Absolutely. Take a measured, gradual approach to the drain and fill to get a better overall replacement and minimize sediment or wear materials. I was talking about the old horse that after a transmission has had oil for too long, it is past the point of safely changing it. Of course, there is never a meaningful explanation!
Drain and refill 235K transmission fluid?
- Thread starter chartrue2
- Start date
I would do a drain and fill ONLY
Indeed. I can drain the ATF in my CRV with all 4 wheels on the ground, no ramp or jack needed. Same can’t be said of the oil.
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4wd
$50 site donor 2026
My only one has a drain plug - only Lexus blocked the fill port with the exhaust - other side is wide open with no port …Most of them do, in fact, have a drain plug. Including the OP's 2005 Matrix. It's the "American" nameplates that are too cheap to include a drain plug. The Euros are hit or miss.
Every Japanese car I've worked on had a transmission drain plug. Multiple Hondas, Toyotas, Subarus, and a couple Nissans.
American cars with no drain plug: the final gen Grand Am, 3rd and 4th gen Firebird/F-Body, Mk1 Focus. The only American car I have experience with that had a transmission drain plug was the Saturn S-Series.
When Ford owned Mazda, they often used the same engines and transmissions across both brands, yet Mazda included a drain plug but Ford didn't. Example: Ford Fusion (no drain plug), Mazda 6 (has a drain plug). The Focus used the 4F27E with no drain plug, but Mazda included one. Since they use the same transmission with the same pan, you can get a pan from the Mazda dealer and install it on a Ford with that transmission (or use an aftermarket pan).
In most Hondas, changing the ATF is *easier* than changing the oil
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Dealer is my plan … too close to ground for me to do …
(my Jeep is fairly easy)…
Bought a hyundai sonata a 2010 i
With 125 miles. Pulled dipstick and fluid level was good it was a bit dark but no burnt smell. Had to drain and fill 3 times to get it all out. 2010 was the year before the engine screwup that sidelines thousands of car needing engines costing hyundai millions if not billions of dollars.
Change it. Good luck
With 125 miles. Pulled dipstick and fluid level was good it was a bit dark but no burnt smell. Had to drain and fill 3 times to get it all out. 2010 was the year before the engine screwup that sidelines thousands of car needing engines costing hyundai millions if not billions of dollars.
Change it. Good luck
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Except many require a level vehicle to set the fluid level. I have driven our Mercedes up on ramps then jacked the rear up on stands. You don't need to do it more than every 40 - 60k miles. With Mercedes and some older American cars you can drain the TC through a plug. So I go ahead and replace it all rather than having to do the raise the car thing three times.
Anything with a dipstick you can do with an extractor unless you need to change the filter.
The fluid is telling you it needs a change.
Listen to the fluid.
Never fall for that ¨Lifetime Fluid¨ con!
Listen to the fluid.
Never fall for that ¨Lifetime Fluid¨ con!
Tru.. most of my vehicles use dipsticks.. not sure the engineer that said,, "let get rid of the dipstick and save .05 per car to make the owners life HELL".. but he/she/they need to be hogtied and beat with rubber hose for a bit.. dumbest idea ever.. if u ax me.
I changed it on my daughter’s +220K mile Hyundai with questionable history and it significantly improved performance. One drain and fill was plenty.
I have also had issues after changing it on a few high mileage vehicles. Most will likely say it was on its way out anyways and the fluid did nothing. And that’s probably true. But all I know is transmission was working, I changed fluid, and it stopped working. There is a risk.
That said I’d do it. And clearly I did.
I have also had issues after changing it on a few high mileage vehicles. Most will likely say it was on its way out anyways and the fluid did nothing. And that’s probably true. But all I know is transmission was working, I changed fluid, and it stopped working. There is a risk.
That said I’d do it. And clearly I did.
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