Any Auto Mechanics at SMC??

[Rich Konopka]

I brought my Infiniti I-30 in for it's 45K service this morning and I received a call from the service manager. He said that the mechanic recommended Flushing my transmission and replacing the oil.

I asked if it needs it than why it is not part of the scheduled service and he babbled that it wasn't.

Warning !!!! Warning !! Warning !!!

I than asked him why it was so expensive to change the oil for the tranny and he said they hook it up to a special machine ( compressor??) and flush it. In comparison to other shops just draining the oil and refilling it.

I told him not to at this time because I felt it was too expensive and I wanted to check into it.

Was my gut cluing me in that it was a ripoff in the making or was my gut simply over digesting the $165 and choking the blood to my brain as well the opening of my wallet??


I'd appreciate any feedback

[Ken Garlock]

I think I hear a loud sucking noise in the area of your wallet :rolleyes:

Over the years I have always heard that you change the xmission oil when it is a color other than the wine red that it starts as, or at factory recommended intervals.

If it needs changing at 45K and the book recommends 60K(?), that might be an indicator of potential problems down the road. On the other hand, if you are a lead-foot driver that makes the xmission clutches earn their pay, it may need the service. Did the service advisor say why the change was needed?

[Chris Padilla]

Rich,

Is your tranny manual or automatic? I'm going to assume automatic.

I can speak for my BMW so keep that in mind: the trannys on BMWs come with "lifetime" fluid. So, when the tranny dies, they look at the fluid and say, "Yep, it lasted the lifetime of the tranny!" Just don't miss the fact that the lifetime of the tranny could be 2 miles or 200,000 miles.... :rolleyes:

I've heard manuals are better/easier for oil changes. I've also heard that unless you change the fluid in automatic regularly, you just shouldn't change it at all. There were guys on the BMW forums changing the oil in their autos at 80-120k miles and that were suddenly having problems with leaks and such. The prevailing theory was that the new fluid did something to the various sealing gaskets and that it also "cleaned" the auto and opened up holes that might've been slowly sealed by the old fluid...or some crap like that. They further stated that if you change the fluid in an auto, change it early, like before 50 k or something. I don't know if I bought any of that but I have a manual with 48k and plan to change it at 50k even though it is "lifetime" fluid.

I say don't bother with the fluid change or get a second opinion.

[Rich Konopka]

Ken, He said it was dirty???? FWIW

Chris, I previously owned a 85 Toyota Supra (manual) that had 130k and never had the tranny oil changed.

My I-30 is 4 years old and 40K of the miles are all highway miles. It is an automatic.

I personally suspect that this guy is paid on commission and needs to rack up the bill. Remember the big scandal with the Sears service centers a few years back.

[Christopher Pine]

I change my automatic transmission fluid about once a year. When the fluid is burnt orange color it needs changing! What he says is true about the flushing aspect of the way they do it. If you would drop the pan and drain the fluid from the tranny, change filter reinstall pan and refill with new fluid you would get most but not all of the fluid out. What he is saying is by flushing and with the air they get all bad stuff out and refill with all new fluid. THe price... well it does sound a little high. I would say around $80 to $90 is common around where I live for this same procedure. Yor car may be somthing different that would cause the extra $$ I don't know. NOte: I just drain the fluid and replace filter etc like I mentioned earlier. It is not complete flush but it does good enough job in my mind and it keeps fluid new. I get it flushed like your mechanic mentioned every 3 or 4 years by service place.

Best of luck!
Chris

[Chris Padilla]

Also, that cost is exorbitant to change tranny fluid...even for a dealer, IMO. Try and independent guy if you have one or even ask those quick oil-change places just so you have a couple quotes to push around.

[Ken Garlock]

Ken, He said it was dirty???? FWIW

Chris, I previously owned a 85 Toyota Supra (manual) that had 130k and never had the tranny oil changed.

.

I agree Rich, the only time I can think of to change a manual xmission oil is when you tear it down for repair. Otherwise, there isn't much to go wrong, just a bunch of heavy-duty gears, and some synchronizers. The only dirt that can get in the oil is the worn off metal from the gears.

Lastly, if you decide to get the oil changed, insist that they also change the oil in the torque converter. If they just change the xmission oil, the remaining oil in the torque converter will pollute the new oil.

Overall, the asking price is too high, IMO. :(

[Donnie Raines]

There are some transmissions that are fully sealed...with exception to a pan at the lower side with a filter/strainer for all the metal particles to accumlate. You could open the pan and drain that area, BUT that would leave all the "extra" old fluid inside the trany houseing. the system he would be useing actually draws all the old fluid and particles out, then allows him to install brand new fluid trhoughout the system. the system cost lots of money to buy and require some pretty detailed training to operate one.

Same with flushing out the coolant system. most cars need to be drained at the water pump to fully drain the entire system out...NOT just the radiator. However, most DIY'ers just pull off the lower radiator hose or open the pet-cock on the radiator....thats not complete flush.

I dont no the cost for said service on your Infinity...but it sure is a lot cheaper then a transmission(which would not be covered under warranty if you did not maintain the vehicle according to the manufacture).

By the way...do you do a lot of stop and go driving?

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Rich, I asked my Son about this, he is a Certified Ford Technician. He said what they are referring to is actually a Transmission Transfusion. This is fairly new technology, in where they have a machine that pumps the old fluid out, and right behind it, it pumps new fluid in. This ensures that all the fluid is replaced, even in the torque converter, which has to be drained via the plug, which is the "old" way of doing things. They also are able to add an additive to keep the seals limber when they transfuse. My son says it is more costly, but a much better system of flushing contaminants from the Trans. I don't know the recommended interval for servicing the trans on you particular car, but that information should be in the manual. I do know that servicing the fluid is MUCH cheaper than replacing the trans. On my previous F-150 pickup with the Mazda 5 manual transmission, Ford recommended fluid change every 40K miles, which I did. I sold it a couple of years ago with 150XXX miles on it, and the trans was as good as new. (heck, I even had the original clutch in it........but I do a lot of highway driving, but I did pull a trailer a bunch.) In short, I would check to see what is recommended, and follow that schedule. By the way, nice car! ;)

[Dennis Peacock]

I don't EVER get the "power flush" done on my automatic xmission. I had it done ONCE with a truck I had....drive it in...power flush the tranny and PUSH IT OUT!!!!! :eek: I have seen several vehicles where they drive in, flush and tow it away. Lesson learned. Drop pan, drain, change filter and refill....and then DRIVE away.!!! :D

[Rich Konopka]

Thanks Everyone. There is a place in town which does imprted cars and I am going to give them a call. It seems to me that the Infiniti Dealer is using a machine to perform a tranny transfusion and charging through the roof. I can only guess that it is LESS labor using this machine and gives them a higher margin.

It seems like yesterday when I performed my own servicing on my old 72 Nova. God, those were the good old days when working under the hood was simple.

[Chris Padilla]

...or the machine costs a bazillion dollars!! :)

[Donnie Raines]

Rich...might I ask what the rate is for this service? Also, make sure your warranty will be backed up by a non dealer service to your vehicle.

And yes Chris....the machine is very expensive.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Rich, speaking of working on our old cars..............my son, the mechanic, is 20 years old. He watched me rebuild a Holly 650 a year or so ago.............he was simply amazed that someone could actually DO that with all those little parts! :eek: When I pulled out an old Ford Distributor and explained setting the points and messing with the advance springs.......he turned around and left. I heard him murmur as he walked away.............."No wonder you old guys ain't right." After I got up off the floor from laughing, I told him that the new mechanics are "soft". He has NO idea how good he has it..............heck, if I could plug in a diagnostic computer to the car and have it tell me what was wrong, I could fix it too! :D

[Rich Konopka]

Rich...might I ask what the rate is for this service? Also, make sure your warranty will be backed up by a non dealer service to your vehicle.

And yes Chris....the machine is very expensive.

$165 :eek:

[Rich Konopka]

Rich, speaking of working on our old cars..............my son, the mechanic, is 20 years old. He watched me rebuild a Holly 650 a year or so ago.............he was simply amazed that someone could actually DO that with all those little parts! :eek: When I pulled out an old Ford Distributor and explained setting the points and messing with the advance springs.......he turned around and left. I heard him murmur as he walked away.............."No wonder you old guys ain't right." After I got up off the floor from laughing, I told him that the new mechanics are "soft". He has NO idea how good he has it..............heck, if I could plug in a diagnostic computer to the car and have it tell me what was wrong, I could fix it too! :D
Those young whipper snappers don't know what their missing. Ohhh I remember that well. I also had a Plymouth Duster with the slant 6 engine. The distributor was on the wrong side of the engine and a real ________ to get at. That car would not die. I gave it to my BIL in 85 and he drove it to 88 before it rusted out.

[Greg Heppeard]

I used to be a mechanic, but I can't really say what's recommended for the newer cars (1995 or newer). We did change a lot of trans fluid, also changing the filter at the same time. Most of the time, we recommeded changing around every 50,000 miles or so. We rarely drained the torque converter. The assumption was: the new filter would be able to catch most of the contaminates that came from the torque converter and as long as the fluid wasn't "burnt" it probably didn't need to be drained. We also recommended changing the differential oil at the same time, in rear wheel drive vehicles.

[Bart Leetch]

My uncle had his own shop & for years he would loosen the pan & let it drain at the front & remove the pan & change the filter & button everything back up. Then take the return line off at the trans cooler & fill the trans & let the car run & pump out the rest of the fluid from the converter & when the new fluid showed up at the end of the hose shut the car off fasten the line back to the trans cooler & top the trans fluid off. :) :) :)

[Christopher Pine]

I drive two mini vans.. Not at the same time. :)
I have burnt fluid every year or so roughlly 13 or 14 k probably.... Like I said if your fluid is dirty or burnt needs to be changed.. Manual transmissions are a different animal completely so I will not address that... but they do not need changeing as often.
I do think the money could be roughly cut in half by doing a regualr fluid flush and fill rather than the "transfussion" .
I am very big on fluid and filter changes! They will not hurt to do anytime but is a must when it needs it.
Someone mentioned earlier if the fluid has never been changed and is an older car it is better not to change it. Well that all depends. I had a friend who's transmission was on the way out and it was automatic. The fluid looked like engine oil. NOT GOOD! THis is a case if he had changed the oil at this point the transmission would probably not even shift. BUt rebuild or replacement was just around the corner.
Chris