The maintenance schedule that came with my 2004 Dodge Stratus 2.7 states to change the automatic transmission fluid at 60,000 miles for normal operation.
My mechanic says that is nonsence and it should be flushed and changed every 30,000 miles. He added that if I followed this schedule the transmission may last 100,000 miles.
Could it be a misprint in the maintenance schedule.
How often do you experts think this service should be performed?
And is 100,000 miles stretching it for this transmission?
Normal operation is very misleading. If you do stop and go driving, drive in extreme heat or cold, that is severe duty. Normal conditions is interstate driving at 60 mph without any need to decrease or increase the speed for any reason except stopping for fuel and fluid changes. I would see what the manual says for severe duty.
factory maintenance procedures are always best to follow. 60k miles is fine for this vehicle. only thing i would do differently is to have a t-tech service done rather than just the fluid change. when you have a fluid service done less than half the fluid is changed. a t-tech machine changes all of the fluid -as much as 14 quarts in some transmissions. It is more expensive but when you change your engine oil do you only change one quart and add a new quart? of course not, just like you wouldn't want to change a baby's diaper and not clean off it's lil butt! do it complete, do it correct, do it on time and your tranny will last a lifetime!
I would stick to 30 thousand on this vehicle you have here. Me and My father have been working on Chryslers and Dodge (Same Thing) For a long time. 30 K is the best way to keep these mopar tranny's from being sissy's. I mean 60 thousand is alot. Espeacially when you take into account where you live and the conditions. If you live in a heated very heated climate 30 thousand would be great. Cooler weather or maybe not really driving the vehicle all that much can allow you to wait for the servicing of the trans.(Take longer time.) Key for yourself is to roll your sleeves up during the weekend and just pull the dipstick. Get a funky smell like a burnt smell then it's time to take it in asap. Also your car will begin to tell you all of this while driving. Slight slipping or harsh shifting is always a big HINT from your car telling you something is wrong. But check the fluids make sure you have enough and have a good transmission fluid smell. Automatic trans flushes are great because the machine doesn't just change 5 or 4 qt's that you dropped from dropping the transpan it allows you to change all of the fluid! Just make sure you do it somewhere where the ACTUALLY REALLY USE THE MACHINE. (Avoid the scams)
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Re: Automatic Transmission Fluid Flush
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I would stick to 30 thousand on this vehicle you have here. Me and My father have been working on Chryslers and Dodge (Same Thing) For a long time. 30 K is the best way to keep these mopar tranny's from being sissy's. I mean 60 thousand is alot. Espeacially when you take into account where you live and the conditions. If you live in a heated very heated climate 30 thousand would be great. Cooler weather or maybe not really driving the vehicle all that much can allow you to wait for the servicing of the trans.(Take longer time.) Key for yourself is to roll your sleeves up during the weekend and just pull the dipstick. Get a funky smell like a burnt smell then it's time to take it in asap. Also your car will begin to tell you all of this while driving. Slight slipping or harsh shifting is always a big HINT from your car telling you something is wrong. But check the fluids make sure you have enough and have a good transmission fluid smell. Automatic trans flushes are great because the machine doesn't just change 5 or 4 qt's that you dropped from dropping the transpan it allows you to change all of the fluid! Just make sure you do it somewhere where the ACTUALLY REALLY USE THE MACHINE. (Avoid the scams)