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manual transmission oil change

I have an 04 Eclipse 2.4 with manual transmission- 50k

It was bought during a promotion that provided 3 years free scheduled maintenance and an extended warranty from Mitsu. The dealer has provided the "free" maintenance.

The last 2 visits (one free and one for fee after the 3 years) has had the dealer putting extreme pressure on me to purchase a $90+ transmission service- "preventative- you can pay me $90 now or $1900 when the transmission fails". He claims that any "warranty" claim on the transmission in the future will be denied unless I do the work "NOW!" yet it was not done during the "free scheduled" period.

I have driven only stick shift cars since I was 16 and have NEVER heard it necessary to change transmission oil as a preventative measure. I'm not grinding gears, and my previous Eclipse (2000) never had this service.

Is the dealer just trying to rape me, or is there something I'm missing here.

Thanx Stu

Reply to
stu
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If the transmission service is listed in the owner's manual or service log as a scheduled service, they may have you on the warranty thing. But $90.00! You can probably get the gear oil changed for far less at a private shop or quick lube. Ask the shop to include the brand name of the oil used on the receipt. If the dealer claims that the oil used was to blame and denies a warranty claim then Quaker State (or whatever brand) will defend their product on your behalf.

That said, unless a leak causes the lubricant to run low, you might reasonably expect the transmission to last more than 100k without the service. It wouldn't be a bad idea though to remove the drain plug and examine the oil. Look for discoloration, signs of water or metal particles. Some drain plugs have a magnet attached that should be cleaned before replacing.

Reply to
G. R. Woodring

On an automatic transmission, yes, maybe. The great thing about manuals is that they can sound like a rock crusher and still the car will move. Automatics get one little thing wrong and you're stopped by the roadside.

Have the dealer show you the warranty schedule where it shows EXACTLY what has to be done during this preventive service. There's little else to do other than change the oil and check that the clutch fluid is correct and the slave cylinder is not leaking. So lets see ... put the car on the hoist, drain the oil, refill with about 1 litre, check the slave cylinder and lower the hoist. Can't see that taking more than 30 minutes. So, $8 for oil and $30 for labour, but let's say $50 tops. What's the other $40 for?

Also, ask him to show you some warranty statistics for manual vs automatic failures that cost $1900+. He WILL have this information, but may not show it to you.

Reply to
Stewart DIBBS

Yes, I think the dealer is trying to rape you, but regularly changing gear oil DOES have benefits. I suggest you have it done every 60k, but simply drain/replace using a good synthetic oil. I dunno which variety the Mitsu nerds prefer, but in the Mazda and Nissan world Redline MT-90 works awfully well.

IMHO, the far more often overlooked service is coolant, which NEEDS to be changed every 60k. It definitely loads up with Bad Things as it gets old, and if you change it on schedule, water pump failures become less common.

Dave

Reply to
David Geesaman

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