Dealership recommendation question

[Stevensmatt60]

Went to dealer for an oil change and they are suggesting I get the transmission flushed and brake fluid changedo every 30k-50k miles. Does that seem right?

 

[Manta Ray]

if they really do the work, that sounds about right. What does the owners manual say?

I do all the work myself so I follow my own schedule. I don't know the integrity of my warranty since its just 3 years and 36k miles and I have an accessport, everything can be just denied. lol

 

[me32]

Went to dealer for an oil change and they are suggesting I get the transmission flushed and brake fluid changedo every 30k-50k miles. Does that seem right?

Only if you want too. Doesnt have to be done. But if you feel a spungy brake pedal or a rough transmission then it would be a good idea to have them done. But its not in the manual to have them done at that miles

 

[ChuckL]

I've read countless stories on the Internet of people cautioning against changing transmission fluid because they experienced problems afterwards. I've kept all my cars to 150,000 miles, or more, without every changing the transmission fluid and never had an issue. One time I decided to change it on our Chevy Venture which had 111,000 miles on it. Guess what? The transmission had intermittent slippage issues after that and it continued until we junked it with 165,000 miles on the odometer. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I will never change my transmission's fluid again unless it needs repair work and has to have new fluid put in it.

My experience with brake fluid is that it will last longer than the replacement interval. However, with a performance car like the FiST, I will most likely change the brake fluid at the service interval because of the desire to have my brake system functioning at peak performance.

 

[Manta Ray]

We have a manual transmission, its good for the synchros and gears to have fresh lube, and there is nothing to slip besides the clutch, and thats irrelevant here.

I've changed countless automatic transmission fluid in my life, and only on transmission that is on it's way out had any problems at all, if it was slipping after ATF change there can be a few things that went wrong, one major one being improper fluid levels. Some cars are harder to top up properly than others, not saying you didn't do so, but that's one thing that I've seen many times where someone's transmission is slipping after a service elsewhere, and it just needs a top up as long as they didn't drive the car too far. YMMV, I would advise against suggesting to people to not change their fluids. I believe typical ATF services is between 70-100k on most makes on regular use. But then again, none of this matter because manual transmission has nothing to slip.

 

[ChuckL]

We have a manual transmission, its good for the synchros and gears to have fresh lube, and there is nothing to slip besides the clutch, and thats irrelevant here.

That's true, the Chevy Venture was an automatic. I did have a 5-speed Jetta that lasted 160,000 with the original clutch and fluid, so I'm still kinda on the fence with the whole fluid-change thingy.

 

[Quisp]

Not a bad idea at all to have brake fluid flushed at 50k or 3 years.

 

[BRGT350]

brake fluid seems about right, but the transmission interval seems more for an automatic. I thought manual transmission fluid interval was closer to 100k. The big thing about the brake fluid is that it is hydroscopic, so it absorbs moisture. Water can work it's way into the brake fluid thru the rubber hoses and condensation from temp changes. The water mixes with the brake fluid and when it gets hot, releases oxygen into the brake fluid. This creates a soft pedal because air is compressible. Moisture in the brake lines also leads to corrosion of the caliper, piston, and brake lines. Flushing the brake fluid is a good idea.

 

[Intuit]

'94 Escort ~330k all original brake hardware, save for a pair of rear wheel cylinders (drum brakes in rear) that were replaced a few years ago; one started leaking. Also replaced the front brake hoses in the wheel well due to the outer part showing signs of dry-rot, but the inner layers and steel braid were in perfect condition. Never bothered to swap out the fluid over it's entire life span. Some of it was replaced over the last five to eight years as a result of the aforementioned leaks and replacements, but that's it.

The manual transmission in my old car used automatic transmission fluid. I don't recall the exact mileage anymore but swapped out the manual transmisison fluid somewhere between 120k and 200k and was as bright red and as healthy looking as the day it went in. It also hadn't lost a drop as it was still full. Hadn't noticed any debris coming out with it.

As for the Fiesta ST, obviously this is a different transmission design and do plan to check and later swap out the fluid at some point over the coming 18 months. If there's no debris and the color is original, I'll likely never bother it for another 150k or longer, except to confirm fluid level.

One question, is the clutch on this dry, or wet ? The clutch in my old car is of course dry, but my newer motorcycle is wet; only reason I'm asking vs assuming.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^For the most part, auto clutches are DRY, save for for the spec racers, and 'kit' cars, which use motorcycle drive trains for power.

Our cars (and most modern true manual gearbox cars that I know of) use a hydraulic actuated clutch throwout bearing system, ultilizing some form/type of brake fluid.

Sadly, our cars use a shared reservoir for the brake and clutch systems, so they have to be bled/flushed out at the same time, whereas some people might want to do one or the other more or less frequently.

 

[Intuit]

The reservoir in my 'scort is compartmentalized with spill barriers. The clutch portion of it represented only a tiny back corner of it. Problem was, the clutch could be bone dry and you'd have an *EXTREMELY* tough time determining that by looking at it.

From a safety perspective this makes perfect sense, as you wouldn't want either system to compromise the other.

I'd be more surprised if the Fiesta's reservoir wasn't compartmentalized also.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I'd be more surprised if the Fiesta's reservoir wasn't compartmentalized also.

That could very well be the case (and I hope that it IS, since yes, it makes sense), but I would not know that since I never had the chance to look inside a FiST's reservoir, and I am still waiting on my ST.