How ofter do you guys think the transmission oil should be changed on an automatic? My toyota manual list no change for normal service and 20,000 miles for sever service. Not sure why so much difference. I am thinking every 50,000-60,000 miles should be reasonable.
Frequency of auto transmission oil change
- Thread starter TR3-2001SE
- Start date
- Status
If you're not beating the cr*p out of the transmission with lots of jack rabbit starts, especially in the cold, and towing heavy loads consistently then complete fluid changes every 30,000 miles will be fine. Or if your transmission has a drain plug and you can only get a fraction of the total fluid out then a yearly "partial" drain will suffice. With the wife's 2002 Explorer I just had the dealer do a complete fluid exchange @ 30,000 miles. While it shifted fine before the change, it shifted really great afterwards. You noticed the difference. By the way for her Explorer doesn't have a transmission fluid change interval listed. I guess it's considered "lifetime", a short "lifetime"
.
Whimsey
Whimsey
If it has a drain plug then a drain and fill every 15-20,000 miles is very easily accomplished. Even if you have to syphon it out of the dipstick it can be done relatively easily every 20,000 or so. Synthetics can go longer. As with everything so much depends on your driving habits and climate.
I haven't seen too many good ATF UOAs.
Maintenance interval depends on driving style and the quality of the transmission(or the cost of its replacement).
My recommendation, as a previously ASE certified transmission rebuilder, is to change it as frequently as you can afford to(time and money wise).
My wimpily driven Ford gets 30k thorough flushes with Mobil1 and Lubegard.
The Nissan/Mazda/Toyota get the easy drainplug drain/refill every 2nd oil change(~10k miles).
I've sold/totalled cars with over ~250k miles with perfectly working transmissions(and I was alot more abusive since rebuild/replacement was no big deal back then).
Lifetime anything is a farce.
Severe service is just about normal driving for everyone now.
Maintenance interval depends on driving style and the quality of the transmission(or the cost of its replacement).
My recommendation, as a previously ASE certified transmission rebuilder, is to change it as frequently as you can afford to(time and money wise).
My wimpily driven Ford gets 30k thorough flushes with Mobil1 and Lubegard.
The Nissan/Mazda/Toyota get the easy drainplug drain/refill every 2nd oil change(~10k miles).
I've sold/totalled cars with over ~250k miles with perfectly working transmissions(and I was alot more abusive since rebuild/replacement was no big deal back then).
Lifetime anything is a farce.
Severe service is just about normal driving for everyone now.
I prefer to use a 30,000 mile interval. Our 88 Camry is still on the original transmission at just under 300,000 miles with fluid changes (drain/refill) every 30,000 miles.
Similar results with our 99 ES300 (75,000 miles) and our 98 Isuzu Trooper (98,000 miles). But, last weekend I totaled the Trooper (**** ice storm), so no more data on it.
Curt
Similar results with our 99 ES300 (75,000 miles) and our 98 Isuzu Trooper (98,000 miles). But, last weekend I totaled the Trooper (**** ice storm), so no more data on it.
Curt
I've been changing transmission fluid (Dexron III) every two years. That works out to close to 30K miles for the more frequently used cars, but the others could be less than 10K. It is just too easy to change coolant, trans and brake fluid all at the same time.
If you are regularly towing, 20k would be a good point, but otherwise, I feel that 30k is about right. I alternate between full fluid exchange("flush") and pan fluid and filter.
I replace the contents of my AT pan (using a vacuum device) at every oil change and replace it with Synthetic ATF.
DEWFPO
DEWFPO
I'm going to add a valve in the cooler line for my auto transmission - just turn on the engine and let it pump out a few quarts. Makes it almost too easy. This way I'll probably change like 2 quarts (of 12.5) at every oil change. Probably not necessary, but ATF is only a buck a quart...
I drain the transmission pan at every oil change, which is every 3 to 4K miles.
It just seems silly to me to be under the car and not take this easy extra step.
This adds almost five whole minutes and five bucks or so to the oil change drill - cheap insurance to protect an expensive transmission.
It just seems silly to me to be under the car and not take this easy extra step.
This adds almost five whole minutes and five bucks or so to the oil change drill - cheap insurance to protect an expensive transmission.
For automatic yes, 30K or less, but this is a good number.
And you have actually got an automatic to live 300K (just under), whew, one of only a couple I have heard of... Glad to hear. I would like to hear more data good or bad about changing the fluid on a regular basis and putting on over 300-400K.
The transmission pan on the 4L60E in my 98 chevy truck has a drain plug and I drop and refill about every 6,000 miles since this only replaces about three qrts. I do it for cheap insurance and it doesn't take very much time. I have almost 59,000 miles on the truck and it still shifts like new. I hope to get well over 100,000 miles on this transmission.
Wayne
Wayne
Please note that the manufacturer is saying 20k if severe service and no OCI recommendation if not severe. However their 'guarantee' of the very expensive auto trans is only 36k. They are betting your auto trans will last only thru the warrenty period, then you pay the bill. I would go NO longer than the severe duty schedule. I would recommend you use 12 to 15k as an iterval for ATF change. Remember with the 'drop pan method', you are only changing 40 to 50% of the ATF. DIY and save money. If you have a drain plug in the pan, it is not too bad a job.
I do a drain and fill on my Nissan Sentra about every 10-15K miles. A drain and fill gets about a 55% replacement. I noticed that this car is hard on transmission fluid. It shears down from about 7.6 cSt to under 6 cSt after less than 20K miles. As was mentioned-cheap insurance.
Just changed out after 15k interval. Kind of suprised that the ATF color was slightly discolored only after only 15k. The plug had a very slight amount of silvery metal in it as well as the magnet on the differential plug had a small amount of metal. Did a double drain and fill and now color is cherry red.
Wondering if I should just change out yearly about 10k-13k or would a synthetic help extend it to two years.
Wondering if I should just change out yearly about 10k-13k or would a synthetic help extend it to two years.
i change mine out every 15-20k....gotta make it last haha...its cheap anyways...
I've asked around the forum for the same thing and have gotten many different answers. My GM manual for our 1997 Chev Lumina says to change the fluid and filter at approximately 100,000km (60,000 miles) if it is not used for towing, etc. The vehicle only has 67,000km on it, 70% city, 30% highway. Not driven hard at all, VERY well maintained. As thinking that this 100,000km target # for the transmission was kind of high, I have been changing roughly 6l of fluid per year through the dipstick (same amount as a pan drop) for the past 2 years. This is roughly half of the transmission fluid capacity. The fluid has always been nice and red, you can barely feel the transmission shift it is so smooth. Can barely hear/feel it idle too, by the way. There has been NO fiter change. Is this method acceptable or wise as preventative maintenance until I get to the magic # of 100,000km or should I be doing the whole fluid and filter change earlier, since the vehicle is 9 years young?
For got to add that the 67,000km on the Lumina is roughly 40,200 miles I think, and by the way, I have drained 6L per year for 3 years, not 2 !!
Here's a UOA on my Saab's transmission at 60k miles. It uses an Aisin-Warner transmission, which is also the supplier for Toyota automatic transmissions.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=50;t=000039#000000
At 60k the factory fill was toast. Once I take over the car as my daily driver in a few weeks I'll do a single drain & fill every 24 months. I only drive ~6500 miles a year.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=50;t=000039#000000
At 60k the factory fill was toast. Once I take over the car as my daily driver in a few weeks I'll do a single drain & fill every 24 months. I only drive ~6500 miles a year.
Every year, or under 30,000 miles (ARX plus complete fluid flush). And that with auxiliary cooler/filter.
Transmissions, like motors, too expensive. Goal, for me, is to try to push first rebuild past 200,000-miles.
Transmissions, like motors, too expensive. Goal, for me, is to try to push first rebuild past 200,000-miles.
- Status
Similar threads
