Hi Scotty.
I recently purchase a brand new Kia Soul 2021 with a 2.0 four cylinder engine. I am looking into the manual and in the manual it says that no trans fluid change is required. I've been watching your videos and I know better that they are full of shit with that statement. My question is, if I do the fluid change myself, can I get in trouble for the warranty of the powertrain? I got a 20 years/200k miles powertrain warranty. Also, I read that the fluid use by the cvt is the SP-CVT1. Do I need to buy the fluid from the dealer or can I use the castrol or valvoline CVT fluids, and how often should I change it, 30/50k miles?
20 year/200,000 mile powertrain warranty? And this is through the OEM (Kia)? From what some of my friends, family, and coworkers have gone through when they (used to) own a Hyundai Motor Group product is Hyundai usually finds some way to deny a warranty claim. To counteract that as best as possible, you essentially have to follow their service and maintenance to the tee (definitely don’t go longer than service intervals they suggest). In other words, you are beholden to the dealer if you want that warranty to cover you. Every work done needs to be documented which is why you are better off having them do the work (since it will be in their system). Different owners have different experiences, but just a warning.
If you want the fluid changed, have them do it.
Personally, with CVTs I would change fluid every 30,000 miles and stick to OEM fluid.
Thanks you for the answer DayWalker. I want to make sure I do things right because I want to keep my car as long as possible. First of all, I am not a big fan of CVT transmissions but now a days that's pretty much everywhere, I know CVT trans are very delicate and you need to take care, that's why I cheked the manual to look at the maintenance schedule for transmissions and the manual itself show no change of trans fluid is required. I know that's bs because you can't drive a transmission for 200k plus miles with the same fluid, especially cvt. So that's why I ask, if the dealer doesn't provide maintenance to the cvt, can I do it myself without affecting my warranty, and is it ok if I use Castrol or valvoline trans fluid that claim to work for trans requiring SP-CVT1? I am asking because the price for a single quart of that parricular fluid at the dealer is a scam.
If the dealer won’t do it for you, and you do it yourself you can potentially void the warranty. Why even buy the 20 year/200,000 mile warranty in the first place? I would ask your dealer to change it for you first. Also, for transmissions it’s best to stay with OEM fluid.
Well the way it works is, KIA the car company only provides 10/100k miles but the dealer which is Kia Rick Case in South Florida provies an extra 10k/100k miles.
So if I do the proper maintenance according to the manual, and since trans fluid change is not required, if the trans malfunctions, they dealer has to replace it right?
Correct, in theory anyways. But, did you ask the dealer to change the fluid for you?
Is brand new, I have only put 200 miles so far hahaha. I am just that typo of person that always thinks ahead and I love my cars. The previous Kia I owned I drove it for 9 years, 172k miles, I was really planning to push it to the limit but the trans starting slipping and on top of that the alternator die so at that point it was just not worth it to keep throwing money into the car.
Well, when you get near 30,000 miles ask them to change the fluid for you. It’s also money for them to do it for you, so they should be happy to do it, in theory. But if they say no, and you change the fluid yourself - then you are looking at potential warranty claim denial in the future if your CVt has issues. Personally, I would not have bought that vehicle with the CVT, nor bought the extended warranty.
Thanks for your time and help.