The factory shop manual does specify a complete fluid change and has instructions on how to do this.

 

Thank's

 

Really? I don't have the manual in front of me.. ok thanks.

So does that mean the "transmission fluid replacement" in the maintenance schedule should be the full flush or just the drain and fill like the dealership is doing?

I guess it doesn't matter since that's all they did on my outlander was the drain and fill. Just would be nice to know if they should be doing more.

 

Isn't there a risk of burning up the tranny by disconnecting the cooler hose and running the engine and pumping out the fluid? Shouldn't someone be adding fresh fluid simultaneously?

 

There is no risk if you do this quickly. You should only run the engine for 60-90 seconds to pump out the fluid. That is all it takes. There is no need to add fluid simultaneously. My Outlander has 123K miles on it now with two fluid changes and the transmission shifts beautifully.

 

It means change all the fluid at 45K mile intervals. That is what the factory shop manual specifies. The dealers are not conforming to factory recommendations. They are doing what gets the car out of the service bay as quickly as possible while still making good profit. Partial fluid change is better than nothing but it will never yield best performance and long life. Draining the tranny pan, you are lucky if you get half the old fluid out.

 

I do not see where it says to change the fluid at 45,000 miles. I see it says check the level and condition every 30,000 miles.

For people that have done it themselves at 30,000 miles, what is the condition of the oil? Or do people change it just to be on the safe side.


A little off topic, but the manual never says to change the rear axle oil, just check the level. Has anyone ever changed that?

 

I changed my rear diff at 60k miles. IMO, it needed it.

45k miles was what my local stealership said was time. They said 30k was too soon. At 45k, it had lost its rosy color and was just starting to darken.

 

My 97 owner's manual says to change the fluid at 45K mile intervals. I would do this even if the manual did not specify that. That is just good preventative maintenance practice. Transmission fluid does not have infinite life and these trannies run much hotter than ones built back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. Conventional wisdom used to be to change fluid every 30K miles until manufacturers started offering things like free maintenance. Then, they magically stopped recommending service intervals for fluid changes because they would have had to pay for it. 45-50 K miles is a good time to change transmission, transfer case and differential fluids if you want the car to last. Folks that lease and change cars every 3 years rarely do this and dealers will not encourage it.

All the proof I needed was in how much better my Outlander transmission shifted after each fluid change. It had started to slip a little between under full throttle with the old fluid and that went away with fresh fluid.