I’ve read the old threads on transmission flushes. The general consensus is that you should get them done. There was no strong consensus on how often you need them; the suggestions run from every 30,000 miles to every 100,000 miles. And there were a few people who said they don’t do it.
But I took my car in to a dealership for an oil change and a routine maintenance check about a month back. And they told me I should get a transmission flush. They said I should get one at 100,000 miles and my car’s past that (at 116,000 miles).
I have had no problems with my transmission but I figured they were probably right. I have no problem with preventive maintenance. But I wasn’t going to get the job done at the dealer’s because I knew from experience their prices are much higher than I can get elsewhere.
So I’ve called around and I’ve found a garage that’s offering a good price (less than half of what the dealership was asking). But when I called up to book the appointment, the guy at the garage asked me if I’d been having problems with my transmission. I told him no and said this was just routine maintenance. And he told me that he didn’t recommend that I get a transmission flush unless I was having a problem. He went on to say that he has seen cases where people who didn’t have any problems starting having problems after getting a flush.
This is an opinion I had never encountered before. At most, I thought I might be spending some money unnecessarily; I didn’t think I could be causing any harm.
But I tend to listen to what he’s saying because A) he does this for a living and I know very little about cars, B) he had every incentive to tell me I needed the work and no incentive to tell me I didn’t, and C) he’s telling me I don’t have to spend two hundred dollars which is something I’m happy to do.
But I’ll throw this out to the people here who know more about this than I do. Can getting a transmission flush on a car that has no transmission problems somehow cause some transmission problems?
Manual, Automatic or Continuously variable (like a Prius)?
What year is the car?
If it is a manual, probably good idea to get it done, but I haven’t had a transmission fluid flush in decades for my automatics and variables. I lean towards this is no longer a thing unless you’re having an issue. I’m also assuming a post 2000 car.
That is actually very common. I am not a mechanic so I can’t tell you the exact reason why but the gunk that builds up from wear and tear helps the clutch from slipping (I’m sure someone will correct me). The idea is if you change the fluid often, you do not get the wear so flushes are fine, but if you let it go for a while then wear starts and you should just do a drain and fill.
The only car system I ever flushed was the radiator/cooling network back in the 1980s.
Obviously entirely different than the transmission, however, it loosened up all manner of metallic and unidentifiable flotsam. This created a cascade of leaks and unending problems that necessitated an entirely new radiator installation.
In my perspective, flushing is more kinetically potent than simply changing a reservoir of fluid.
ETA: Your vehicle’s service schedule (66-page PDF) really doesn’t call for it unless your vehicle spends the majority of its time in what the document calls “special operating conditions.”
I would not flush an automatic transmission at that millage but drain and refill. This does a partial change. The reason is that the transmission has surfaces that require friction, that friction is initially provided by the mating surfaces, but that wears out over time, at which time some of the friction material is in the fluid instead of the surfaces, and even though not ideal, it works. Flushing the fluid does restore the qualities needed , but does not replace friction material and without sufficient friction the transmission can slip, which causes a downwards spiral towards failure. Just doing a fluid change does leave usually about 50% of the old fluid in place with enough friction material to give grip + not enough to cause harm while re-upping the other qualities of the fluid.
NEVER agree to an automatic transmission flush! When a mechanic suggests that, you know that you are dealing with the equivalent of a quack doctor.
Transmission service should be done around 80k to 100k miles. The filter is inside the pan that holds the fluid. The only way to change the filter is with a full service and take off the pan.
Drain fluid, remove and clean the pan, replace the filter with a new one, put it back together and refill with fluid. It does use a lot more fluid than an oil change, sometimes a special kind.
They will sell you a ‘flush’ and pump fluid back through the system, washing the dirt collected by your filter and any sediment in the pan back into the system. You still do not have a new transmission flter. You probably have had nothing at all done at all. It is a scam upcharge, how will you know that anything has actualy been done? Worst up charge from dealerships you will ever see. Any mechanic telling you to flush your transmission is not your freind.
Sorry, I am a bit of a Car Nut and do not like to see people getting scammed because they are uninformed.
After driving my 2013 Civic SI in Florida for four years, when the shifts started getting difficult, including kick-outs, I had one done and it was now shifting as smooth as silk. Been in Ohio for 2.5 years so without the scorching summers dunno when or if I’ll need a new one.
I just bought a 2012 used Honda Fit with 173,000+ miles on it (wanted a cheap, reliable local driver) and decided to do the transmission flush. Before the flush the transmission was a bit rough at low speeds. After the flush it’s been silky smooth at every speed. My mechanic told me what he got out was black. He has a topnotch reputation in town and has always taken excellent care of my vehicles, so I don’t think I got taken.
For ATs, I’ll simply drain it every now and then, then add new ATF. Since I’m not draining the torque converter, it means I drain & replace about 40% of it, or so. Which I think is O.K. if it’s done regularly.
Given the kinds of temps transmissions run internally, I rather doubt the small difference between e.g. 80F summers in Ohio and 95F summers in Florida matter at all. And unlike people, machinery like that is not sensitive to humidity at all.
I could sure believe that your transmission service, whatever specifically it was, improved your shifting. I bet the years and mileage since that service are a lot less than the years and mileage since the previous service. If there ever was one.