How often should you get your trans and coolant flushed in your car?

Question

I've got a '03 Ford Focus LX with 60 + K miles on it. Also, I've seen transmission flushes with and without a filter change. Isn't it necessary to get your filter changed?

Answer 1

Every two years is a good interval and here's why. Most people will drive 20-30,000 miles in two years.

1. The anti-corrosion compounds in the coolant break down and the metal (steel and aluminum) in the coolant jacket will start to corrode and the metal becomes suspended in the coolant and you will be able to measure voltage in the coolant if you stick a voltmeter in the coolant and touch the ground to the frame or body. This is stray voltage that is abnormal. Part of the cooling system maintenance is a visual inspection of the hoses and radiator, too. Since your heater core and radiator and head gasket are more expensive than scheduled coolant service, it is a good investment.

2. The transmission on a front wheel drive is often called a transaxle since there is the typical transmission and differential gears all in one assembly. There is typical gear wear and bearing wear inside the tranny and the metal becomes suspended in the fluid and will get pulled into the big donut magnet in the pan and the filter. Not all of the metal is filtered out since bearing wear and tear creates microscopic non-magnetic particles. So the only way to get it out is to change the fluid.

3. All maintenance is based on operating hours and not mileage. I do not recommend that you push any car to 100,000 miles before doing some routine maintenance to the powersteering and transmission. A car driven around town will have many more operating hours per mile driven than a car driven on the highway. Same goes for spark plugs.

4. The car you are driving has the catalytic convertor attached to the exhaust manifold in front of the engine. The heat from this cat convertor flows backwards under the oil pan and transmission housing and powersteering rack. This heat is extreme and will make these fluids run hotter than a typical car where the cat convertor is behind the engine under the car.
Excessive heat, in general, is bad and makes the fluids deteriorate faster. This is why there are so many coolers like transmission fluid coolers and oil coolers and even powersteering fluid coolers added to many cars.

This is a well designed car and is safe but as with most newer vehicles the service intervals recommended in the owners are for light use and average assumptions of hours of operation before service. This is the bare minimum unless you plan to get rid of the car before you hit the maximum recommended miles driven and not spend any money on these routine scheduled services.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How often should you get your trans and coolant flushed in your car?
I've got a '03 Ford Focus LX with 60 + K miles on it. Also, I've seen transmission flushes with and without a filter change. Isn't it necessary to get your filter changed?

Answer 3

60k you are do to get them done. Some cars dont have a changable filter for trans anymore and the manufacturer will recommend just flushing

Answer 4

Depends on a vehicle. In you car's manual, you should find the maintenance shuttle.
Whenever I change a fluid I change the filter except for gas.
Good luck!

Answer 5

It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Check your owner's manual or with the dealer. It's cheap insurance, especially for the transmission. It will usually cost $250-300 just to remove the transmission and diagnose the problem.