The Transmission Service – Is It Worth It?
Routine maintenance is designed to keep your car in the best condition possible for as long as you own your vehicle. It’s meant to reduce repair costs and prevent breakdowns. A transmission service is a common maintenance item found in your owner’s manual, essentially an oil change for your transmission. And as you probably know, transmission repairs are one of the costliest items you can encounter in a vehicle. But is a transmission service worth it?
What a Transmission Service Includes
Understanding transmission maintenance is where it all starts. Like the engine, your transmission is filled with fluid. Whether you drive a manual transmission or an automatic, it contains fluid. Most automatic transmission fluids are essentially a synthetic oil that lasts much longer than a conventional mineral-based oil. It’s why a transmission service needs to be performed once in the same time frame the engine oil needs to be change 15 to 20 times. When a transmission service is performed, the oil is drained, the filter is replaced if necessary, and sometimes the transmission oil pan is resealed. The average transmission maintenance package varies from about $150 to $350. The cost depends on the amount of fluid, the filter cost, and the labor involved.Is a Transmission Service Worth It?
- If you plan on keeping your vehicle, it’s certainly worth it to keep it properly maintained. You’ll experience better reliability and the best performance if you do what’s required for service.
- If you aren’t keeping your car for much longer, it might still be a good idea to have your transmission service performed. It can help on trade-in value when the time comes and shows you keep your car in good condition.
- If your transmission is already acting up, you may want to cut your losses. A transmission fluid change probably won’t help if you already have symptoms. Instead, you should probably look to replace your vehicle. The repair cost for transmission issues is typically no less than $1,000 and often ranges to $3,500 or higher.
