Is it passed the “time of no return” for trans drain and fill

Andrewsandlin · Mar 29, 2024

I’ve got a 2011 3.8l with the v6. Don’t know the condition of my fluid. It’s a 2 owner car. Has just over 125k miles. The previous owner was an elderly lady and I’m doubtful she drove it the way I do. I’m pretty abusive to it.

I’ve got all the stuff to do 1 single drain and fill on the transmission which is a 6 speed. I’ve heard a lot of different things said about overdue changes.

Will it hurt my transmission. It shifts just fine aside from hiccups here and there. Nothing crazy.

Jhon · Mar 31, 2024

Andrewsandlin said:
I’ve got a 2011 3.8l with the v6. Don’t know the condition of my fluid. It’s a 2 owner car. Has just over 125k miles. The previous owner was an elderly lady and I’m doubtful she drove it the way I do. I’m pretty abusive to it.

I’ve got all the stuff to do 1 single drain and fill on the transmission which is a 6 speed. I’ve heard a lot of different things said about overdue changes.

Will it hurt my transmission. It shifts just fine aside from hiccups here and there. Nothing crazy.

What I heard is that the drain, fill, and filter replacement is fine, you just don't do a transmission flush. That's where you might get some issues.
But I am no expert.

Andrewsandlin · Mar 31, 2024

Jhon said:
What I heard is that the drain, fill, and filter replacement is fine, you just don't do a transmission flush. That's where you might get some issues.
But I am no expert.

I decided against not doing a drain and fill on my transmission. Here’s why…. Overtime your clutch packs will accumulate debris as well as if it’s overdue on a service they’ve likely accumulated a varnish or a gloss. Now there’s nothing really wrong with that the clutches are still going to bite but the new fluid will have detergents and cleaners that will attack the varnish and end up glazing the clutch discs rendering them trash.

So I’ve read a bunch of information about this and every thing I’ve clicked on mostly says past 100k don’t touch it. The transmission will last 300-400k before the clutches wear out. That’s what I’m going to do.