When Should You Change Your Transmission Fluid?

Most people know that their car’s transmission is an integral component of their car that allows them to move forwards and backward.  But not everyone knows that their transmission needs to be maintained.  The best way to maintain the life of your transmission is by regularly changing the transmission fluid and filter of your transmission (if it has one).

So how often should you change your transmission fluid? Most vehicle manufacturers are going to recommend that you change your transmission fluid every 30,000 – 60,000 miles.  If the transmission of the vehicle is regularly under a lot of stress (the vehicle is used to tow or regularly drive up steep inclines) then most vehicle manufacturers recommend changing the transmission fluid at 15,000-mile intervals.

Below is a table that shows what each manufacturer recommends for its vehicles, pulled from dealer websites.

Vehicle	Recommended Transmission Fluid Change Interval
Toyota Corolla	60,000 – 100,000 miles
Honda Accord	Every 90,000 miles
Nissan Altima	30,000 – 60,000 miles
Kia Optima	Every 30,000 miles
Chevy Cruze	30,000 – 60,000 miles
Honda Civic	30,000 – 60,000 miles
Ford Fusion	Every 150,000 miles
Ford F-150	30,000 – 60,000 miles 15,000 if towing
Chevy Silverado	Every 45,000 miles
Dodge Ram	Every 100,000 miles
Toyota Tundra	60,000 – 100,000miles

How Much Does It Cost To Change Your Transmission Fluid?

The cost to change your transmission fluid will mainly be dependent on if you plan to change your transmission fluid yourself and if your transmission comes with a transmission fluid filter that needs to be replaced as well.

The bigger your vehicle is the more fluid will typically be inside of the transmission which means it will cost more to change the transmission fluid.  Not all transmissions have filters that can be replaced so that’s also a factor that can make the price vary widely.

To change your transmission fluid yourself you are looking anywhere from $30-$100 for the replacement transmission fluid and filter.  If you plan to take your car to a mechanic to have them change the transmission fluid expect to pay $120-$200.  My car takes 3 quarts of transmission fluid and does not have a transmission fluid filter so I can change my transmission fluid for about $30.

How To Change Your Transmission Fluid Yourself

If your transmission does not have a transmission fluid filter and you plan on changing your transmission fluid yourself then the only costs associated would be with buying replacement transmission fluid.

To find out how many quarts of replacement transmission fluid you need google your specific make, model, and year of car to see how many quarts are needed to fill it back up after draining the old fluid.  If your car has a filter on the transmission that filter should also be changed at the same time.

I’d recommend checking out a Youtube video that shows the process of changing the transmission fluid on your car so that you understand the whole process and know what you are getting yourself into.

ChrisFix does a great job of explaining the whole process of changing the transmission fluid and the filter in the video below if you’d like to check that out.

Transmission Fluid Flush Vs Change – Which is Better?

When talking about transmission changes vs flushes there are pros and cons to both.  Draining and refilling your transmission fluid (transmission fluid change) is the cheaper and safer option when comparing the two.  But without draining and refilling the fluid multiple times you aren’t going to drain all of the old fluid out of an automatic transmission, which can increase the cost exponentially.

Having your transmission fluid flushed means that you will likely need to take your car to a mechanic to have them hook up a special machine to pump transmission fluid into the transmission, clearing out any debris that may be stuck inside.  But there is also a chance that the debris that was dislodged from the transmission fluid flush gets stuck in another area of the transmission causing more problems.

Transmission fluid flushes are typically also the more expensive option because most people don’t own a machine to flush their own transmission at home which means that you have to take your car to a mechanic to have them do it.

To learn more about the differences between transmission fluid changed vs flushes and which one is best for your specific situation then check out my other article transmission fluid change vs flushes.

When To Change Your Transmission Fluid

You would want to consult your owner’s manual of your vehicle to determine when they recommend that you change your transmission fluid.  If you just bought a used car and it has less than 100,000 miles then you may want to go ahead and change your transmission fluid on it when you pick up the car as you never know when the transmission fluid was last changed on it.

Are Transmission Fluid Changes Really Necessary?

Regularly changing your transmission fluid with new fluid is necessary to maintain the operation of the transmission.  That’s why you should change your transmission fluid in your car after every third or fourth oil change, especially if you can change your transmission fluid yourself.

Should You Use The Transmission Fluid Your Manufacturer Recommends?

If your vehicle manufacturer recommends that you only use their fluids to change your transmission fluid like Honda I would listen to what they have to say.  Sometimes their fluids are made using different additives which can ruin your transmission if you do not use their specific transmission fluid.

Can I Just Add Transmission Fluid?

No, you can’t just add new transmission fluid to your transmission to make the fluid clean again.  You would need to drain the old transmission fluid and then replace it with brand new transmission fluid that way the fluid is clean again.

You may be wondering what if I just have to add transmission fluid from time to time to keep the transmission fluid level topped off.  If this is the case for you on an older car then adding transmission fluid from time to time shouldn’t be that big of a deal, you probably just have a slow transmission fluid leak.

If you are having to constantly add transmission fluid to your car you should probably investigate to see what is causing your car to lose so much transmission fluid and possibly have the transmission rebuilt or replaced.

Can You Tune Up A Transmission?  What’s Included In A Transmission Tune Up?

You may be wondering can you tune up your transmission to increase the longevity of it? Yes, but it’s a bit different from an engine tune-up.  So what’s included in a transmission tune-up?  Typically a transmisison tune up would consist of changing your transmission fluid and filter, which is essentially the same thing as a transmission fluid change since you should be replacing your transmission fluid filter if one exists when you change your transmission fluid anyway.

With any more maintenance than that you’d essentially be rebuilding the transmission as you’d need to disassemble the transmission to access the internals.

Should I Change Transmission Fluid If It’s Never Been Changed?

If you do not know the last time that the transmission fluid was changed on your vehicle and your vehicle has really high mileage then you may want to hold off on changing your transmission fluid.  Like I mentioned earlier your transmission fluid will start to pick up pieces of your clutch pack from your transmission over time.

If your transmission fluid has not been changed in a long time this likely means that the fluid is filled with pieces of the clutch pack which may now be aiding the transmission from slipping.

Sometimes when you replace really old transmission fluid with brand new transmission fluid that does not have any clutch pack material in it this can cause your transmission to start to slip as the new transmission fluid has lost the grit that was in the last transmission fluid.

That is why you should always take caution when changing out your transmission fluid on vehicles that you do not know the service history on.  If your transmission is currently slipping you may want to check out my other article  (why is my transmission slipping?) about what to do about it.

On really high mileage vehicles it may be best to just check the transmission fluid levels and make sure that they are where they should be at.  If the fluid levels are low you can add a new quart of transmission fluid to your vehicle and that would be a lot less risk than changing out all of your transmission fluid.

Can You Change Transmission Fluid After 200,000 Miles?

Yes, you can continue to change your transmission fluid 200,000 miles and above as long as the transmission fluid was changed regularly for the lifetime of the transmission.

If the transmission has 200,000 miles on it and the transmission fluid has never been changed then this could be a cause for concern as the old transmission fluid may be helping the transmission shift.

Sometimes when you change out old transmission fluid that has never been changed with new transmission fluid it can cause your transmission to start to slip where previously the transmission shifted fine, so keep that in mind as a word of caution.