According to some info I found, I read that the new F-150's don't need to have their transmissions serviced as they are "maintenance free" and have a lifetime fluid in them. Is this really true??? I can't imagine they have implemented such technology yet. At least not on a $35k truck. Can somebody shed some real light on this?

 

Is anything really maintainence free? Someone once told me that All moving parts will eventually wear out. Consider that statement when someone trys to sell you a maintainence free anything.

 

My Service Manual shows replacing the fluid every 30,000 miles for Severe Service...that certainly doesn't sound "Maintenance Free"

especially because I have yet to meet a driver who meets the definition of "Standard Service" vs. Severe Service...

 

Boy wouldnt that be nice though? As many times as I have had to bring my truck in to get stupid crap fixed I would love to hear about a "maintenance free" tranny was put in it!

 

don't drive it...than it's maintance free..

 

that's what I figured...I thought it was BS too

 

I serviced mine at 30K just 'cause fluid is cheaper than reman units or overhauls. FWIW, the fluid that was in there was still bright red and clean.

 

So, you replaced fluid that was bright red and clean with more fluid that was bright red and clean. Did you make sure that it was the same grade fluid as the lifetime fluid that you discarded? I just checked the owner's manual that came with my son's 2005 F150 Supercrew, and it definitely says "lifetime fluid".

You know, the manual that came with my car says to inspect the transmission fluid every 15,000 miles and change as needed. I just had it flushed and refilled at slightly over 40,000 miles because it had lost its red color and had become clear. It was also over 5 years old. The color of transmission fluid has been the criteria for needing to be changed for the 50+ years I have been driving. I had a 1991 Taurus one time, with that bad transmission. I had its fluid changed once a year, sometimes with as few as 4,000 miles on it, and it still failed at about 62,000 miles, just out of the extended warranty Ford gave on it.

 

Here we go. . .

 

Um, seeing as how I was the one that serviced it, and that I service transmissions on several different vehicles on a semi daily basis, I'm pretty sure I used the right fluid. That "lifetime fluid" is regular ol' Mercon V. I plan on keeping this truck for a long time, at least to 100K miles, so servicing the transmission every 30K is cheap piece of mind.