Transmission flush vs. filter change vs. nothing

79K on my 2011 F150 Lariat. Getting some preventative maintenance done tomorrow. I have not done anything to the transmission yet and it has no problems there. One Service advisor at the Ford Dealer says a transmission flush would be good, Another says he wouldn't do it. The advantage of a flush they say is that it will purge the old fluid from the torque converter. But if there are particles in the filter they just go back into the pan, where they can just get pulled back into the filter. The Ford Dealers won't pull the pan and change the filter. Too many problems getting the pan back without leaking.


In older days, I took my vehicles to S&L transmission shop in Garland every 30K miles and they would drop the pan, change the filter and that seemed to be good. They had a good reputation.

But S&L is gone.

So, does "If it is not broke, don't fix it" apply?

I have a 2011 F150. This is my first Ford Product. I have 120k on mine. I've been told by the guys at the quick lube place to leave the transmission alone and not service it. Sounds crazy to me. I used to be a mechanic and have seen what 120k trans fluid looks like. The friction modifiers in the fluid have to be broken down. But I guess I'll just keep driving it until it breaks. I've had several tell me not to have it serviced.

Thanks. I am leaning the same way. May as well just wait for it, then rebuild or a reman. I can tell you a horror story about my previous 2002 F150 and how I let one advisor talk me into a rear differential lube change at 90K. Never again.

I'm sitting on 315,000 miles original fluid in my 05 Silverado. I tow almost every weekend and it is still shifting fine. Seems everyone I know with transmission problems is right after a change.

My transmisson guy told me only time you need to service your transmisson is when something is wrong.Had a 110,000 on the 2007 Tahoe and it lost second and overdrive. Cost 2600.00 to rebuild.So i don't really know a good answer!

yep, thanks. I think I'm gonna let it ride.

280 on the old 97
Almost 300 on the 06

I drive bowties though. And abuse em!!

My dad has a 2011 Ecoboost XLT and at 90k he had me take it to the transmissions shop to get it serviced. Transmission place told me they can only get what's in the pan out because its a sealed transmission. When it was done, the transmission place said the fluid was really dirty and really needed to be changed around every 40k. Now my 2005 isn't sealed and I had a quick lube place do a trans flush at 101k, I'm at 104k now and i haven't had any problems. To each their own, but I like to change my fluids, including the transmission fluid regularly. The only place that will be able to service that transmission is a transmission place or the dealership because most general maintenance shops don't have the tools for it.

Old transmission fluid doesn't have the same properties as new fluid. What does the maintenance schedule from Ford say?

I just sold my 2004 Silverado. I bought it with 40k miles and had the transmission fluid flushed immediately. Did it every 40k til I sold it at 155k miles. Never had an issue with the transmission.

Disclaimer - I don't let non-dealerships touch the transmission. All flushes I got done were at Lakeside Chevrolet in Rockwall. Cost about $150 each.

Ford doesn't recommend changing transmission fluid until 150k. I'm not sure I'll wait that long myself. The newer trucks use different oil,fluid compositions now than say 10 years ago. Example the differential fluid is full synthetic.

Have always serviced my own usually drop pan and change filter and refill and never had a problem.

Many new transmissions do not have dipsticks and have a complicated way of re filling to the correct level and can be VERY picky about having the exact right level. Changed the trans fluid on my wifes Ford escape recently shortly after some electronic components inside the trans went out but the dealer said it was a relatively common problem and I didn't touch any of the electric stuff.

Other than that I have always serviced mine and have never had a transmission issue of any kind. I would service it, at 79k its surely not too late. Drop/drain the pan, if your lucky you will have a drain plug! refill with the correct fluid. My wife's escape has 50k miles on it and that fluid was black as night, yet the manual calls for a 150k service interval

From what I can gather, the service interval is 150K. But there are youtube videos of Ford "experts" changing it out earlier. Dropping the pan is the only way on these to change the filter and drain the fluid. The dealers like to do a "flush" where they disconnect both transmission cooling lines at the radiator and run new fluid backwards through the system. They say that this will flow through the torque convertor as well. But when I asked about whether that just backflushes all the crud out of the filter back into the pan, they agreed that that was not a good thing. I'm not for it.

The dealerships have been restricted by Ford from dropping the pan and changing the filter AS A PERIODIC MAINTENANCE item. Of course they will do this if there is a problem inside the trans. I used to do my own on an old 78 Bronco a few times. It was messy. The torque convertors don't have a plug any more. There is a work around to remove some plug and install one but it is tricky.

They do use a very specific motorcraft fluid Mercon VL or something. I think I may simply save the money in a "new transmission fund".

The correct fluid I believe is Mercon LV. You don't have to use ford fluid, just one that meets the specs of it. I put Valvoline synthetic I bought in a 5 quart jug at Walmart for less than $20 bucks. Not sure if its the new fluid or the electric issues that have been fixed, but my wife's car shifts better now than it did new.

150k interval? That's crazy.

I guess it's up to you. Does it have a 100k powertrain warranty? If so, I'd wait til then to change it just so they can't void a warranty claim.

Yes on the powertrain warranty. good point!

Toyota use to recommend 90k on their sealed trannies. Now they recommend 60k. Not sure what prompted the change. Son's Escape gets drained and filled every 30. It easier that changing oil since it has a dipstick. I did a drain and fill on Toyota at 60k and will do another at 100. When I owned Fords I dropped the pan and cleaned the screen or replaced the filter every 30k. I also added drain plugs to them to make it easy.

I have always serviced my transmissions. My first truck in high school/college was a hand me down from my dad, except I paid for it. He bought it new, I bought it from him with 140k miles on it. I did the maintenance on it from new till I sold it. Changed trans fluid every 50k miles. Used it almost every weekend to pull the boat, used it 3-4 times a week to pull the boat during highschool and college. Was also used to pull our 30-foot travel trailer from 1998-2004. I sold it with 265k miles on it and the transmission worked great. Was a 1994 chevy 350.

A friend had a 1995 truck almost identical to mine except color never even had a ball put on the bumper till he got it. His grandfather gave it to him and it had been babied. Transmission was never serviced. He made fun of me for changing my oil too often and changing the transmission fluid. He got a small boat and pulled it frequently. He sold his at a little over 200k miles. The truck smoked when you started it and the transmission overheated around 180k miles pulling a 14-foot boat. A fluid/filter change and a bottle of transmission stop slip and it was drivable again and got sold.