Okay, this is a place to post your experiences with different manual gear oils, and for us to develop a list of recommended gear oils for different Hyundais. Please post your experiences and they will be integrated into this list.



One of the first things to realize is that not all manual transmissions or transaxles are the same so there is no one "right" gear oil, even throughout the Hyundai/KIA lineup. Some of the transmissions are very similar designs and respond well to the same gear oil. Some are very different designs and will respond entirely differently to any given gear oil.



Accent

1996-2010 (X3-LC-LC2-MC) 5 speed

• Recommended: Redline MT-90
• Not recommended: AMSOIL

2010-Present (RB) 6 speed



Elantra

1990-1995 (J1) 5 speed

1996-2010 (J2-XD-HD) 5 speed

• Recommended: Redline MT-90
• Not recommended: AMSOIL

2010-Present (MD) 6 speed



Excel

1985-1994 (X1-X2) 4 speed

1985-1994 (X1-X2) 5 speed



Genesis Coupe

2010-Present (BK) I4 6 speed

2010-Present (BK) V6 6 speed



Santa Fe

2001-2006 (SM) I4 5 speed

2007-2009 (CM) 2.7l V6 5 speed

2010-Present (CM) 3.5l V6 6 speed



Scoupe

1990-1992 5 speed

1993-1995 5 speed



Sonata I4

1988-1994 (Y2) 5 speed

1995-1998 (Y3) 5 speed

1999-2005 (EF) 5 speed

2004-2010 (NF) 5 speed

2011-Present (YF) 6 speed



Tiburon

1996-2008 (RD-RD2-GK-GK F/L-GK FL2) I4 5 speed

• Recommended: Redline MT-90
• Not recommended: AMSOIL

2003-2008 (GK-GK F/L-GK FL2) V6 5 speed

• Recommended: Redline MT-90
• Not recommended: AMSOIL

2003-2008 (GK-GK F/L-GK FL2) V6 6 speed



Tucson

2004-2009 I4 5 speed

2009-Present I4 5 speed



XG/Grandeur

1986-1992 5 speed

 

Some people claim it is inferior to Redline's MT90, but I have had good results with Royal Purple's Max-Gear GL4/GL5 compatible synthetic in my Elantra.

https://www.hyundaiaftermarket.org/f...s-redline-mt90

 

I've had good results with motul.

 

I'm using Redline Lightweight ShockProof in the Gen Coupe



Whatever the dealer uses in the 2008 Accent

 

I'm an idiot, I accidentally bought a gallon of GL-5 gear oil for my accent. I used it for a couple of changes and noticed metal flakes in the oil when I drained it, both times. Shoulda read the packaging instead of being blown away by shiny 'semi-synthetic' labels.

 

I'm a fan of syncromesh, smooth shifts even at redline. i've used royal purple before and it was good, but not $20 a bottle good. lucas is the worst, i got grinding in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th from that junk, but it was the only GL4 the store had at the time.

 

Bought a 2003 Hyundai Accent with 122000 miles on it. Not sure when the 5 speed tranny fluid was changed. Bought 3 quarts of Master Pro 75W-90 GL5 full synthetic gear oil. Is this oil going to cause me any problems? Thanks!

 

I took out the lightweight shockproof. It worked OK for 10k or so but started getting hard to shift. The stiuff is very hard to get out of the trans and I had to flush it with solvent. Then filled with Redline MTL. It's about an 80w synthetic. Used that for a year and am now using Redline 75w85 which is the recommended weight.



be sure to use the right spec. GL-5 is generally not recommended for transmissions but rather GL-4.

 

Comparison to MT-90 in my XD Elantra - Cold weather (and this is "cold" weather in Southeast Texas) made it feel like crap relative to the other and after putting it in I had bearings start to sing that never stopped. It still does that to this day. Third gear deceleration was the worst with the BEeererRerRRRREeeererereeEERRRR noise. Maybe the XD ran a slightly different trans than the older ones? I know the gearing changed. Also GL4/GL5; why not use the GL4 it calls for instead of a universal?





Email them and ask about if you should put that in a hyundai transmission. The manufacturer claims to stay away from it as it doesn't meet some of our requirements. I had some concerns so I thought I would ask.











2003 Elantra XD stared with Royal Purple then switched to MT-90; the biggest issue I saw was whatever it has that the synco's love lasts about 30k then I recommend a ra fluid change. While its working well the transmission loves it and feels better than brand new. It doesn't start to grind after 30k, but you notice that butter smooth feeling starting to slip



2010 Genesis Coupe - MT-85; didn't have as big of an impact as this transmission is crap, but it did help. I had a 5th gear sort of lock out to anything lower problem this corrected. Same issue around 30k it starts to lose the smoothness and needed to be changed.







Note: If you are in Houston ProAm on Richmond near the 610 loop sells it cheaper than you find it online (jegs, etc) before shipping. He also has just about every other rare to find in store oils. Amsoil, all of the RP stuff, etc

 

FWIW the 2008 Accent manual trans takes this. MTF 75W/85 (API GL - 4) Same as the 2010 genesis Coupe 6sp manual.