When do you flush your transmission

This means having one of our service technicians check the fluid or perform a transmission flush. The transmission fluid should always be at a particular level to lubricate the parts.

It can be topped off, but the transmission flush is a more in-depth procedure. While you may be able to top off your transmission fluid on your own, a transmission flush requires specific and professional-grade equipment, which we use at our service center. Much like oil changes, transmission flushes should be performed every so often to maintain the transmission system, which you cannot drive without. If you bring your car in so our technicians can complete this service, your vehicle can stay running at its best.

Healthy and newer transmission fluid looks red or pink, while much older and burnt fluid appears brown or black. Our service center technicians see these situations daily, so they can easily identify and diagnose the problem.

Depending on what the manufacturer recommends, you may need to get a transmission flush every 30, miles or two years. Your best bet is to check your manual and consult with our technicians. A change usually does not drain all of the fluid, but does allow you to replace most of the old with fresh transmission fluid. Both services are helpful and can extend the life of your transmission. You should be aware that if the vehicle is displaying these symptoms, your dirty transmission may have already caused bigger problems.

Read more from Cars Direct here. If your car is displaying any of these symptoms or having other transmission issues, stop by our shop for an inspection. These include:. There is some speculation that a transmission flush can do more harm than good by dislodging debris along the transmission line.

However, this usually only happens when the auto shop is using a machine that forces the fluid backward through the system, instead of the gentle flush method we described above. That being said, if your vehicle has gone , miles or more and you've never done a transmission flush, there's a greater chance that a flush will cause the transmission to fail, and your mechanic may advise against it.

Performing a flush also helps to cleanse the transmission. Sludge and other contaminants can accumulate in the fluid due to extreme heat breaking down the fluid.

These contaminants then circulate throughout the transmission before lodging in the filter. Before the filter can safely capture the contaminants, however, they run the risk of lodging in the narrow passages inside the valve body, leading to poor shift quality.

Performing a flush also allows you to use a flush additive to help clean the transmission and more effectively remove accumulated sludge and other contaminants.

Transmission flushes are recommended every 45, miles or 3 years in place of a drain and fill or to replace fluid changes altogether. Many people will argue that a transmission flush is more effective than a drain and refill because old fluid remains in the transmission after the change, contaminating new fluid, thus, diminishing performance.

With a flush, all old fluid is removed with a flush machine and then new fluid is added, allowing the transmission to perform at its best.

However, the cost of a flush is significantly more than a simple drain and refill. In any case, choosing a fluid flush or a drain and refill is better than not performing any kind of maintenance on your transmission.

With some vehicles, a fluid flush or change is irrelevant as they may have a sealed transmission. Many transmissions fail after a transmission flush, not because of the flush, but because the transmission was already at the threshold of failure.

A transmission flush is not intended to fix transmission problems, it is meant to help maintain the transmission.