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I have now been looking for quite some time through old posts and through the maintenance scheduling in the manual, and I'm very confused on how often the manual transaxle fluid should be changed/flushed. I'm finding different numbers everywhere I look. Anyone know what it should be done at?

c'mon pleazzzzz . any knowledge is helpful.

Bump this thread - I'm also looking, someone's got to enlighten us...

Hi guys...By no means am I any authority on this but I changed my OEM fluid out early, like around 10,000. AMSoil people on here talked about if you switched to AMSoil or full synth, you may never have to change the oil again. I put in Mobil One till it got cold and was almost impossble to shift, then I put in Redline MT90 oil and it was fine. I will probably change it every 2 years (50,000) just because it was so easy to do. Others mentioned that it's possible the Castrol Syntorq was put in originally though I seriously doubt that. I've heard on here that the Castrol stuff is about as good as it gets but also difficult to find.I would suggest changing out what you have in there to Redline or AMSoil or some high quality synthetic as soon as possible (before or around 30,000) then change every 2 years or 50,000 miles. It really is relatively easy to drain and fill. I'm sure you can go much longer than 50,000 but it's easy maintenance and it doesn't hurt to change more frequently so, why not... right?DaveDave

so, ur saying to get it flushed and replaced with the Redline or Amsoil at around 30,000, and then just drain it and re-fill it every 50,000 miles?thnx a ton for the help by the way. I was starting to get hopeless. lol

I know you asked about manual but I do my auto trans at every 25,000-30,000 miles. If I had a manual I would do the same for it though. I do not use synthitic fluid in the Vibe but if I did, I would extend that interval probably. My Corvette's 6-speed uses Mobil1 trans fluid now. I did that because I wanted the benfits for extreme heat. That cars trans is in the rear and takes a lot of heat.

Quote, originally posted by tcam »so, ur saying to get it flushed and replaced with the Redline or Amsoil at around 30,000, and then just drain it and re-fill it every 50,000 miles?Those numbers just seem logical to me though I'd switch out the OEM stuff as soon as possible then go every 50,000 on the Synth. Again, it was an easy maintenance thing to do (once I found the correct plugs on the tranny)Dave

DavidPIL, I took ur advice and decided to set-up an appointment for tomorrow. I'm anxious for smoother travels.

Alright, I had the tranny worked on today at Quebedaux, and here is what all happened. I gave them my car to work on, and I went to sit in their boring as heck waiting room. I waited for 45 long minutes just for the guy to come back into the waiting room and explain to me that it turns out I have "manual transaxle" which can not get flushed. I was pretty pissed at that point that this whole time I was waiting, all that they did was figure out that I drive a stick shift. For goodness sakes, I told you that I have a manual transaxle when I first set up the fricken appointment. And now I wait 45 minutes just for your guys to figure that out? What heck is going on back there?I then sit another 45 grueling minutes waiting for my car to be done. It finally finished just as i was about to go ask the dude what the **** happened to my car?!! And all in all, it does shift slightly smoother now, and I am glad that I had it done. But I'm very dissapointed that the people didn't tell me when I first set-up the appointment that a manual transaxle does not get flushed. Then, for me to wait an hour and a half just for some fluid to be drained and then refilled. I actually ended up being late to some golf that I was heading out to. I dunno, I suppose I'm just venting here, but I'm just truly frustrated with the service that I was given throughout this whole experience. Whatever, I just thought people were smarter/put more effort into their jobs than that.

hi tcam...I'm afraid that might be some of my fault. when reading your post I just glanced over the "flush" part and assumed you had read through some of the other posts about the drain and fill. THere have been several on it along with a write up and pics of how to do and where everything is. That's why I said it was such an easy thing for me to do that I do it in the intervals I described.It is a 15 minute process, maybe 20 minutes. Just need an extra long funnel (I attached a hose onto mine) and a catch pan. My plug took a 24mm socket, the fill took a 10mm hex shank. Then all you need is the right oil.Sorry about the mix-upDave

(removed)... I don't own any metric hex...Good reason to buy more tools! Thanks for the write up, what fluid would you all recommend?

no, it was not your fault at all. don't worry about it. Thanks a ton for your help though. It is always appreciated.

Quote, originally posted by binary »(removed)... I don't own any metric hex...Good reason to buy more tools! Thanks for the write up, what fluid would you all recommend?You need to make sure yours has the same fill plug. Mine is an 03 but apparently most of the 03's had a 17mm socket plug. I guess they started using the 10mm hex on the 04s? Aso, mine is a GT so it might have different socket sizes.As for the fluid... I use Redline MT90, which is their 75w90 weight oil (recommended for the Vibe). It's difficult to find but works great and keeps shifting rather smooth, even in the coldest conditons.Dave

In your case the trans fluid just gets drained and re-filled. You did fine despite the fact you waited long before they told you. A drain and re-fill for a manual trans, that is all...