Q: I have a 1996 Toyota Camry with 133,000 miles on it. The local Toyota dealer says that it's way overdue for a transmission flush. But when I go to local quick lube shops they all refuse to do it because of the mileage on the vehicle. The transmission operates perfectly now, but the transmission fluid is not red, its a pretty dark brown. Is it wise to have a dealer do the work and risk having trouble after the job or just keep going and hope for the best?
A: The answer to this question is a tough one to arrive at. On high mileage transmissions, fluid change is a crap shoot because one has no way of knowing the extent of internal wear. When the old fluid gets burnt and worn out, the transmission experiences excessive internal wear, this causes the unit to heat up, heat causes the glue on the clutches to become brittle and to crystallize. When new fluid is introduced into the unit the high detergent aspect of the new fluid scrubs the old glue away from the back of the clutches rendering the transmission useless. Take it to the dealer, have them drop the pan to try to get a handle on the extent of internal wear then proceed from there.
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They Won't Change My Transmission Fluid
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. At this point it's a crap shoot. You waited too long. Don't be surprised if after the fliud and filter or screen is changed that the car doesn't move or start slipping not too far now the line. If that happens you will have to overhaul that transmission. My suggestion is if it's not slipping or giving you any trouble leave it alone. If you are seeing any trouble the transmission service won't fix anything. It will do the oppisite and give you more problems then you already have.
I'm saying this from 30+ years of transmission experience. Good Luck !
Posted at 9:34PM on Sep 5th 2008 by Sal
2. Hi, My car was cutting out occasionally when it got hot. I have a 30 min. trip to work, in the morning it would make it to work no problem. On the way home in the afternoon it would run about 20-25 min. and stall. I would pull over turn it off and wait 5 min. or so. Then I would start it and it would be fine the remainder of my trip. Recently it stalled on the expressway after 15 min. on a 80 degree day. I waited and it would not start again. Towed it to a garage and they said the wires were melted to the engine block. the wires went to the crank sensor. they replaced the wires and the sensor. No luck starting. I have since brought it home before it got too expensive and checked continuity on the wires from the computer plug to the sensor end. I heard that part store sensors might be bad, and maybe I should get it from the dealer. No spark on the ignition.
Thanks, Bob from Buffalo,NY
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Posted at 6:57PM on Sep 29th 2008 by roboff67
3. Found a good mechanic on this auto repair ratings site only for NY metro area - http://www.motortipster.com (a not-for-profit site) …what locals are saying about their repair shops and dealerships.
Posted at 10:30AM on Oct 5th 2008 by Rob
4. In the many years I spent in the transmission repair industry lack of maintenance was the number
one cause of failure. Dirty , broken down fluid
can cause hardening of seals and clutches.
If you have the pan cleaned and a new filter installed only approximately half of the fluid will
come out. A dilution of half new fluid would probably help extend the life. In managing a fleet
that is how we do it.
David, Fleet Manager
http://www.execvipshuttle.com/tours.htm"
Posted at 5:21PM on Dec 9th 2008 by David
5. I have a 2004 Toyota Corolla automatic with 38,000 miles and the car runs great. When should I change the transmission fulid or do I even need to have it changed? The the dip stick lable states no need to change under normal driving conditions; which I drive.(the car shifts fine)
Best Regards,
Guy
Posted at 3:47PM on May 19th 2009 by GuY
6. I would not change the fluid. For example, my car is a 2003 Jaguar x-type with a 5-spd automatic. This is a sealed transmission (no dipstick) using synthetic ATF. I just passed 86K miles and the tranny shifts as smoothly now as it did when I purchased the vehicle new. Jaguar says that under "normal" driving conditions, the fluid does not have to be changed. I never tow a trailer and I live in a moderate climate where it rarely exceeds 90 deg in the Summer. Synthetic fluid is far more resistant to thermal breakdown than dino fluid. So, if your tranny uses synthetic ATF and you don't tow a trailer frequently or live in Phoenix, AZ, I say don't change the ATF.
Posted at 11:09AM on Jul 2nd 2009 by Neal Kaye
7. When it comes to transmission service. try to stay on top of the fluids as much as possible. Things happen in life but you'll avoid REALLY big problems in the future.
http://www.transmaticstransmissions.com .
Posted at 3:53PM on Aug 24th 2009 by shelby