At Bob & Sons Auto we are all about preventative maintenance.  We believe that if we are proactive about maintenance on our customer’s vehicles, then those said vehicles will break down less often.  Vehicle maintenance services are much more economical than vehicle breakdown repairs.

One of those vehicle maintenance services that we love to perform at Bob & Sons Auto involves replacing the transmission fluid.  Transmission fluid is a slippery liquid that acts as a lubricant for all of the moving parts inside your transmission. In an automatic transmission, this fluid also serves as a coolant and a viscous fluid that transmits power from the engine to the transmission.

When should I do this service?

Manual transmission: Most manufacturers recommend that manual transmission fluid be changed every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. Under heavy-duty use, some manufacturers suggest changing transmission fluid every 15,000 miles.

Automatic transmission: Service intervals for an automatic transmission vary from every 30,000 miles … to never. The typical service interval is 40,000 to 80,000 miles. Changing it more often does no harm.

Why do I have to do this?

Fluid contamination and heat.  Contamination occurs over time as the synchronizers, bearings and gears in the transmission wear out. The resulting metal particles then float around in the lubricant.  Oil with microscopic particles of metal in it does not lubricate as well as clean oil. So if these contaminants are not drained out, they will shorten the life of your transmission.  Heat is the other major factor in the need to replace transmission fluid.  Heat degrades oil after so much time.  This same thing happens with transmission fluid.

What happens if I don’t do this?

If you decide not to replace the fluid inside your transmission, your car will have metal pieces floating around inside your transmission.  Or over time the fluid will degrade and you will have burnt worn-out fluid.  At some point, the transmission won’t be able to lubricate itself properly and this will lead to a break down which could be very costly.

Transmissions are one of the costlier items on a vehicle to replace.  Replacing the fluid at maintenance intervals will lessen the chance of that costly item needing to ever be replaced.  At Bob & Sons Auto we check the condition of the transmission fluid on every car that we see in hopes we can help our customers be proactive and avoid an expensive transmission replacement.