Tranny Flush?

[btb4u]

After just visiting an oil change place, they showed me my tranny fluid and it was very dark not red. I only have 17000 miles on my vibe. Is this possible already? The Manual says 30,000 for the flush like all other vehicles. Is this a scam or something that needs to be taken care of?

[Mavrik]

Well do you use your Vibe to pull anything? And 30,000miles is the suggested milage for a flush, based on driving habits it could be before or after. I take it your driving an automatic?

[jake75]

I always thought that was a 50,000-60,000 mile maintenance item. Guess I'd better read the manual.

[Mavrik]

I don't know the US one cause its in miles... we canadians do everything in KM lol

[threekrows]

If you're not sure,get a second opinion!Usually if one's burnt,it will smell really bad.Mileage doesn't matter,I've seen trannys fried with 2000 miles,and seen some with 200,000 that are still going.It's still warranty,ask the dealer if they think theres a cause for concern.If you're worried that they're blowing you off,tell them you want it documented for future reference,since you thought it had a problem and they didn't do anything....ummm,make ANY sense?

[goodvibe]

I would replace it now at the dealer. It is effectively the break in fluid. You can get a second opinion at the dealer and get the correct fluid put in. Autos are fussy about fluid type. Auto fluids suspend a lot of wear bits in them from normal use and probably more in the first fill. Get it flushed since a drain and fill only replaces some of the fluid. Synth is not ussually a big advantage here unless you're really hard on the car.

[themrfreeze]

Oil change places are notorious for finding all sorts of "problems" with the various fluids in cars. That's how they make money....they get you in for the oil change and then try to sell you a slew of other things that you don't really need. Some chains actually *require* their stores to sell a certain number of these unnecessary services every month.First off, color is NEVER a good indicator of fluid condition. Various manufacturers use different color fluids to begin with. Just because pink/red is the traditional color for tranny fluid doesn't mean that Toyota uses it. Heck, green is the traditional color for coolant, and my VW uses pink/red.If you're at all concerned about the fluid condition in your tranny, visit the dealership and ask them what color the fluid is supposed to be. The fluid *is* going to get a little dirty over time (especially the original fluid, which will get dirty as the tranny breaks in), but if there's a vast color difference, you might want to talk to their service department about it and see if they want to do anything about it.

[JayC]

I second what "themrfreeze" said. Do not trust "oil change" shops!!!I will share one of my experience. I went to an "oil change" shop to get an oil change for my old car at 94000 miles. I had previously completed comprehensive 90000 service which changed virtually all maintainance items. The service man comes in after looking at my car and tells me that I need a new air filter, windshield wipers, and transmission fluid change. I looked at him straight in the eyes and told him all those were changed 4000 miles ago. He just said OK and went back out. A few minutes later another service guys comes in and tells an older couple who arrived five minutes after I did that they need a new air filter, windshield wipers and transmission fluid change. They went for the air filter and windshield wiper change. WHAT A SCAM!!! And this was a nationally known chain (which doesn't mean anything anyway).I have never gone back to one of those quick oil change places.

[Fialchar]

I was told by my friend Scott who works at a transmission shop that when tranny fluid turns dark it's unable to properly coat all of the belts within the transmission like it should, and it'll give you transmission problems. He actually told me that after I told him the car seemed to shift more harshly and he told me that most likely the tranny fluid was dark, which it was. Transmission fluid should be a pinkish color, to my understanding, and if it turns dark it should be flushed to prevent transmission damage.