How many of you, regularly change your transmission fluid and how often? There are two sides to this. Some people religiously change the fluid like they change their oil but at a 10-20K interval. Over people never touch the stuff. I have heard that if you have never serviced the transmission fluid, and then one day at 100,000 miles, you decide to change the fluid, you are likely to wind up with a slipping clutch. The reason is that you neglected the fluid for so long that it is likely to have built a somewhat different complex with abrasive particles. The clutch components are therefore aged with the fluid and are in a relatively adapted "worn" condition. Adding fresh clean fluid then causes more problems than had you never done it at all (mostly slippage problems). This might sound funny, but I have witnessed on a few accounts, and the point was actually brought up by a mechanic. Obviously, the best medicine is to follow the vehicles recommendation service interval.
- posted
18 years ago