P
PA Ap. Developer
Guest
My wife has an '06 with only 25,000 miles on it. The fluid is dark already and does have a burnt smell to it. Is there an issue with the transmission or is this normal for the Toyota Corolla?
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tlworkroom
New member
Yeah, something does seem strange. Auto tranny fluid is suggested to be changed at 50K, so it's only at its half-life. At 25K, it's just getting broken in.
Does the car shift okay? Do you notice any strange jerkings or sounds in the transmission? I'm assuming it's all been okay since you didn't mention it.
Oils need to be clean to work well. When they get dirty--as I'm sure you already know--contaminants are getting into the oil and don't allow the oil to lubricate as well as it should. But the oil is also made to be changed out easily. However, Auto tranny fluid is kinda different because it cleans extremely well the parts that it lubricates. Dextron is very thin compared to regular motor oil, and dextron keeps the metal parts clean from old oil deposits quite nicely. Wish normal oil could do that. But then dextron isn't asked to do the job that normal motor oil is.
Some people and mechanics wouldn't think of changing out ATF (auto tranny fluid) under 100K miles, that it's meant to just be used. However, even Dextron ATF gets dirty, as you've seen in your own vehicle and then it doesn't work like it should. So it's much easier to spend $20 on ATF change rather than $2000 on repairing the transmission when it wears badly.
I would go ahead and change the ATF, and just watch it. It shouldn't be getting that dirty that soon, but it just might be a fluke. If you notice ANY strange feelings or sounds or movements from the tranny----doesn't shift when it's supposed to, shifts harder than normal, stays in gear longer,---that means something's wrong with tranny. Some of that can be solved if you need to ADD some ATF because it's low.
Some years ago, I bought a used 1991 Geo Prizm wtih 100K miles on engine. Lady never changed trannyfluid. It was dark as dirt. For 2 weeks, I drained and refilled ATF every 3 days. Each time I drained, it was with dirty brick red color, which is bad!! It took 2 weeks to flush all the old stuff out. So it's possible that the 25K miles did wear out the trannyfluid more than expected. But go ahead and change the tranny fluid each 25K miles. It will keep the transmission working much better over whole life of the car.
Does the car shift okay? Do you notice any strange jerkings or sounds in the transmission? I'm assuming it's all been okay since you didn't mention it.
Oils need to be clean to work well. When they get dirty--as I'm sure you already know--contaminants are getting into the oil and don't allow the oil to lubricate as well as it should. But the oil is also made to be changed out easily. However, Auto tranny fluid is kinda different because it cleans extremely well the parts that it lubricates. Dextron is very thin compared to regular motor oil, and dextron keeps the metal parts clean from old oil deposits quite nicely. Wish normal oil could do that. But then dextron isn't asked to do the job that normal motor oil is.
Some people and mechanics wouldn't think of changing out ATF (auto tranny fluid) under 100K miles, that it's meant to just be used. However, even Dextron ATF gets dirty, as you've seen in your own vehicle and then it doesn't work like it should. So it's much easier to spend $20 on ATF change rather than $2000 on repairing the transmission when it wears badly.
I would go ahead and change the ATF, and just watch it. It shouldn't be getting that dirty that soon, but it just might be a fluke. If you notice ANY strange feelings or sounds or movements from the tranny----doesn't shift when it's supposed to, shifts harder than normal, stays in gear longer,---that means something's wrong with tranny. Some of that can be solved if you need to ADD some ATF because it's low.
Some years ago, I bought a used 1991 Geo Prizm wtih 100K miles on engine. Lady never changed trannyfluid. It was dark as dirt. For 2 weeks, I drained and refilled ATF every 3 days. Each time I drained, it was with dirty brick red color, which is bad!! It took 2 weeks to flush all the old stuff out. So it's possible that the 25K miles did wear out the trannyfluid more than expected. But go ahead and change the tranny fluid each 25K miles. It will keep the transmission working much better over whole life of the car.
I am not a genius with cars but i will try to see how much i can help. probably the best thing to do is to refill the transmission fluid and make sure that the car is running well after that. if the car plays up then its probably the gearbox or the clutch being responsible for the fluid but i dont think thats the case because you car is a new car and usually with cars that are a few years old its just a matter of changing little things like the transmission fluid for example. i hope my answer helped.