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Re: Toyota Corolla transmission fluid change interval ??
On Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:46:57 -0800, Larry <someone@somewhere.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have an 2005 Corolla with Automatic.
>
>Took it to Jiffy Lube, they wanted to change the tranny fluid. My car
>has 37000 miles on it. The owners manual says 60K if towing, and never
>if not using as a tow vehicle. Checked with the dealer and they said
>every 15,000! and don't exceed 30K.
>
>So what is the straight information. 15K sounds like they are trying
>to make money off of me. I have an explorer with 240,000 on it with the
>original automatic in it. I change the fluid every 50K and have had no
>problems.[/color]
The independent lube service shops like Jiffy Lube have a vested
interest in pushing 3K oil changes and 15K tranny flushes - Money.
Jiffy Lube has their crews outside waving signs when things are slow
"$19.95 Oil Change Special Right Now!" - but corporate policy is to
push the up-sell, and try to get at least $60.00 out of each ticket.
And they screw up customer's cars on a regular basis, and they've
done nationwide stings finding out that they are selling services that
they do not perform... Stay Away.
The dealers will oversell you on service if they can, too - they
like money also. But they have a valuable sales franchise to lose, so
they stop doing it fast if called on it.
There's no hard and fast rule - a simple automatic transmission
fluid change is reasonable between 30K and 60K intervals, depending on
how and where you drive. Avoid "transmission flushing" services, they
can cause more harm and the shop gets to charge a LOT more for them -
it's sold to you as beneficial, but sold to the shop as a "Profit
Center"... Just change the fluid in the pan, that's enough to refresh
the additives.
There are a few things that are NOT on the maintenance lists but
should be done periodically, and are not an oversell. A notable one
is you should have them 'deep bleed' the brakes to change all the old
brake fluid every two years, or whenever you have brake work done.
But whatever you do, DON'T call it a "Brake System Flush" or they'll
raise the price for the same work... ;-)
Brake fluid absorbs moisture out of the air over time, which lowers
the boiling point and rusts out the inside of the brake lines.
--<< Bruce >>--
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