Well, I just crossed 32,000 miles, so I figured I'd do a trans fluid change. I normally only do the half change (drop what's in the pan and refill). Job was uneventful. It actually took longer to take these pics and post them. Drain plug, before and after. I saw no reason to get into the whole "which fluid should I use" debate. I just went to the dealer and bought the Hyundai / Kia SPIII. The most I could have saved on 5 quarts was $12.95 total anyway, so it wasn't worth the worry. Less than $9 per year to not have to worry about them denying a claim.
very good pics. Reminds me of the way mine looked too. Perhaps we can compare drain plugs in 30k more miles and see how they look. I went the other route and got a compatible synthetic blend AT oil.
Hope we still have these cars in another 30k more and compare drain plugs in the future.
I can tell you this: In one afternoon, I can tell it shifts better. I put my car in neutral a lot when I'm at lights, and it enters and leave gear a lot smoother today than yesterday. Too afraid to try anything but Kia fluid. After 100k miles, then I'll do it. Just don't want the hassle if something goes wrong.
My only reason for using something other than kia oil was the sight of the drain plug ! Made me feel as if this fluid was an abraisive rather than a lubricant.
I had pulled the plug and was planning on getting kia oil up to the point of seeing the ferrous particles on the magnetic plug. I am not keen on pure synthetics and when I saw the blend, I figured what the heck.
As with you, shifting is improved and perhaps its my imagination, but the overall loudness of the engine / trans which is really quite quiet, became even quieter to the point my wife even noticed.
Looking forward to another 30k or so before next oil change. I am at 35k now.
Just did front brakes and rotors yesterday I need to log in the record book. New tires too, one had a tread seperation a week ago, Optimos.
Abrasive? No. This is a common sight on transmission drain plugs. I've never pulled a plug or dropped a pan that didn't have this type of stuff on it. The way I put miles on a car, I only have about 3 years to go before I can do what I want.....lol
As 30k is getting closer I decided to call dealer to ask for 30k service cost. Well, they call for about 500 USD. Sounds a lot for me...
Anyway, they claim transmission oil must be changed, while my manual does NOT. It says to change it at 105k miles...
So - who is right?
I was going to change it anyway myself, so questions.
Tubaryan12,
did you change oil filter too? How was the whole process? did you get the tranny hot first? Or you did it on cold?
How much did you pay for oil?
Anything else, what you think may be important...
PLP, the owners manual does indeed say that the only mandatory fluid change is at 105,000 miles with only "inspections" till then. The dealers, though, follow the "severe service" guidelines on the next page. My personal usage does not fit any of the severe service guidelines but had mine changed at 42K as they said it was getting dirty. I believe all the dealers latch onto the severe service guidelines as this is a very high profit procedure. With the right equipment they can change the fluid in a few minutes and bill for hours. You cannot talk to them about this, though, as all you will get is the threat of voiding your warranty if you don't do what they say.
By the way the dealer I used charged $195 and changed all the oil using a machine that even replaced the oil in the torque converter. The rest of the maintenance was pretty easy to do myself and/or with a local shop.
I never believe a fluid service that recommends waiting that long on an automatic. It costs less than $50 every other year for peace of mind. I will do 3 half fluid changes before I reach 100k miles. There is no user serviceable filter for this transmission. That's just one more reason why I try to change it at 30K. Last month, I did my wife's Optima transmission fluid for the second time. The magnetic plug was covered, once again, like the pictures above. One less thing to worry about.
At the rate of $195 per flush, I could afford to do $50 half changes every year and still be better off.
Disconnect cooler line (from tranny of course) and start the car (selector in N). Wait for all oil to drain, but not longer than one minute. If oil is drained, stop engine and remove the oil drain plug.
Clean, put it back.
Refill oil and repeat procedure. After second time refill and you are all done.
EDIT:
C - Driving on rough, dusty, muddy, unpaved, graveled or salt-spread roads. page 7/12 of manual
Maybe I am retarded... but what salt, mud, sand has to do with transmission fluid? There is no way for sand to get into the system, is it?
I do understand all other points (A, E, F, G, H, I), but not C.
Can someone explain me that?
Tubaryan12, and others who did change oil
so I took my Rondo to the dealer. They examined fluids and said - tranny fluid is OK. No need to change.
I thought, I would do it myself anyway as I was planning to.
The question is: how much fluid did you use guys? And how did you perform the fluid change?
Tubaryan12, from your description looks like you simply drained old fluid and refilled. Did you really use 5 quarts only?
As I mentioned before - I came across a method to drain all fluid: let it warm up, put in N (shut off engine), disconnect a hose from transmission fluid cooler and put its end to a bucket, start the engine and let it run for no more than 60 seconds or until oil drains.
Anyone with any opinion? Could someone verify if this is a good way of doing it?
I can get a vacuum pump to suck the oil, too.
So, things I want to know - quantity of oil and way you changed it.
I just did a drain and fill. I believe it was less than 5 quarts. I'm just going to do that ever 25-30,000 miles or so. Paid about $7.50 per quart at the dealership. It seems to shift quieter for the first few days, then I believe your ears adjust and everything seems "normal" again.
I changed mine 15k miles ago by pulling the plug, letting the oil drain till it stopped and refilled with same amount which was close at 5qts.
I drove the car for approx 50 miles and did it again and then did it one more time after that.
Seems this is how the dealer does it, because it is exactly what my youngest boy saw em do, except they didnt take it for a ride.
Seems doing it the way you mention is good, probably better, however I would be concerned about running the trans dry or anything else that might could happen while the engine is running.
I used a synthetic blend during my trans oil change. Will most likey do it again in 15k more miles. It will be interesting to see the magnetic drain plug then. It was scarry looking at 30k.
PLP, I just drained mine at the drain plug also and refilled. I checked with my dealer beforehand, because I had seen the same procedure you had, and they told me all they do is drain it at the plug. Keep in mind that oil must be changed every 20k miles max here in Canada. I did mine at 14.5k miles and it was still nice and clean.
PLP
I would change the fluid..even though the dealer said your ATF looked good (IE, nice clean and red). As far as severe service guidelines goes. Must of us do a LOT of short trips the weather (at least our MI weather) is very rough on our cars. If towing is involved, ATF replacment is a must every 30,000 miles.
I would just drop the drain plug, clean the plug and refill it. Yes 5 quarts should do the trick. Then like allready menchend, do it again a few days later. Your trans holds about 12 quarts. Doing this twice will just about change all of your ATF.
SP 111 is the correct ATF to use. Also called cam3. I've got in bulk, if you can bring a couple of jugs to me I can fill them cheap for you.
If you can, AMSOIL tranny fluid is a good replacement if you want to flush all the old crap and put nice new fluid in. Thinking about using it on my Rondo. It is suited for Diamond SPIII (Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi).
Strange, I just happened to be checking my fluids today and was thinking about changing my ATF. I doubt its been done yet. Mine is a 2005 Carens II. its at 30k now so averaged out at 6k/year. Our weather is supposed to be fairly settled this week and this afternoon was unseasonably warm. I noticed my ATF level was on the low side so will try and drain and refill later in the week. I have the 4 speed box. Is there a filter in that one? I've heard talk of this filter before and read mixed reports.
Went and picked up 10 qts of Kia SPIII fluid at a local dealership. Parts guy gave me a deal for $8/qt (their cost is $6.39/qt, so, not too bad). Looks like I might try and drain 5 qts tonight, fill it back, drive some more, drain 5 qts, put 5 more back in. Fluid is looking pretty grey. I bought my Rondo with 32K on it, have 43K on it now, no idea if/when fluid has been changed, but this should help. I plan on doing a complete flush/filter change later on around 80K or 100K.
Well, I was only able to dump 4 qts from the tranny through the drain plug. I'll drive it a week or so, then dump 4 more qts out and put 4 in. At least the fluid is somewhat red now, was a very dirty grey/brown.
Yeah, shifts do seem a little smoother, don't think I feel them as much (not that it was "that" bad to start with, but... it is noticeable a little). Never thought the shifts were very loud before.
Folks- The filter issue depends on what trans you have. My 2008 v-6 with the 5 speed does not have a pan that can be dropped. The only filter is inside, and you have to drop the trans and split the trans to get at it. A real poor design. Kia recommends only doing it if the trans is out for servicing. As far as the fluid changes- if you drain out 4 quarts, put 4 back in and drive for a few days, then repeat that twice more- you are not replacing all 12 quarts with fresh oil. The new oil mixes with the old, so you are "diluting" the fresh oil. The best way is to drain the old fluid through the plug. Pull the pan and replace the filter if you can. Put the plug back in and replace the oil with new. Then pull the cooling line that returns to the trans. (Not sure which one this is on the Rondo) Have someone start the car, and add fluid into the trans to replace what is getting pumped out of the line. Try not to let it run dry. When the fluid coming out gets suddenly clean, you have replaced almost all of the old fluid, without stressing the system. Reconnect the cooling line, top off the fluid, and you are done. BE CAREFUL- the fluid will come out fast, it can make a huge mess! Make sure your catch can is large enough.
The trans pan on your 5spd is on the side of your trans.....thats where your filter is. You don't have to drop anything, but the pan to get to your trans filter.
Yesterday I was ready to change my tranny fluid. I do not have the socket/wrench for the drain plug. I called the local parts stores, but none of them knows the plug's size.
I'm new to the forum, so just now reading this.
My experience on this front was a nightmare..... but with a happy ending.
My V6 Rondo began making a loud whining noise from the left side of the car.
Dealership diagnosed bad transmission.
Car had 62k miles on it.
I had done total fluid exchange using SP111 compatible synthetic fluid (BG Fluid) at 52k.
They denied the warranty claim on the basis that I didn't use Kia fluid and I didn't change at 30k.
I argued that b/c of the Moss-Magnasun act they couldn't force me to use kia fluid and that the manual stated I had to 105k to change the fluid.
They basically said tough luck.
Thankfully, I have a friend who has pull at Kia and I was able to get the trans replaced under warranty.... and the gear whine is back after only 3k! See my post on this.
Lesson?
1. Kia assumes that no one will challenge them in court with the moss-mag act.
2. Every dealership I've spoken with states that Kia considers 'this area' a severe duty area. When asked where in the USA was not a 'severe duty area' the reply was 'we don't know, probably no where'.
3. Kia is sketchy about warranty repair, be careful. If I wouldn't have had a friend who could pull strings I would have been stuck with a costly repair.
I've said this before but it bears repeating. Based on my experience, any major repairs from Kia - bring your attorney with you to the dealership. They will use any excuse to get out of a repair. It is almost like the Kia reps get a bonus for turning these down so the dealer can charge inflated prices for the work and you have no choice.
Just another factor to put into the decision on a new car for me.
Just came back from my local service/dealer where I was shocked by "new warranty" policies.
Except new TB no-replacement procedure, here is another one.
Transmission flush is mandatory at 36k miles (if I want to keep warranty). And they claim that whatever KIA says is not right...