Once you have bought a car for yourself and your family, it is vital to take extra precautions to maintain your car’s healthy performance. In simple words, you have to take care of your vehicle’s maintenance just like you take care of your family members’ health. From changing engine oil to keeping the car’s gears moving smoothly, to keeping a regular check on your vehicle’s transmission fluid.
In a nutshell, just like replacing engine oil is imperative in order to maintain your vehicle’s health, it is just as important to replace the transmission fluid at timely intervals. Neglecting to do so can and may result in damage to the transmission and costly repairs.
To help identify when the right time to change your vehicle’s transmission fluid, we will be listing key factors to look out for. Remember, there are two types of fluids, one for automatic and the other for manual transmission vehicles. Therefore, you must ensure you are getting the right fluid for your car.
When to Change Transmission Fluid:
Generally, most people are unaware of when to change the transmission fluid. The changing of the fluid also depends on the vehicle brand you have. While you must know that if your car’s transmission fluid looks brownish, or you can sense a burning smell, then you must immediately flush out the old fluid and fill it with new one to ensure your vehicle’s gears move smoothly. On the other hand, if the fluid is red, and you can’t sense any burning smell, you are good to hit the roads.
Transmission fluid change in automatic transmission:
The fluid in automatic transmission vehicles tends to deteriorate faster when you are carrying a heavy load on your vehicle or your car regularly gets stuck in the city traffic. This will eventually lead to the fluid going bad with a change in its original color from red to brownish. The prominent reason behind the fluid deterioration is the transmission in your car heats up the more it is in operation.
When you get yourself ready to change the transmission fluid you must ensure you have gone through the owner’s manual as most of the vehicle companies recommend changing the oil every 100,000 to 150,000 miles. Most often local mechanics recommend you to change the transmission fluid earlier, but you should opt to be in the middle ground and change the fluid every 60,000 to 75,000 instead.
Transmission fluid change in manual transmission:
Most manufacturers around the world recommend that you change the gear oil of your manual transmission vehicle every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. However, this may vary depending on the make and model of your car. It is therefore best to refer to your vehicles owner manual for the optimal time on replacement as suggested by the manufacturer. On the other hand, if you are carrying heavy loads in your vehicles then it is advised to get the transmission oil changed every 20,000 miles. In addition, regular changing of gears can cause troubles for your car’s transmission and might require you to flush the oil earlier then its due date.
To Sum Up:
Your car care is vital, hence, it is advised to take extra precautions for your car’s smooth performance. Commonly, people forget to change the gear oil of their cars, which results in breakdowns. It is suggested to note down when you have topped up your vehicle’s transmission oil and note down your car’s running after a specific period of gear oil’s top-up. While on the other hand, you can get in touch with experts to know when to change the transmission fluid. Toyota Creek Motors is one such dealership that tends to provide its valuable customers with the right information about their vehicle’s maintenance and provide them with Toyota-certified products ranging from engine oil to transmission oil.
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