ATF change for my automatic gearbox; How no one seems to know anything

My peace of mind is permanently damaged, and I am unsure about my gearbox.

BHPian Joli recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A recent pre-owned car purchase made me write my own post. While it has been just 8 months since I bought the car, it has been quite eventful with my penchant of getting it done up as close to new as possible.

What all changes/replacements did I make after getting the car?

• Front and rear suspension
• Steering rack
• Brake pads
• Headlight bulb
• Wipers (all 3 since this is a SX Auto)
• Steering cover
• Tyres (Yokohama Earth-1s)
• Fluids (Engine oil, coolant)
• Filters (Air, cabin, fuel, oil)

What do I wish to do in the future?

1. Change ATF
2. Change timing kit (car has run more than a lakh kms when I got it)

This post, as per the title, will focus on the ATF change

While a fluid replacement might seem absolutely normal, I was in for a shock when various sources quoted different prices/methods. Their service advisors have literally no clue how it is done, the cost and the time taken. I enquired at 5 different ASCs and the cost of ATF ranged from Rs 400/litre to Rs 3500/litre. There is only one ATF that they all sell and is supposed to be ATF SP-IV. None of the dealerships have it in stock and the total cost for the replacement was quoted as a princely sum of Rs 25,000. This amount varied with few even going to near double this cost including labour.

The ASC approach, to me, seemed quite illogical and I tried FNGs. Surprise-o-surprise. Even the ASCs were almost clueless and quoted a timeline of 2-3 days. Most of them said that regular 75W90 gear oil can also be put in and whatnot.

At this point in time, I happened to read a few mixed reports on a repair centre in Madh, Mumbai. They had a good reputation for rebuilding transmissions and seemed like an ideal candidate that could be considered for my ATF replacement. Got in touch with them and was quoted Rs 5000 for the job along with valve body filter replacement. I confirmed that I will source the ATF as well as the filter. Accordingly, got in touch with them and sourced the ATF SP-IV at a fraction of the cost quoted by the OEM. Got 6 litres whereas the manual suggests 7.1 litres. All confirmed that 6 litres is more than enough since these torque converters do not drain the entire old oil. This is also documented in the Sonata restoration thread.

Madh, as Mumbaikars may be aware, is at quite a distance from most of the places and I am put up in Thane. Did the 2-hour trip on a weekend after taking an appointment. The owner wasn't in. However his service advisors were ready and they promptly took in the car, hoisted it using jacks (yes, no ramps) and started removing the debris guard. Post that the transmission oil was drained.

The shocking thing is that the mechanic was doing this using a phone torch light and the collected oil wasn't even inspected. It was collected and an attendant took it and filled a 5-litre engine oil jar. The approximate quantity as observed by me was around 4 litres. Mind you, the service advisor nor the mechanic were interested in checking the old oil quality or debris. Thankfully, while the oil smelt slightly burnt and was darker than the ATF I had purchased, there was little to no debris.

The oil that I had bought, was then used. All 6 bottles. No quantity check or anything. On my insistence, post filling the oil, we took a trial and ran a scanner. Everything checked out. However, I felt that something was amiss. Yet they insisted that all was okay and charged a bomb for a simple drain-fill and shut-it process.

The next day, not satisfied, I contacted the OEM service centre. They did try to assist but with the overwhelming number of vehicles that had come in for check-up in the Mumbai monsoon, it was next to impossible to get my car in. In the meantime, I called up the owner and informed him that this didn't seem right. He agreed and asked me to bring over the vehicle or he could refund a part of the cost that he charged for the vehicle's ATF replacement. Later on, he called me and agreed to send his service advisors across to my office. Took them a hell lot of time to reach and finish draining the excess oil, though. Job done? NO

The oil was to be drained when the engine had reached its optimum temperature. However, repair centre folks did it when the engine was relatively cold. The mechanic was asking the advisor if he could plug in the drain nut now. The drain was done with the engine running - supposedly the right method.

Now, I am wondering if there is some damage to the oil seals due to the excess filling, will the repair centre own up or it will be blamed on me? It may be noted that the transmission was running perfectly and changing the ATF was a preemptive measure.

A few other things I noted about the repair centre is that while they claim to repair, they don't perhaps have the right SOPs or protocols in place. While you expect an 80% good service from them, I don't think they perform even 30% of it. Especially for something as simple yet critical as an ATF change. Customers are not even informed of the entire or the know-how. I was told about the valve body filter replacement and accordingly, I procured this rare part. On reaching the workshop, I was informed that this is a much more complex process and will involve dismantling the transmission and keeping the vehicle with them for almost 2 days. This was unacceptable, especially when I travelled the entire length to get it done the same day. To his credit, the owner later purchased the filter from me.

The service advisor, the first one I encountered was an absolute disaster. He seemed least interested. Was suggesting that Mannol 8202, ATF for DCT, can be used for my Creta too. He mentioned that they had been using the same ATF for many other cars. Wonder how many vehicles he must have damaged.

The owner is extremely attentive but a medical crisis meant that he couldn't be at that garage. I had immense faith in the repair centre going by their online reviews. However, all this fizzled out after my two experiences with them. You go there with the assurance that these are AT experts. What do they say about meeting your heroes? Well, it stands true in this case.

Total damage to the pocket including ATF and labour - Rs 10k. Damage to the transmission: Uncertain, Damage to peace of mind: Permanent.

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