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Time to change my transmission fluid?

96K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  SoNic67 
#1 ·
On my soul for the 2.0 liter engine, the manual says to inspect the automatic transmission fluid at 40k miles. I have 30k right now and I checked the fluid and it's a light brown in color. Should I get it changed?

My dealer gave my 2 options. Changing it for $70 or flushing it for $170. I was thinking if I did it now, I would just have them change it but If I waited until 40k I'd have them flush the system. Any thoughts?
 
#3 ·
Changing the fluid is less because they'll just drop the pan and swap out the filter. The torque converter and cooler lines will still have about half of the old transmission fluid in them. Once the pan is filled the old and new fluid will mix. It's generally advised to drop and fill the pan a couple times to dilute out the old fluid. It's not hard to do yourself but it can be very messy and it wastes fluid. I couldn't see a bolt to drain the torque converter but I didn't look too hard. If there is a bolt then getting the old fluid out of the torque converter and pan will be enough to call the job right.

A flush will replace all of the old fluid in the system. The problem with the flush is that the filter doesn't get replaced because they don't drop the pan.

Some people believe a transmission flush is what destroys a transmission. I don't believe it. Most people go in to have their transmission worked on because of neglect. The first thing that's done is the fluid gets dealt with. After that they find out all the bits of worn parts was actually providing friction and the only thing keeping the transmission working. Since your doing the scheduled maintenance do whatever fits the budget or skill level.
 
#6 ·
I'm a bad Soul owner ! 140,000 miles........ I have never checked my trans fluid, myself.

Last time I was at my favorite shop for standard oil change I specifically asked them to check the transmission cause I was prepared to do the fluid change/flush. They specifically told me it was good & didn't need that service. I remember them recommending & pushing the flush service on me years before @ about the 75K mileage

I will make a point to look for myself & probably do some kind of trans fluid service,
or is that gonna trigger problems cause the old oil & grunge is the only thing holding the tranny together :think
 
#7 ·
Flush it, don't drain it. If you plan on keeping the vehicle, then I'd strongly recommend flushing the trans fluid. My 2010+ trans fluid was "browning" at 20k, so I had it flushed. Currently at 45k and it's still pink. I'll likely have it flushed again @50k. Preventive maintenance is never a bad thing. Yeah, it will cost a little money, but it's usually money well spent.

Greg
 
#9 ·
Check GixxerSixxer post above. Basically, draining the fluid does not remove all the trans oil (several old quarts can remain) while flushing results in complete fluid change. There's a small segment that thinks flushing can be problematic. That's almost always wrong. Flush away (using a competent mechanic of course).
Greg
 
#10 ·
When I had my Suzuki SX4, I was getting close to the mileage where I should have a transmission oil change.
I already knew, that by just draining the oil in the transmission, you only get a small percentage of the total amount of oil in the unit.
On that car, like the Soul, there is NO bottom pan or filter and changing the fluid does not require any diss-assembly of the AT.

I had priced the Flush & Fill job at various dealers, including the local Buick dealer and they all came in at about the same $145.
As fate would have it, I traded off my SX4 for my Kia Soul before it ever needed the fluid change. So I missed all that fun, and expense.

Unlike the Soul, the SX4 did have a transmission dip stick, so I could monitor the condition of the AT fluid. I used "Prolong Transmission Treatment"
in my SX4, so I never had the problem of the fluid scorching, like so many SX4 owners did.
There is no dip stick on the Soul, so there is no easy way to check on the condition of the AT Fluid, or to add any conditioner.
That pretty well qualifies as "Dealer ONLY" maintenance.

Cheers Mates!
TechnoMage :cool:
 
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#12 ·
On the very next page after "Normal" * (in the Kia Soul Owners Manual) is the Severe Service spec's. It says to change the AT fluid at 60k miles.
I'll probably never reach that mileage before I trade cars, but if I do, it will surely be done at my dealership.
I already know, without any doubt, that I fall into that Severe Service category. I've already had this discussion with Paul, my Service Manager.
In fact, he considers every driver that comes in the door, as a Severe driver.

* Funny story: My Kia parts man was having a chat with a Kia Factory Rep and he asked the Rep "what constitutes Normal use?"
The Factory Rep could not tell him. :distrust:

That didn't surprise me at all. Even Kia can't tell you what "Normal" means.

Happy Motoring!

TechnoMage :cool:
 
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#13 ·
My car has 700 miles on it after purchasing in what March? Whats that 3 months? I might be in a different category than "normal" even. "rarely driven" could be my level! My wife says she is over 2000 miles already.

My Green Bean still has the new car smell. I looked under the hood and because of the big black plastic covering Its hard to see anything I can identify anymore. Cars are sure changing.
 
#18 ·
Changing the trans fluid at 30-40k makes no sense to me.
It may be a bit "brown".Check your oil say a thousand miles after a change.
Looks a bit brown.Does not mean its bad.
Unless it smells..."varnishy",don't waste your money.
Are you a hard driver,lot of miles,stop and go,high temps?
Probably not.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Most drivers (not me) of the Kia Soul are pretty light duty drivers. A few like to drag race, hill climb or Ralley race, but they are in the minority.
So we don't hear much (if anything at all) about AT fluid scorching, stinking and just plain Failing.

But over on the Suzuki SX4 forum, where the car, the engine and the AT are of about the same size, etc, the discussions went on for weeks about AT fluid overheating, scorching, turning brown and stinking. They contrived all sorts of elaborate means to change the AT fluid. But even after they did change the fluid, when they continued to drive aggressively, the new fluid would turn brown and stink, just like the original fluid did. It didn't seem like there was any real solution.

But very few SX4 drivers were as hard on their cars as I was. So before I had any problems with my own AT fluid, I introduced a few ounces of "Prolong Transmission treatment" into my AT. The power steering fluid, which was the same as the AT fluid, got a couple of ounces of "Prolong" too. That was another source, of overheating, scorching and stinking.

At 40K+ miles, when I traded off the SX4, both the AT fluid and the PS fluid were both still nice and pink, just like new.

In the case of the SX4, Brown did mean it was failing and that it had been overheated.

Since the 2013 AT has no dipstick and the filler plug is somewhere under the battery, checking on the fluid is more or less a Dealer Option.

But with only 25 K on the meter, I'm not going to worry too much about it.....yet.

Happy 4th, Y'all

TM :cool:
 
#21 · (Edited)
Just did my first 2010 KIA Soul transmission oil change myself at 50k miles.
My Soul has a dipstick and a big enough dip stick tube to accommodate a funnel.
The KIA parts guy recommended buying 6 quarts of KIA SPIII UM010CH002 and I did.
The transmission capacity is 6.97 quarts.
On the dipstick, the fluid looked clear and had no burn smell; have had nothing but smooth and un-noticeable shifts since new.
The drain plug in the transmission pan is just under the dipstick.
There were no plastic shrouds to take off to get at the drain plug; easy to see and get at.
I used a 15/16" socket which fit well with no slop and it easily came off.
It had no noticeable gasket and no magnet.
About 2 1/4 quarts came out if you sat there and watched as it dripped for about 20 minutes.
The color of the fluid was a dark brown.
The color of new fluid is red.
It took more time to prep and clean up than to do the change.
I will do a few more to use up the quarts that I bought.
 
#23 · (Edited)
The 2010 and 2011 transmissions have dipsticks and can be refilled and verifyed easy (check is done with engine running). The drain-refill quantity is 2Qt and, IMO, the procedure needs to be repeated at least 3 times, at 200 miles intervals. At the last procedure the transmission pan needs to be dropped, filter replaced and, at closing, add a pan gasket (they sell in kits with the filter)!
The transmissions are Mitsubishi (or Hyundai licensed clones) and take any transmission oil compatible with Diamond SP-III. I recommend Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle, it's better than whatever is packaged in the OE fluid, heck is good even for Toyota/Lexus demanding T-IV.
Here is the Castrol product datasheet: https://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/Files/1C6B3533C4BF4B92802580B2005A9D57/$File/BPXE-AFE8UE.pdf
And the more detailed MSDS sheet, with the viscosity info for geeks: https://msdspds.castrol.com/ussds/amersdsf.nsf/Files/38DF05B3B173C0388025831500527B4E/$File/11389629.pdf . That is (33.65 cSt) at 40°C and (7.3 to 8.3 cSt) at 100°C

I never owned a car that turns fluid dark-brown only after 50k miles, and I had owned 5 Fords, 2 Hyundai besides this Soul - either the Kia OE fluid is that weak, or the transmission is not cooled properly while city driving. I might consider adding an additional transmission cooler.

PS: On the 2012 the transmission dipstick disappears, but the hole were it was supposed to go has a plastic plug that can be removed for refill.
 
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