My mom has a 2011 Kia Sportage with the 2.4 non gdi and a automatic transmission. Should she get her transmission fluid changed or not her car has 141k miles on it and I don’t think the transmission fluid has ever been changed?
Of course. It will fail if you don't.
Sigh..
Inspect the fluid first. If it was burnt or had a burnt smell into it, just leave it alone.
a transmission can have burnt smelling fluid, but still have healthy clutch packs
If it was my vehicle, erring on the side of caution I would do is this.
Pull the transmission fluid dipstick and look carefully at the fluid.
What color is it? If it is still the color red, having a partial fluid and filter change should be okay.
If the color is brown or even darker it may not be a good idea with that high of mileage (referring to Scotty's video above).
(Scotty's video below)
if the fluid is full of fine, black, particulate clutch material, and the tranny has started to slip, then it MAY be an issue, but it's extremely rare. You can ask any expert who works on trannies every day. And that situtation, the tranny is done anyways. In that case you can still do the service, and save the old fluid. But if it's just oxidized (brown color, smells burnt), then you absolutely need to change it or the tranny will fail prematurely. Especially important on a Kia.
With only 141k miles, I would not worry. 200k + maybe.
After doing further research I agree. Transmission fluid can take a lot of abuse and still be viable after a lot more miles than I thought. As I remember, the fluid that came out of my first cars transmission looked like molasses at 60k. I've never seen transmission fluid at 141k, so I did think worst case scenario.
Probably not needed at 14,000 miles, but changing it every 30,000 to 40,000 miles would be a good idea.
he said 141k as in 141,000 miles
I see, my bad.
Is that 14k or 141k? Is the mileage in kilometers or miles?
The answer depends on that information.
please tell me you're joking
No joke, I was just trying to verify what was being asked. Maybe I read too much into it. When he said his Mom I had a feeling it was a much younger adult.
I ruined my first cars transmission prematurely by having the transmission fluid changed. The car only had 60k miles and never had the trans fluid changed before.
As a kid I checked the fluid and it was dark brown and smelled burnt, however the transmission shifted with no issues. After having the pan dropped/filter replaced by a shop the transmission began slipping around 2,000 miles later.
If the mileage is 141k and has never been changed, the fluid quality should be inspected before a decision is made.
Granted, Scotty was referring to an American vehicle in the following video, however it may also apply to the Kia mentioned above.
Why Not to Change Your Transmission Fluid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJkepVMTfmQ
Even if it's 141,000 km (88,000 miles) it's still overdue for a change. Way overdue at 141,000 miles.
he literally said " 141k miles ". Which part of that confused you?
And "Is the MILEAGE in KILOMETERS" is the funniest thing I've heard all week. 😆
I wonder how Toyota builds it's transmissions and what materials are used that American companies aren't doing/using.
I have to agree, looking back at my initial response was funny. I should have named myself Autohumor instead. LOL
FYI, here in Canada we say "how many kilometers do your have?", or "how much on the odometer?". You don't really hear people use the word mileage unless they're exposed to a lot of Americans.
Another thing I find weird, is that Americans will use the word "mileage" to describe both their odometer reading, and their fuel consumption. It can be very confusing sometimes.