Transmissions filled for life. Let’s discuss this for minute. What are the manufactures and dealerships definition of life? What is the actual time frame? I made several enquires, at a number of different dealerships and what I was told left more questions than answers. 

Let me respond to some of the answers I received when asking. Should I have my transmission serviced? What is the life of the transmission? Can I have my transmission serviced? 

“No, it’s a sealed unit you can’t service it”

 … the oil got in there somehow, of course you can drain the old fluid and refill new fluid. 

“The fluid will last the life of the vehicle”

… oil over time will degrade, factors that will accelerate this are, towing, high temperatures and hard use. Transmission fluid is not only used for lubricating the internal components it is also used for cooling and hydraulic pressure. Have you ever tried to cook something on the stove and accidently got the oil too hot only to have everything stick to the bottom of the pan? Similar principal. When transmission fluid gets too hot it thins, the next time it gets to that same situation it isn’t going to respond as well or be as effective at cooling. 

“The life of the transmission lasts the warranty period”

... this answer was interesting, finally someone willing to admit that they have a life expectancy. Different manufactures offer different warranty periods. 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and even extended 10 years warranty. In 2022 the average lifetime that people were keeping a car for in QLD was 9.5 years, so if we go off the information gathered likelihood of your vehicle's transmission lasting the time of ownership without any maintenance is unlikely. 

“It doesn’t say to service the transmission in the service schedule”

… Many modern vehicles have extended service intervals not only on the transmission but also the engine, fuel systems etc. Why do they do this? Synthetic oils do last a lot longer than mineral-based oils so thanks to technology and development this means less maintenance. But in saying that, vehicles are also getting used harder, 4x4s for example. People are towing more, literally taking everything including the kitchen sink when they go away. People are modifying their vehicles a lot more; ‘I’ve had the engine tuned to run big horsepower’, or ‘I’ve just fitted larger tyres, so I have more clearance,’ or ‘I’ve fitted my vehicle with a throttle controller so now it's so much more responsive. Our tropical climate in FNQ alone is putting more stress on your transmission, higher ambient temperatures, and higher humidity. 

So now let me give you, our response. At Allan’s Automatics we maintain, repair, and rebuild transmissions on a daily basis. We see a significant benefit to getting regular transmission services. To the untrained eye, if it’s not shifting rough, making strange noises, and is driving smoothly, why should you spend money to get it serviced? Well, like a lot of other things, not servicing your transmission can cost you more in the long run. There are still going to be cases of early life failure and there will also be the rare occasion that one may last having no maintenance at all, some people are just lucky like that. We recommend servicing your transmission every 20,000-40,000km. If you have just purchased the vehicle, we highly recommend having the transmission serviced and health check done asap and if we see any signs of wear or are unsure on the vehicle's history it’s also a good idea reduce that next transmission service interval to 10,000-20,000km.

"So please get your transmission serviced regularly and tell your friends it's not filled for life."