2009 Ford Taurus SEL FWD. Ford-GM 6-speed automatic transmission. 115k miles. Previous owners took very good care of it it seems but no idea if the transmission fluid has ever been changed. Shifts fine, no leaks and fluid appears to be good based on color, but I want to do preventative maintenance as I’ve heard these have a high rate of transmission failure. Is it too late to change it at 115k if it may not have ever been changed?
Please read the FAQ topic. That should help you make your decision.
Also, while this is for Toyota/Lexus, I think he gives good advice overall for almost any car:
I would say, that as long as the ATF isn't brown, or smelling burnt, then it should be ok, but as you said you don't know when, or if the prior owners have ever changed it. It's best practice usually, at least in my experience, to do all maintenance almost immediately after aquiring a vehicle, so as I know when it was done, and when I need to do it again. You said the trans seems to be operating correctly, so I would assume the ATF hasn't broken down, and it should still be providing the correct fluid properties that the trans needs to operate. I say it should be safe, emphasis on the word "SHOULD", can't always promise the desired results, as I can't see the car in person, to make a fully educated judgement.
I think 115k would be okay, but take a sample of the fluid on the dipstick and check the condition of what's in there. Also, I don't know what fluid goes in it, but if it's a modern synthetic fluid you're more than likely safe. I'm more familiar with GM; my car uses DexIII which is not synthetic and should be changed at 30k. I would be more concerned there. Even so, 115k isn't too bad.
Yeah it’s synthetic and as I’ve stated, fluid seems good based on color so maybe it has been changed but based on the incomplete service records I have, can’t tell for sure.
You might want to check the owners manual, but if it is the same as a Toyota RAV4 hybrid manual I recently helped a friend with, it says nothing about changing the transmission fluid as part of regular maintenance.
They say it is a “lifetime” fluid, and by deduction, I think “lifetime” is defined as 120K miles. 120K miles is as far as the maintenance interval goes in the owners manual.
Maintenance intervals on mine goes up to 150k. Doesn’t say anything about changing them, only check the level every 15k since it has a dipstick
Yeah, it’s so weird they don’t cover it.
I know a lot of folks here recommend every 50k-60k for automatics.
And 20k-30k for CVT.
At 115k, I really don’t know if it would do more harm than good to change it out. Check out the video above that explains the logic.