The Sealed Transmission Myth?. (vehicle, best, purchase, engine)
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Hello All,
My trans is sealed, yet the manual says change fluid every 50K miles; which of course isn't a total fluid replacement. My mechanic says GM put in the maintenance schedule for profit margin purposes, that it is not necessary. With this in mind, Mini Cooper once lost a lawsuit over this; by stating in their manual it doesn't need to be changed. Mechanics soon realized changing it often was the only means to prolong the trans life, cuz' Mini doesn't make them very well to begin with.
So which is it on a Chevy Malibu, change or not to change?.
The other issue is I've heard horror stories on total fluid replacement machines not being cleaned properly between use, so I'm hesitant to do that.
TY in advance for any input.
I FIRMLY believe in preventative maintenance, therefore, on my cars that have had a dipstick on the automatic transmission, I used to change the filter and fluid semi-annually. The reason I say, "with a dipstick", is because that's how you refill the tranny.
Too many cars these days, don't have a dipstick, as there isn't enough room within the engine compartment to accommodate one, making the drain, replace filter, refill tranny procedure a complicated one. Therefore, the manufacturer says, "filled for life", and then hopes that it lasts beyond the warranty period.
As far as I'm concerned, even with the use of synthetic fluids, IMHO, a transmission should have it's filter replaced, and the fluid in the pan, changed out every 30-40,000 miles. And yes, I've heard where the "flush machines" can get contaminated with crappy fluid, usually from a car that's had it's fluid flushed as a "last resort" to a failing transmission. And keep it in mind, the "flushers" do NOT replace the filter with a new one, during the process. They just hope that enough of any contaminants that are captured by your filter either stay captured, or get flushed away. Not too comforting, IMHO......
I FIRMLY believe in preventative maintenance, therefore, on my cars that have had a dipstick on the automatic transmission, I used to change the filter and fluid semi-annually. The reason I say, "with a dipstick", is because that's how you refill the tranny.
Too many cars these days, don't have a dipstick, as there isn't enough room within the engine compartment to accommodate one, making the drain, replace filter, refill tranny procedure a complicated one. Therefore, the manufacturer says, "filled for life", and then hopes that it lasts beyond the warranty period.
As far as I'm concerned, even with the use of synthetic fluids, IMHO, a transmission should have it's filter replaced, and the fluid in the pan, changed out every 30-40,000 miles. And yes, I've heard where the "flush machines" can get contaminated with crappy fluid, usually from a car that's had it's fluid flushed as a "last resort" to a failing transmission. And keep it in mind, the "flushers" do NOT replace the filter with a new one, during the process. They just hope that enough of any contaminants that are captured by your filter either stay captured, or get flushed away. Not too comforting, IMHO......
Mine has plenty of room for a dipstick, above the fill cap GM used instead.
Which fortunately makes changing fluid the same as it's always been, with one simple addition; one must measure the dirty fluid and replace with same amount. This seems a more accurate means than a dipstick anyways.
Hello All,
My trans is sealed, yet the manual says change fluid every 50K miles; which of course isn't a total fluid replacement. My mechanic says GM put in the maintenance schedule for profit margin purposes, that it is not necessary. With this in mind, Mini Cooper once lost a lawsuit over this; by stating in their manual it doesn't need to be changed. Mechanics soon realized changing it often was the only means to prolong the trans life, cuz' Mini doesn't make them very well to begin with.
So which is it on a Chevy Malibu, change or not to change?.
The other issue is I've heard horror stories on total fluid replacement machines not being cleaned properly between use, so I'm hesitant to do that.
TY in advance for any input.
There is no fluid made that lasts forever. I don’t care what the manufacturer says. The whole “lifetime fluid “ is bs. The manufacturers like to say that because they try to push the low maintenance cost in ownership and they know most likely you will no own that car when hard parts wear and it will be out of warranty so they won’t care. Every one of those sealed transmissions have a fill and drain plug.there are all kinds of ways to get fluid in there. I have a small pump made for quart bottles.
IF you plan on keeping the car change the fluids.
Mechanical gear boxes have metal parts that contact each other under load. Wear occurs and particles are produced and held in the fluid. Precision design and manufacturing means lube change is required less often than in the past but there it is still appropriate over time. Plan on changing every 30-50K miles for best transmission performance and life.
life time warrantees are based on the fact that the average vehicle owner keeps their vehicles six years. That is your life time warrantee..! A large % of people trade far more often than that, the odds are in favor of the mfg making such claims. Very few people will keep their vehicle long enough to make a claim. Same goes for tires, shocks, everything. They figure by the time you're ready to claim their lifetime guarantee you no longer own the vehicle. It makes a very nice advertisement, but in reality they will pay out very, very few claims..
Mechanical gear boxes have metal parts that contact each other under load. Wear occurs and particles are produced and held in the fluid. Precision design and manufacturing means lube change is required less often than in the past but there it is still appropriate over time. Plan on changing every 30-50K miles for best transmission performance and life.
Actually, most wear on mechanical parts occurs when the vehicle is new and parts are wearing in. Many/most mfg's put in special break in oil and recommend driving easy and changing oil the first time at low miles, then you put in a different oil for the long run. Change you fluid at 5 or 10 and you should be good for a very long time.
There is no fluid made that lasts forever. I don’t care what the manufacturer says. The whole “lifetime fluid “ is bs.
IF you plan on keeping the car change the fluids.
A neighbor stated that he took his car to dealer for transmission fluid change and was told it is lifetime and cannot be changed.
A simple utube search found that same car has a nut/bolt to drain fluid.
Lifetime fluid is not lifetime. And whose lifetime. The owner? The car? Forever?
Then some state that not all fluid is drained. So what.
Never ever do a "flush" on any older vehicle. The "flush" is a scam. These shops purchased these expensive flush machines and want to get their money back. Skip any flush no matter what is stated here or stated by your dealership.
There is no fluid made that lasts forever. I don’t care what the manufacturer says. The whole “lifetime fluid “ is bs. The manufacturers like to say that because they try to push the low maintenance cost in ownership and they know most likely you will no own that car when hard parts wear and it will be out of warranty so they won’t care. Every one of those sealed transmissions have a fill and drain plug.there are all kinds of ways to get fluid in there. I have a small pump made for quart bottles.
IF you plan on keeping the car change the fluids.
I agree that routine drain and fill of the ATF is a good idea. However, have manufacturers really made a thing of advertising it as lifetime? I've never encountered that. Something you've got to do some digging to find out beforehand or just find in the owner's manual after the sale.
Are there ads out there like "buy the new Widget and never change atf again" to substantiate what you're saying?
There is no fluid made that lasts forever. I don’t care what the manufacturer says. The whole “lifetime fluid “ is bs. The manufacturers like to say that because they try to push the low maintenance cost in ownership and they know most likely you will no own that car when hard parts wear and it will be out of warranty so they won’t care. Every one of those sealed transmissions have a fill and drain plug.there are all kinds of ways to get fluid in there. I have a small pump made for quart bottles.
IF you plan on keeping the car change the fluids.
No, it is not.
Lifetime fluid is guaranteed for the lifetime of the vehicle. There they do not lie.
Now, what they do NOT tell you is what exactly that lifetime of the VEHICLE is.
Some sources say, engine resource is around 140 000 miles. But those are sources from way across the pond. I could not for the love of god find any sources on manufacturer vehicle expected resource HERE though, allegedly, in Europe, that info is readily available. I've seen charts.
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