When to do transmission fluid change

[raider8654]

Hi all,

Today I am taking my car in for its first oil change and also rear diff change. It has ~1000 miles on it, and is the 2ss A6.

Was wondering if there is any point in also getting transmission fluid changed out as well. I know the manual says it's good for life on the automatic.. But, the manual also doesn't mention anything about getting the first oil change so soon to get rid of metal shavings.

So, with that, has anyone here with the L99 automatic had their transmission fluid changed out this early? Is it a waste of money to do so?

[wayner]

Good question. I would like to see the oil that comes out after, say , 20,000 miles.

[SlingShot]

If you check with your dealer, they have a booklet with the complete maintenance breakdown for your car. If you go by the scheduled maintenance you should be good. Every time I take mine cars into the dealer, I have them check and top off all fluids ... This way I have a paper trail if anything were to happen ...

[Number 3]

It's just like the oil change, more frequent changes can't hurt. But the question is can it help. Why are you changing the rear diff. oil at 1,000 miles? Why are you changing the oil at 1,000 miles?

I assume it is because you think it will make the car last longer for you. So at this point, it's a matter of how much money you want to spend on the extra maintanance.

Keep in mind, a lot of engineering went into developing the "for life" lubricants and fluids. GM doesn't put them in your car lightly. GM doesn't do things like that unless they are very well thought out and tested. And when GM tests, it's wayyyyy more severe than most folks here on Camaro5. And GM has committed to this with the 5 year 100,000 mile PT warranty. So to simply maintain your warranty, follow the schedule.

the x-factor is how hard you drive your car and under what conditions. Off road use (racing), towing and other more severe usages might make you rethink some of the service intervals but your owners manual will cover that as well.

If it were me? No, I wouldn't change my tranmission fluid at 1,000 miles. But I probably wouldn't change the rear diff either.

[Russell James]

I wouldn't mess with the trans. M6's do benefit from switching to a synthetic. But the A6 comes from the factory with the best stuff for it, and at that miles, it will still be in perfect shape. Good idea to change the oil and diff. Clutch type LS diffs crud up the lube quick when breaking in. And in these cars there is only 1 qt in there. I'd rather have 1 clean qt.

[Ironheadspearo]

i changed my oil at 1500 but wont do the diff for awhile and the trans maybe at 30k.

[snkeyes069]

My last car's manual said to change Tranny fluid every 60,000. I did every 30,000 and never had a problem in 146,000 miles with the tranny (41TE, which is notorious for having issues).

The Owners manual says change Auto Tranny fluid at 50,000 for severe use, 100,000 for regular use. Rear axle every 50,000. I'm probably going to change fluids at 25,000-30,000 to be safe. Change them at 50,000 and you'll still have the warranty if anything ever goes wrong.

[TooCool5]

GM uses synthetic fluids which last way longer than conventional.
The old school thinking was to change out all the fluids at low miles.

[BowlingSS]

Originally Posted by Ironheadspearo

i changed my oil at 1500 but wont do the diff for awhile and the trans maybe at 30k.

I changed my diff at 500 miles and it was full of metal and looked bad. I do not know about the trans but I would change the diff. Do a search and see what some people are seeing in the rear end fluid.

Bill

[ssummit camaro]

i changed my engine oil at 320 and will do the diff sometime before 1500.

[BowlingSS]

Originally Posted by ssummit camaro

i changed my engine oil at 320 and will do the diff sometime before 1500.

The reaend is easier than my 2001 Camaro was. The fill and drain are on the driver's side. You can just use the bottle to put the fluid in. There is enough room to get the bottle in the fill hole and till it up to fill.

Bill

[ssummit camaro]

on my 02 it was easy once i got a diff cover with a drain plug. on your 11 did you do it yourself and what did you do to get under the car.

Originally Posted by BowlingSS

The reaend is easier than my 2001 Camaro was. The fill and drain are on the driver's side. You can just use the bottle to put the fluid in. There is enough room to get the bottle in the fill hole and till it up to fill.

Bill

[VcrusaderV]

Ive ran Chevy's all my life. Never changed trans fluid before 100,000mi... My 98 350 still has the same fluid from the factory with over 190K. I was raised not to screw with a trans that does not have problems. That may be a little too long but I definately cant agree with changing fluids with your mileage.