We hear this question quite often when we advise our clients on the needs of their vehicle. At Honest Wrenches, we strive to educate rather than sell to our clients, so that they can make the best informed decision to suit their needs and timeline of their vehicle. So, do you need to service your transmission fluid? The short answer is yes.

The myth that if you service your transmission fluid, your transmission will go out, is absolutely false. The job of transmission fluid is to clean, cool, and lubricate the internal components of your transmission. This means that over time, the transmission fluid will lose its lubricity, as well as the ability to clean and cool the transmission so you’ll need to service it so that your system will work properly. This is especially true during the summer months when it’s so hot out, as your transmission fluid will further degrade at high temperatures.

When servicing, flushing, or changing your transmission fluid it is extremely important that it is done correctly. This is where the myth of the transmission fluid service being dangerous for your transmission comes from, because if it is done incorrectly, it can be. If you do a drain and fill on your transmission fluid you can only get about 30% of the capacity of the fluid out. If you have it serviced, or flushed with an effective machine, it will get 99% of the old fluid out while replacing it with clean new fluid. 

If I had ½ gallon of spoiled milk, and were to mix it with another ½ gallon of good milk, I’d end up with a gallon of spoiled milk. That is exactly what happens with transmission fluid if you do not service it correctly. 

On Thursday, we’ll look more closely at the negative impacts of bad transmission fluid and the process of servicing it, so check back with us soon!