My transmission experience

[bdc]

I have a 15 year old Avalon, purchased new. The price of a factory rebuilt transmission and installation runs many thousands of dollars. A transmission drain and filter costs about 5% of a replacement – a good preventative expenditure. Draining will remove only a portion of the existing fluid. My driving has changed radically. No more highway driving. One mile hops. Maybe a total of 3000 miles a year. After 12,500 miles from the previous drain, I did not like the color. So, I did the transmission drain and filter replacement. I will be doing another drain – only 7,000 miles later. Time wise, this is over 2 years from the last change.

Understand that the color of a fluid is only one guideline. When you car does not get up to operating temperatures (the actual design), things are not “fine” just because the fluid is clear. This also applies to motor oil.

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