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When Is It Too Late To Change Your Car’s Transmission Fluid?

When Is It Too Late To Change Your Car’s Transmission Fluid?

A car’s transmission fluid is one of the most overlooked items when it comes to proper car maintenance.

It’s crucial to stay on top of it if you’re looking to increase the longevity of your vehicle, and to ensure it keeps its smooth shifts.

And really—the consumer, such as you or me, are not to blame for often deferred transmission fluid changes. When you have manufacturers such as BMW labeling their transmission fluid as “lifetime fills”, it could cause some confusion when deciding on whether or not to change it.

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As a rule of thumb, most (if not all) transmissions are serviceable, meaning that changing the transmission fluid should be done at certain intervals.

Now, not all transmissions (and transmission fluids) are made equal. Because of this, deciding on when to change your car’s transmission fluid varies greatly depending on the make and model of the vehicle, as well as the type of transmission it has.

Be sure to check your car’s owner’s manual for maintenance service schedules or have a look below for our general guidelines.

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When is it too late to change your cars manual transmission fluid

Manufacturers of most vehicles recommend that you change your manual transmission fluid at least every 60,000 to 100,000 miles or at certain yearly intervals (typically 5-year intervals if you don’t hit the mileage threshold). This all depends on the make and model of the vehicle as well as the driving conditions the vehicle is put through.

If you’re doing a lot of city driving, towing, or encounter stop-and-go traffic often in your manual vehicle, you should:

  • Change your vehicle's transmission fluid at shorter intervals
  • Refer to the "harsh" or "extreme" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual
  • This interval is typically every 30,000 miles
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Towing, stop-and-go and lots of city driving = "Harsh" driving conditions that deteriorate the transmission fluid faster

If you do a lot of highway driving in your manual vehicle, you should:

  • Consider changing your vehicle's transmission fluid at longer intervals
  • Refer to the "standard" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual
  • This interval is typically every 100,000 miles
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Highway driving = One of the best driving conditions for your transmission. Your transmission is not under constant gear changes and stress.

If your manual vehicle does not get driven as much and does not meet the mileage-based intervals, you should:

  • Consider changing your vehicle's transmission fluid at year-based intervals
  • Refer to the "standard" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual to find the year-based interval
  • This interval is typically every 5 or 10 years
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If your vehicle rarely gets driven, your transmission fluid change intervals will follow a yearly-based schedule instead of a mileage-based schedule

When is it too late to change your cars automatic transmission fluid

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Unlike manual transmissions, automatic transmissions generate more heat under operation, which makes maintaining fresh fluid even more crucial for these types of transmissions.

Like their manual transmission counterparts, manufacturers of most automatic transmission vehicles recommend that you change your transmission fluid at least every 60,000 to 100,000 miles (with some even recommending up to 150,000 miles!).

Here at HeyoCar, however, we are recommending that you consider changing the fluid at even shorter intervals if you have an automatic transmissions due to the higher heat conditions that they go through.

If you’re doing a lot of city driving, towing, or encounter stop-and-go traffic often in your automatic vehicle, you should:

  • Change your vehicle's transmission fluid at shorter intervals
  • Refer to the "harsh" or "extreme" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual
  • This interval is typically every 30,000 miles
⚠️
Towing, stop-and-go and lots of city driving = "Harsh" driving conditions that deteriorate the transmission fluid faster

If you do a lot of highway driving in your automatic vehicle, you should:

  • Consider changing your vehicle's transmission fluid at longer intervals
  • Refer to the "standard" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual
  • This interval is typically every 60,000 to 100,000 miles
⚠️
Highway driving = One of the best driving conditions for your transmission. Your transmission is not under constant gear changes and stress.

If your automatic vehicle does not get driven as much and does not meet the mileage-based intervals, you should:

  • Consider changing your vehicle's transmission fluid at year-based intervals
  • Refer to the "standard" driving condition fluid change intervals in your owner's manual to find the year-based interval
  • This interval is typically every 5 or 10 years
⚠️
If your vehicle rarely gets driven, your transmission fluid change intervals will follow a yearly-based schedule instead of a mileage-based schedule

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you need to change your cars transmission fluid

Transmission fluid acts as a lubricant and helps to cool the transmission. Within an automatic transmission, this fluid also helps to provide hydraulic pressure so that the transmission can engage the gears.

As the transmission fluid ages, it can deteriorate and lose the lubrication and cooling capabilities. The fluid can also begin to collect small amounts of metal shavings that are created from the friction of all the moving parts. Once the transmission fluid has deteriorated to this level, your car can feel like it’s shifting sluggishly or slipping out of gears.

While fresh fluid is not a solve for any mechanical problems with the transmission it can improve the shift quality and increase the life of a transmission for a longer time.

What happens if you don't change your transmission fluid on time

If you don’t replace your transmission fluid on time, it will break down over time and lose it’s lubricating and cooling properties, putting your transmission at risk for mechanical problems. Deteriorated transmission fluid will lead to sluggish shifts or slipping out of gears.

Will changing the transmission fluid ruin my transmission?

Changing your fluid will not ruin your car’s transmission if the transmission is fine to begin with.

If you’ve been following the proper fluid change intervals, then you should be good to go. The problem arises when you go and change the fluid when you’re already encountering sluggish shifts or slipping out of gears. This is because that already indicates some mechanical damage that a simple fluid change may not be able to fix.

Does a car run better after a transmission fluid change?

Yes! Changing your car’s transmission fluid at regular intervals will lead to smoother shifting and performance.

How much does a transmission fluid change cost?

According to FIXD, an average transmission fluid change cost is $230 to $475 depending on your car and where you go for servicing. The reason for this cost is due to the cost of the new fluid, transmission filter and transmission oil pan replacement on top of the labor cost.

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