Just hit 200,000 miles on my 2012 F-150, and the transmission is still original

I know everyone always says to swap the transmission fluid every 60k miles, but I never did it (yeah, I know, bad mechanic). I kept waiting for the thing to slip or fail, especially after 150k, but it just keeps going. Last week I rolled over 200k on the odometer driving back from Spokane, and the shifts are still smooth as butter. My buddies at the shop all told me I was crazy for skipping the fluid changes, but here we are. I did change the pan gasket at 180k when a leak popped up, but that's it. I'm not saying this is the right move for every truck, but I think modern transmissions are tougher than people give them credit for. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a factory trans going way past the recommended service intervals?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_west23d ago

I read an article from a transmission shop in Texas that said the flush is what kills them, not the old fluid. They said high mileage transmissions like yours do better if you just leave the fluid alone unless it's low.

cora51823d ago

Boy oh boy, you might be onto something. It reminds me of how people treat their appliances too, like they think if they don't do every single maintenance step the manual says, the whole thing is gonna blow up the next day. In my experience, a lot of this stuff is built tougher than the schedule lets on, especially with older designs. I had a buddy with a 2008 Silverado that went 250k on the original transmission fluid and it only started acting up after he finally got a flush done at a quick lube place.

william_harris23d ago

Respectfully gotta disagree a bit @cora518, because that flush might have just stirred up the junk that was already settled in the pan after 250k miles, not caused a new problem. I think leaving the old fluid alone too long can actually let that sludge build up until it clogs something important, so a gradual change over time is smarter than either extreme.