Pontiac vibe 2009. 1.8Liter with 120,000km (75k Mile's). If I change the transmission fluid myself I won't be taking the pan off and replacing the filter. I will just drain and fill the exact amount I removed. My car does have very very slight noticeable gear changing. I don't think it's as smooth as when it was new. Can I save money and do it myself and just change the fluid or should I go to a shop and they do it right and replace the filter? Are these 2009 vibes transmissions bulletproof?
@greenjonjon
It depends on the situation. If you've owned the car the whole time and are comfortable with the maintenance you've done then drain/fill is probably fine. But if you bought it used you can't know for certain how well the previous owner took care of the vehicle so you might as well drain/change/fill to be on the safe side. You can get a quality filter for around $20, so way cheaper than the cost of a new transmission, right? Plus, the Vibe (as with its sister car Toyota Matrix) is an extremely DIY-friendly car, so you can do a lot of the basic maintenance yourself without too much fuss or special tools.
Sure, you could get away with it, but It would be better to just do the job right. You could do it yourself or take it to a good shop. I recommend watching some videos on how to do it on your specific car and then heading over to rockauto.com for the pan seal, filter, and possibly the fluid if they have it. Either way (changing the filter or not) would be better than nothing.
If you have access to the filter easily it should be done at the same time. It's not that hard of a job. You just need to get a couple bolts off holding the pan, then take the time to clean the gasket surface with a Scotch Brite or plastic blade. Then just bolt everything back in a criss cross fashion. If you are scared of over tightening, use a 1/4 ratchet. Not much leverage on that and it doesn't need to be super tight.
if you don't change the filter, the leftover old oil that's in the pan will mix with the new and (marginally) "pollute" it, meaning you'll have to change it a bit sooner and it won't be as effective. I don't think it would be a huge problem but I also doubt you'd save money in the long run. I'd replace the whole thing now just to be safe as it could help your gear shifts.
It's kind of like taking a shower and not wearing a new underwear if you don't change the filter haha
I just drain and fill every 30k miles, then every fourth time (120k mile interval) drop the pan and put a new filter in. Never flush, just drain and fill... you'll only be changing a third of the fluid each time. Use the Toyota transmission fluid or equivalent, since it's a Toyota driveline.
