nhanson

iTrader: (1)

So Im wondering when to change the fluid. The manual says it never needs changing if its good conditions or 100k for harsh conditions.

BUT i beat the **** out of my car daily and i just passed 57k

opinions?

outtamymind

since you drive aggressive i would recommend a trans service at the 100k mark. if your really that worried you can do it sooner, its not gonna harm anything.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

ok thanks

07cobalt2.2

I did mine at 50K and they said it was in very good shape, BUT i drive mine on the free way mostly and I drive it really nice most of the time, I would say u should get yours in.

outtamymind

even my manual recommended it at 100,000 km's. i've changed out my trany fluid 3 times already and i'm going for a 4th here shortly but at the same time i drive mine fairly aggressive as well as i winter drive it and our winters up here can be quite harsh.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

yea last winter i did a LOT of spinning in the winter

outtamymind

its not even the spinning its the warm up times and driving before the trans fluid is fully warmed up, thats just as harsh if not harsher then spinning the tires if you ask me

BlackARCA06

iTrader: (5)

Yea im planning on changing mine at 100k, I drive pretty easy, but WOT one or two times a week.

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

any 06 up gm is factory filled with dexron VI fluid, it has an estimated service life of 100k miles. i service lots of gm vehicles with dex 6 and i believe thats just too long. the oil comes out looking like varnish. the oil may chemically last 100k miles but the rest of the things that get done on a tranny service need doing sooner. the silter does over time get filled up with too much material and will start to have restricted flow. the magnet is another very important thing, transmissions do shed some metal particals and the magnet must be able to pick them up, if not the end up in the next magnetic thing, and thats the shift solenoids. metal can plug up and damage a solenoid, causing problems. for this reason its important that the magnet gets wiped off so it can do its job. keep in mind here that the 4t45e came out in 1995 in the 3rd gen cavalier/sunfire as the 4t40e. little has change with the tranny, it was designed with a 30k mile service interval with dex III fluid. however no matter what the fluid, it will oxidize causing it to break down and leave sludge.

with that in mind, i would recommend changing the fluid every 50k miles, or 30k miles. you cant over service your transmission, its better to do it more often.

and just for the record servicing often does help life. my shop has quite a few customers that bring their vehicles in every year for a service. 2 that come to mind, one is an early 90s ford explorer, the other is a chrysler lebaron. these are 2 vehicles known for transmission problems starting around 80k miles and almost always had a failure by 150k miles. both are now over 250k miles still on the original transmissions, both work great.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

Wow good post.

I think ill have a dealership do it. It seems a PITA to do with the stupid fill plugs

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

it isnt really, you just need to have the car up on 4 jack stands so its level, with the car running in park pull the plug out and wait till its just dripping out. to fill the tranny there is a big black plastic plug on the top of the tranny case.