40-50k.

 

[SoNic67]

He said any vehicle with over 100,000 and hasn't had a transmission service before he turns away and won't perform the service. He says he doesn't want to "buy" anybody a new transmission.

That's a smart move! When I was young and stupid, I had an 1985 Toyota Van (that's the whole name) that had 120k miles when I got it and some shop offered to flush the transmission. I accepted and sure enough, when I drove it away it started to have hard flares from 1st to 2nd. So hard, that the rear wheels would spin if the gas was pressed when shifting. Had developed a habit to lift the foot just at the flare moment.
To fix it, the shop wanted $800 (I paid for that car $1600). A shop guy even made fun of me: "why would you want to fix that, it's so cool, like a sports car!"
This was year 2000, I was making $12/hr, so I sold it to some guy. I regret it now, it became a cult car:

Period-Perfect: 1985 Toyota Van LE

Learn more about Period-Perfect: 1985 Toyota Van LE on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.

bringatrailer.com

Since then I always did my own drain and fill, and always at about 30-50k intervals (or 5 years).

 

[dubber09]

My approach for new cars - full ATF replacement at 20-30K miles and then D/F every 30k miles.