DoubleBadger Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 Hello again, everyone. I posted a topic earlier about having my Dex-Cool changed and the need for a new fuel filter. (Please see http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=6305 if interested). Anyway, I finally decided to take it the local Caddy dealer after e-mailing them first and confirming that they would add the coolant sealant pellets, which I assume they did (they're on the bill at least). When I first pulled up, though, the tech wrote down the car's mileage (approx. 51,000 miles) and asked me if I had recently had the transmission serviced. I said I had not. He said that it's recommended to have this done at 50K miles. I wasn't aware of this "recommendation" so I told him I'd have to reschedule when I had my datebook in front of me. Anyway, is transmission service really recommended at 50K? What does this entail? I don't recall reading anything about this on this board, and I confess that I haven't looked in the manual for any advice on transmission service. Any thoughts, help, or ideas are greatly appreciated. If it's really a good idea to have this done, I'll do it. But I'm not going to just open my wallet on everything, either. Thanks, everybody!! DoubleBadger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 DoubleBadger, I would consult the owner's manual to see if the 50000 figure is true. There should be a transmission oil life monitor that can be called up to display the percent of life remaining in the transaxle fluid. I'm not sure how to do it on a 2000 model. Perhaps someone will chime in with the instructions. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T ALLOW THEM TO"FLUSH" YOUR TRANSMISSION! Flushing a transmission is a sure way to screw it up! Read other posts on this subject! As far as changing the fluid and the pick-up strainers, that is OK, but that is ALL that I would let them do! You can't hurt anything by changing the fluids too much. (Other than your wallet. ) Remember, If they say that they recommend a "Flush", tell them thanks, grab your keys and LEAVE. In my book, flushing a transmission is akin to playing Russian Roulette with a semi-automatic pistol! Remember, it is Your car, don't let them talk you into something that you don't need. Good Luck, Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 I couldn't agree more with Navion. 50K used to be the generaly recognized trans service interval. Now it seems to be more like 100K. Actually I think the owners manual will tell you it is never needed unless you drive in dusty conditions, tow a trailer, use as a taxi, ect (severe service). None the less I just turned 100K and did mine last week. The "recommendation" they mention is probably THEIRS not the factory's. It is meant to generate $$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 No, don't have them service the transmission so soon. I'm at almost 150k on the original fluid. 50k ain't nuthin'. The owner's manual said it's good for the life of the vehicle under certain conditions. If you do stop and go driving all the time, I think the owner's manual recommends every 100k. I got a "Maintenance Menu" from a Chrysler dealer I recently had our van serviced at...it was just a flyer recommending service. Among them, at the 30,000 mile service...spark plugs! According to the owner's manual, they're good until 60k. I think the dealers assume you're too dumb to even CHECK their recommendations against the owner's manual. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motor_car Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 the strainers are reuseable. the pan gasket is also reuseable. service intervals are specified in the user's manual. anything else is bogus revenue generator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhall Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 DoubleBadger, Leave it alone. 50K miles is nothing unless you're running the car hard. I assume you've got the 4T80E tranny. The screens in the sump and the main filter will go past 100K before you even need to consider messing with them. Even then, if the car has seen typical driving conditions, the screens will still be quite clean (and reusable) though the main filter may have some build-up. I completely agree with Navion - DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO "FLUSH CLEAN" THE TRANSMISSION. This may loosen crud in the pan that will be picked up by the main filter. Worse case - clog the filter and you get a starved pump and internal tranny pressure problems that may lead to clutch failure. When you hit 100K or so and want to service the transmission, pull the pan and drain all of the fluid. The contents inside the pan and on the pan magnet will provide good info about the condition of the transmisson. You can't do this with a flush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I should have said that the best time to "Flush" your transmission is 'NEVER". Flushing is designed as a revenue generator for the dealership and NOTHING ELSE. In fact it will cause more problems than it will EVER solve. It is a SCAM. And later, when your vehicle is out of warranty and your "flushed" transmission fails, they will tell you that you didn't flush it soon enough, making it YOUR fault. There are even outfits out there who want to drill holes in your converter to drain it. Then they seal the holes up with special "pop" rivets. A friend of mine has a 3 year old Ford pick-up that he bought new. The local Ford store tried to convince him that he needed to flush his transmission "before it failed." If he had been the trusting type, he would have had it done. What a crock! My estimation of that dealership went down Several notches. I believe that shops that push crap like flushes are participating in scams. And the bad part is that if a transmission ever got to a point that it actually "required" a flush, it would also "require" an overhaul. Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleBadger Posted June 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Thanks for your responses, everbody! I really appreciate them and I feel much more confident that I brushed the service guy off and didn't have the transmission serviced. I looked through my owner's manual and, for those of you keeping score at home, here's what it says on page 6-19: "Automatic Transaxle Fluid When to Check and Change ... Change the fluid and filter every 50,000 miles...if the vehicle is mainly driven under one or more of these conditions:" 1. Heavy city traffic where the outdoor temp regularly reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit 2. In hilly or mountainous regions 3. When a trailer is frequently towed, or 4. A lot of stop-and-start driving (taxi, cop car, etc.). It continues, "If you do not use your vehicle under any of these conditions, the fluid and filter do not require change" until the DIC tells you to do so. Well I just moved to AZ about 1.5 years ago (from almost-never-above 90 degrees WI) and haven't done a whole lot of driving with my Eldo in the intense heat (about 12,000 miles total in AZ). So I'm going to skip doing the transmission service right now until the DIC tells me otherwise. I assume that there's a transmission-fluid life monitor like the oil-life monitor. Does anyone know how to access that to see what percentage of life I might have left in my tranny fluid? Thanks again, everyone! You just saved my car from a probable flush that it doesn't need (and my wallet from being similarly flushed). DoubleBadger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I assume that there's a transmission-fluid life monitor like the oil-life monitor. Does anyone know how to access that to see what percentage of life I might have left in my tranny fluid? Actually, I don't think there is. On most vehicles, I don't think you can access the "% remaining" of the trans. fluid. I think it's lets you know when it's time to change it. Sure, there has to be some algorithm there somewhere (unless it's based purely on temperature of the fluid), but I don't think you can just browse through and see how much you have left like you can the oil. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I assume that there's a transmission-fluid life monitor like the oil-life monitor. Does anyone know how to access that to see what percentage of life I might have left in my tranny fluid? Actually, I don't think there is. On most vehicles, I don't think you can access the "% remaining" of the trans. fluid. I think it's lets you know when it's time to change it. Sure, there has to be some algorithm there somewhere (unless it's based purely on temperature of the fluid), but I don't think you can just browse through and see how much you have left like you can the oil. You can view the trans oil life percentage but you must be in disgnostics to do so. Enter diagnostics and select PCM overrides. I think it is PS15. Press WARMER to increase the value and COOLER to decrease the value. You can also reset the trans oil life monitor by simultaneously pressing and holding the OFF and REAR DEFOG buttons until "TRANSAXLE OIL LIFE RESET" appears on the DIC. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 FWIW, I've always followed the "Severe Duty Service" advice with my GM cars. To me, fluids, filters, maintenance, is cheaper than replacement parts. AND, it gives me "Peace of Mind" knowing I done all I could do for my "Babies"... I'd change that fluid, especially in AZ. Too many long and lonely roads to risk an avoidable failure. rek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 You can view the trans oil life percentage but you must be in disgnostics to do so. Enter diagnostics and select PCM overrides. I think it is PS15. Press WARMER to increase the value and COOLER to decrease the value. Thanks Kevin! I'll check that out. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 You can view the trans oil life percentage but you must be in disgnostics to do so. Enter diagnostics and select PCM overrides. I think it is PS15. Press WARMER to increase the value and COOLER to decrease the value. Thanks Kevin! I'll check that out. I tried it yesterday but could not access any overrides in the PCM mode - when PCM? appeared. I'll look in the shop manual to see what I can find as I find time... I know the OFF and REAR DEFOG buttons will reset the trans oil life index as I did that when I changed the fluid a few years back. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Me too -- I just tried it on the way home from work. The only PCM options I get are CODES and CLEAR CODES. I understood from somewhere (probably here) that you can't access it at all...until it's time to change it, and then it flashes everytime. No one's ever seem that message before I don't think. I regard this the way I do the oil life monitor. If we all subscribe to the theory of that system, why not also the transmission fluid monitor? True, you can't look at it daily and watch it fall like you can the OLM, but would GM really engineer a state of the art transmission like the 4T80-E and then screw owners over by recommending they not change the fluid if it doesn't really need it? Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I regard this the way I do the oil life monitor. If we all subscribe to the theory of that system, why not also the transmission fluid monitor? True, you can't look at it daily and watch it fall like you can the OLM, but would GM really engineer a state of the art transmission like the 4T80-E and then screw owners over by recommending they not change the fluid if it doesn't really need it? I agree. I changed the trans fluid before I understood how the oil life monitors worked. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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