Changing the fluids in your car is an important step to maintain your vehicle. While changing the engine oil is a well-practiced measure, the other fluids in your car may also require interval maintenance. You can learn a lot about your car by reading the maintenance service interval schedule. All vehicles are different. They take different grades of oil and transmission fluid. Some require more frequent changes than others.

Learning About Your Car

Each vehicle comes with an owners manual, and some provide an additional maintenance service schedule. Both are important because they will reveal the model's fluid specifications and recommended interval maintenance for both oil and transmission fluid changes. If you do not have either an owners manual or maintenance schedule for your vehicle, obtain one at a dealership. A print-out can be provided by most repair stations that perform vehicle maintenance. Since there are many different makes and models, manufacturers design their vehicles and integrated motors to run on specific grades of transmission fluid and oil. These specific grades are tested on the engines and transmission and should never be altered or you could risk damaging your engine and transmission.

Oil Change Controversy

The oil change controversy began when higher grades of oil were manufactured with more protective additives. Synthetic oil was then created as an even better alternative to premium oils. Suddenly, the old standard of changing your oil every 3,000 miles became confusing. Vehicle manufacturers began recommending between 5,000 and 10,000 miles between changes. However, most maintenance stations still recommend replacing it every 3,000 miles. You're not going to damage your vehicle if you get oil changes more frequently than the recommended intervals provided in your schedule. You may have problems if you extend it far beyond the recommended mileage. Synthetic oils usually offer more longevity between services, but you pay more for premium synthetic oil. Its benefit is to last longer. So changing it frequently may defeat its purpose.

Transmission Fluid Changes

Whether the vehicle is a standard or automatic transmission, the fluid should be changed per recommendations made in the maintenance schedule. There are a few cars on the road that integrate a sealed and maintenance-free transmission. Reading the manual and understanding how your car works will inform you what, if and when to change the transmission fluid. Standard transmissions usually recommend between 15,000 and 30,000 miles depending on usage. Automatic transmissions usually offer a little more longevity. Some may start around 30,000 mile intervals, but others may double that or go 100,000 miles between changes. Keep in mind that dropping an automatic transmission pan and changing the filter, while a good service to do if recommended in the maintenance schedule, does not change all of the transmission fluid. Changing the filter is a good service, but only replacing the fluid lost from the pan-drop only changes about 1/4 to 1/3 of the transmission fluid. The rest remains inside the torque converter. A transmission flush in addition to the pan drop and filter change is a far superior alternative to replace all of the transmission fluid in the system.

Source:

Car Talk Service Advice: Oil Changes

Transmission Fluid