when to change auto transmission fluid 06 aveo

[Daox]

I do extreme Maint for my own peace of mind! To each thier own. It makes me feel damn good that every fluid in my vehicle is as fresh as the day it drove off the truck. This car is my lifeline, without it I dont go to work, my wife doesn't go to work, we dont get food, see family, doctors....etc. I would spend 10K per year on maint if it ment that the car would be in tip top shape, reliable, and trouble free for the 180K to 200K miles I will rely on this vehicle. IMO changing the trans fluid every 6 to 10K keeps the add pack fresh, the fluid clean, the trans clean. can anyone with a straight face tell me that a transmission with fresh fluid that has never been bad, fresh as the day it was new, changed every 6K to 10K, over a span of 200K miles is going to fair the same as one that gets changed when the fluid turns brown or black. Yeah a car might last 150 to 200K with little or basic maint. Yeah, fine. The car that has had been highly taken care of should double that. Thinking its nonsense that we change our fluids so frequent, maybe we care more about our vehicles . Like I said this vehicle is my lifeline, not just something I can take for granted.

You can very easily be sure that your fluid is still good with an oil analysis. Once you figure out the service interval (which is exactly what the OEMs have done) that you're comfortable with, you can stick to that vs the overkill you are currently doing.

[Thymeclock]

You can very easily be sure that your fluid is still good with an oil analysis. Once you figure out the service interval (which is exactly what the OEMs have done) that you're comfortable with, you can stick to that vs the overkill you are currently doing.

So what is the analysis for automatic transmission fluid? You simply smell it and you observe its color. If it is in any way deficient, you do what you can to change it, even though each DIY fluid change only replaces 1/3 of the total fluid volume of the system. If you do nothing, you are well on your way to transmission failure - one of the most expensive repairs a vehicle can experience. Some of us prefer not to wait until the fluid becomes degraded at all. All A/T fluid does break down over time due to heat and wear. (Regardless of what GM-Saturn said about their transmissions being "sealed units" they were simply too cheap to provide a dipstick. Remember, they were in the business of selling as many NEW cars as possible - no matter what the reason. By the time your tranny fails it will be out of warranty. And now Saturn is no longer in business - with good reason.)

But there is no reason to wait beyond the point of transmission fluid looking less than optimal to start doing something about it. To me, spending $5 for a routine, twice yearly, DIY partial fluid change vs. a $1500+ transmission rebuild is a no-brainer.

[petrified.rabbit]

aside from any other failure, the only thing that hurts transmission fluid is temperature, not sure how the synthetics compare with the regular atf, but with all your due diligence and concern have you installed a temperature gauge or upgraded from the stock transmission cooler?

[Thymeclock]

aside from any other failure, the only thing that hurts transmission fluid is temperature, not sure how the synthetics compare with the regular atf, but with all your due diligence and concern have you installed a temperature gauge or upgraded from the stock transmission cooler?

The car itself has a temp gauge; if everything is operating normally the transmission should not be adversely affected. An upgraded cooler for the tranny should not be necessary unless you are operating under severe duty conditions.

Heat is not the "only" thing that affects ATF. Over time all the components of a transmission do wear to some degree from normal use. The particulate matter that is given off from both hard and soft parts remains in the system and in the fluid. That is why it's good idea to drop the pan, clean it out and change the filter occasionally. IMHO doing it every 50K miles would be appropriate, not excessive.

[Daox]

So what is the analysis for automatic transmission fluid? You simply smell it and you observe its color.

You take a small sample and send it to a lab to have them analyse it. They'll tell you if you're having any gear wear, bearing problems, etc by looking at the particulates in the oil. They also tell you how much life is left in the oil and how long you should be able to keep driving on it.

[Thymeclock]

So what is the analysis for automatic transmission fluid? You simply smell it and you observe its color.

You take a small sample and send it to a lab to have them analyse it. They'll tell you if you're having any gear wear, bearing problems, etc by looking at the particulates in the oil. They also tell you how much life is left in the oil and how long you should be able to keep driving on it.

I do it the old fashioned way: examine the color and viscosity, and smell the fluid. 'Tain't motor oil and it doesn't require rocket science to analyze it. And when you drop the pan you will see whatever fallout is collected there.

[NYChevoo]

I have always been diligent when it comes to oil changes at every 3000 miles using Pennzoil 10w-30. I know that manufacturer specs call for 5w-30 but maybe I'm wrong doing that. I figured when it heats up to have something close to cooking oil lubricating my engine wasnt good. The transmission however is a different story. I do a lot of long distance commuting and now have 116K on the drive train and hate to admit this but the first time I changed my trans fluid was only 16K ago. I know thats real bad. I figured I'd never keep the car this long. I'd drive it, it would give up, I'd buy a new one. I've had it since new of July 04, and it still runs and drives like new. Who knew it would be around this long. Its long since paid off, doesnt owe me anything. No rust, body in great shape and no accidents or any major damage. Go figure. I'm on top of my Suburban because it does heavy service towing and winter use and well just because it cost 5 times the Aveo. Over the 6 yrs of ownership I've really come to respect this little car that I thought would be just a "throw-away".

[dragonwarrior2016]

I have always been diligent when it comes to oil changes at every 3000 miles using Pennzoil 10w-30. I know that manufacturer specs call for 5w-30 but maybe I'm wrong doing that. I figured when it heats up to have something close to cooking oil lubricating my engine wasnt good. The transmission however is a different story. I do a lot of long distance commuting and now have 116K on the drive train and hate to admit this but the first time I changed my trans fluid was only 16K ago. I know thats real bad. I figured I'd never keep the car this long. I'd drive it, it would give up, I'd buy a new one. I've had it since new of July 04, and it still runs and drives like new. Who knew it would be around this long. Its long since paid off, doesnt owe me anything. No rust, body in great shape and no accidents or any major damage. Go figure. I'm on top of my Suburban because it does heavy service towing and winter use and well just because it cost 5 times the Aveo. Over the 6 yrs of ownership I've really come to respect this little car that I thought would be just a "throw-away".

These little cars can prove you wrong everytime My mom chose this car over a Kia Rio for a Paper Route Car.

[Thymeclock]

I have always been diligent when it comes to oil changes at every 3000 miles using Pennzoil 10w-30. I know that manufacturer specs call for 5w-30 but maybe I'm wrong doing that. I figured when it heats up to have something close to cooking oil lubricating my engine wasnt good. The transmission however is a different story. I do a lot of long distance commuting and now have 116K on the drive train and hate to admit this but the first time I changed my trans fluid was only 16K ago. I know thats real bad. I figured I'd never keep the car this long. I'd drive it, it would give up, I'd buy a new one. I've had it since new of July 04, and it still runs and drives like new. Who knew it would be around this long. Its long since paid off, doesnt owe me anything. No rust, body in great shape and no accidents or any major damage. Go figure. I'm on top of my Suburban because it does heavy service towing and winter use and well just because it cost 5 times the Aveo. Over the 6 yrs of ownership I've really come to respect this little car that I thought would be just a "throw-away".

These little cars can prove you wrong everytime My mom chose this car over a Kia Rio for a Paper Route Car.

As I understand it, both the Aveo and the Kia Rio are produced in Korea. Other than personal preference for one over the other, what is the difference?

[Daox]

I do it the old fashioned way: examine the color and viscosity, and smell the fluid. 'Tain't motor oil and it doesn't require rocket science to analyze it. And when you drop the pan you will see whatever fallout is collected there.

I respect that, but your eye can not analyze for 17 different elements, plus test water content, viscosity, flashpoint, etc. Each of these things helps you find out what exactly is wearing and why.

Here is a sample of a report: