Lifetime Trans Fluid?

[Brigadier]

Originally Posted By: dubber09
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Wow. Even the local Greg's Japanese Auto shop, which is a well respected indie chain, is trying to talking me out of it. Good grief.


With your low-ish mileage there is very little to no risk of causing any issues with ATF change.
If shop is busy with big $$$ projects they may not have/want to 'waste' time.

EDIT:
Also, since you are to do this, change spark plugs too. I just did with 44K miles on the car with Laser Iridium NGK that car came from factory, to the same new plugs and there was very noticable difference in how engine starts and runs

Plugs were supposed to last 75K+ miles.


Greg's was defaulting to the Mazda shop maintenance manual which says nothing about fluid change in the transmission.

 

[Tomioka]

After seeing Toyota WS turn to puke in less than 60,000mi I doubt the manual calling it a lifetime fluid. WS isn't synthetic in the first place so that gets thrown out the window.

 

[Dyusik]

No such thing as a sealed unit. Yes it has sealed bearings and gaskets sealing the fluid from leaking out. There is a lifetime to a fluid, true. Lifetime of factory filled unit is much shorter than lifetime of a unsealed unit with at replaced. Am I making sense?

 

[dubber09]

Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Originally Posted By: dubber09
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Wow. Even the local Greg's Japanese Auto shop, which is a well respected indie chain, is trying to talking me out of it. Good grief.


With your low-ish mileage there is very little to no risk of causing any issues with ATF change.
If shop is busy with big $$$ projects they may not have/want to 'waste' time.

EDIT:
Also, since you are to do this, change spark plugs too. I just did with 44K miles on the car with Laser Iridium NGK that car came from factory, to the same new plugs and there was very noticable difference in how engine starts and runs

Plugs were supposed to last 75K+ miles.


Greg's was defaulting to the Mazda shop maintenance manual which says nothing about fluid change in the transmission.


My car's manual calls it lifetime too - doesn't call for ATF change.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: dubber09


My car's manual calls it lifetime too - doesn't call for ATF change.


right but do you want a long lifetime or shorter lifetime?

 

[dubber09]

Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: dubber09


My car's manual calls it lifetime too - doesn't call for ATF change.


right but do you want a long lifetime or shorter lifetime?


That's why I changed it in mine.
Also, my last car with manual and 234K miles on it still had original clutch and didn't slip a beat when I traded it in.

 

[Whimsey]

My wife's 2017 Explorer with the 2.3 DI TT engine says ATF fluid change at 150,000 miles OR every 30,000 miles with "severe service". Even with the cost of doing "severe servicing" of the ATF fluid change it's a lot cheaper than a new transmission outside the the warranty period, especially if you keep your vehicle a long time. I now have her old 2005 Explorer with over 193,000 miles that the ATF was serviced every 25,000-30,000 miles and still shifts like new.

Whimsey

 

[bdcardinal]

I am always in favor of changing fluid at shorter intervals than what factory calls for in a transmission. Just quoted a trans out on a 13 Fusion, $4793.33 not saying a lack of fluid changes caused the failure, but figure the cost of a case of fluid every 30K against a trans.

 

[MCompact]

Find out what the transmission manufacturer recommends. For example, ZF recommends 60k mile/8 year fluid changes on their automatics when operated under certain circumstances- even though the vehicle manufacturers usually claim the fill is lifetime regardless of the operating conditions.

 

[oldhp]

2012 Equinox 4cyl. No dipstick, just a fill hole and oil level hole. Super easy to drain refill. The oil filter is inside case, so no changing it.

 

[OPR4H]

The problem is dirt, debries. A lifetime fluid is good for 300k miles, but what about solid contaminants? Metal, fibers, dust that enters the breather...
My car uses lifetime, but it has magnets at valve body cover and a big one at fluid filter inlet. Not all debries are ferromagnetic, though.

 

[Onug]

Originally Posted By: dubber09
Lifetime in this case means - until the transmission dies, then you replace it along with ATF...

+1

Some food for thought:
- You're on a fluid forum. Most of us are going to default to some version of "fluid is cheaper than ".
- If given a hypothetical situation where your transmission will last 150k miles on the FF or 300K when flushed on a "reasonable" regular basis, what would you choose? IMO if your going to trade the car around 100k miles, just leave the fluid alone. Otherwise, there's no harm in adding fresh fluid other than to your wallet.
- Have you asked around a Mazda forum by chance? The transmission service interval on my eff-one-fiddy is 150,000 miles. There's a well respected Ford mechanic on YouTube that says to change the fluid at 30K miles because all the break-in metals can mess with the electronics within the transmission. Then change the fluid and filter every 60K miles afterwards. So while us BITOG users can give you general ideas, you'll probably get a more specific answer to your question on a forum dedicated to your vehicle.

 

[mitsu4me]

life time atf fluid....translation....will likely last until your warranty is up then were off the hook.....

 

[Speedie95]

Pretty sure there is a dipstick. It's under the airbox and you have to remove a bolt before you can withdraw it. I believe you can also get to it from under the car which may be easier since you have to get under there anyway.

The pan has a drain bolt. If you drop the pan, the gasket material has to be replaced - it's not a conventional gasket. There is also a filter that can be changed, though doing so entails all of the hassle of dropping the pan. P/N FNC121500A.

Link to parts diagram.

I plan on doing a drain and fill every 30K on my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD along with transfer case and rear diff fluids. I don't buy "lifetime fluids" as a concept. Easy to say when you're off the hook for any repairs after 5 years / 60K.

 

[DBMaster]

I did a drain and fill on my 2012 M3 Skyactiv. Once the underbody shield is removed you can access the dipstick bolt pretty easily. The fluid I put in didn't look much different from what I drained out at 60,000 miles. I really don't think this one needs to be done very often. I am SO tired of all the "lifetime means until the warranty is over" carp. If automatic transmissions had very high failure rates doe to not changing "lifetime" fluids the manufacturers wouldn't get a whole lot of repeat business. Obviously, the transmissions themselves are different, especially the Skyactiv drive in Mazdas. And, the fluid is different. At this point there is no aftermarket equivalent for Mazda FZ fluid. I didn't remove the pan to change the filer and I didn't even replace the drain bolt washer. Personally, I'll not be changing it again.

 

[surfstar]

My sister's '97 4runner went 375k miles on the factory ATF - didn't grenade, got sold and was running fine still.

But, I do a drain/fill every other oil change on my wife's Mazda2, b/c its easy and Maxlife ATF works great for the price. Also shifted noticeably better when done the first time. (this is an 'old' 4spd auto though)

 

[DBMaster]

I should have also said there was no noticeable difference in the feel of the transmission after the D&F.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
I am always in favor of changing fluid at shorter intervals than what factory calls for in a transmission. Just quoted a trans out on a 13 Fusion, $4793.33 not saying a lack of fluid changes caused the failure, but figure the cost of a case of fluid every 30K against a trans.


Agreed.. and if that car has the trans I think it does - a 6F35 trans - then it's definitely one that can benefit from a 30k fluid regimen. I've got the same trans in my 2010 Fusion, and I do a drain&fill on mine every 30,000 or less (usually less - the last one was @ 24,000 miles).

...and considering that I can get 6 quarts of genuine Motorcraft Mercon LV for less than $35, I'd be stupid not to. That quote you mentioned above would literally pay for over 125 fluid changes.


... if you don't mind my asking, how many miles were on that 2013 when the transmission failed?

 

[mightymousetech]

Also, most manufacturers consider the "lifetime" of a vehicle as 160k km, some consider 240k km as "lifetime".

Most people consider the lifetime to be much longer than that.

 

[DBMaster]

As a compromise, maybe I would do a single D&F, like I did, to check the fluid for discoloration, debris, or burnt smell. I do believe it possible to change the fluid TOO often as well.