I have an interesting question. How long do you think a transmission will last without any service? :o

My truck is a company/fleet truck. I typically put 50K miles on my truck each year and I usually get a new truck every 4 years; ~200K miles. My company sent out a memo today saying that in order to cut cost they are cutting back on vehicle maintenance. The only thing they want us to do is change the oil, air filter, tires, and brakes.

So I am at 50K miles now and I was just about to get my truck's tranny serviced. I called the fleet manager and he said I could not get it serviced and that I had to drive it until it gives me problems To which I replied "WTF?, how is that gonna save money"

I put ~50% highway miles on my truck, I tow a 6,500 # trailer 3-4 times a year, and the rest is city/freeway driving.

How long before I call the fleet manager and tell him to send a tow truck?

 

ive never serviced a transmission and ive gotten 200k out of most of my cars with out a problem. i can also argue that changing tranny fluid causes the transmission to go out as ive seen this happen several times.

 

Honestly, as long as you don't abuse it while towing, you'll probly never have a lick of trouble. I got 283,000 miles out of my E4OD in the Bronco before it gave up.

Ford recommend the 100k service. It's about $100 to do the flush and refill. You might consider that, but nothing else should be needed.

the highway mileage does help also. You drive mostly in LA (right?) so unless your getting into some big hills, the transmission won't be working itself alot.

 

the tranny going out after a fluid change means the tranny had problems already. the fluid is thinner when new and will find the weak link/bad seal/worn clutch's faster than the thicker fluid with clutch material mixed in it will! kind of like putting clicker oil in a motor with a knock!

 

that would mean that 6 cars i know of had bad transmissions, and 3 of them was never abused, what caused them to go out was the people was idiots and changed the fluid at 100k miles, you dont do that, at 100k miles that fluid has gotten into places that new fuild will never reach, and when you change it it will slowly wear out the tranny. ive been around trannys for quite some time my dads best friend builds racing transmissons also and has even said the same thing, if you havent changed your fluid in so long, never change it or expect it to go out.

 

I'd quickly find a different dealer. For them to recommend AGAINST preventative maintenance is crazy! ... ... Is it needed in your current situation? I'd say no. But there's nothing WRONG with having it changed if you want. Better safe than sorry, right? I had mine flushed at 30,000 miles because I tow a 7500 lbs travel trailer. My dealer is more than willing to take my money!

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see that a modern transmission used in certain ways (lots of highway miles, minimal towing, etc.) would perform just fine for many miles without having the transmission fluid and filter serviced.

The one exception to this that I can think of would the automatic transmission Ford put into the Contours and Escapes (I can't think of the model number right now) which are notorious for having issues unless the fluid is religiously maintained.

 

Just to clarify, when I say fleet manager I'm talking about the guy at my company who sent out the memo, not someone at the dealership

 

I surprised at the replies here. I thought for sure everyone was going to tell me I'd have problems before 100K miles. Then again I've always serviced my vehicles religously. I guess we'll find out. Luckily if/when it burns up "It ain't my problem"

 

The company I worked for had a maintenance company monitor the servicing of our vehicles. They would allow fluid replacement every 30,000 miles. However, if the vehicle had never had the transmission service by 60,000 miles, they would not allow a fluid change at all. They said it would cause more problems than it would solve.

 

Ford's transmissions are usually good for the 100K+ with no problems. I beleive some of the 04's had issues, but the 06+ seem to have been ironed out