Should I have transmission flushed or just drain and refill?

NYSpeed Automotive
1

I have a '06 Kia Spectra that the wife uses for her daily with 44,xxx miles on it. Kia recommends to have the transmission “serviced” at 30,000 so I’m overdue for that.

Question is… should I have it flushed out or just have it drained… I’ve heard that a flush can worsen bad transmissions, but I have no reason to believe this one is bad. My main concern is that I am over the service limit by 14,000 miles and don’t want to jeopardize anything. Just curious what you guys think. The difference between the two services is $120 and I don’t really care about the cost if it’s going to make the transmission last longer.

2

Roll the dice :lol:

I flushed and drained the tranny in my Firebird multiple times it lasted 110k+

It even drained its self a couple times when it popped a tranny cooler line.

However only being 14000 I don’t think it would be that bad…I know people usually advise against doing it for the first time at 80k+

3

I’d stay away from flushing. There is nothing good about forcing fluid through the wrong direction at high pressure.

Does the service recommend a simply drain and refill, or a drain, drop the pan, replace the filter and refill? You’ll still leave some fluid in the torque converter regardless doing this (unless you have a rare vehicle like my ford that has a drain the trans and a drain on the torque converter) but it’s still a better idea than flushing. Changing out the filter isn’t a bad job but dropping the pan down is usually pretty messy.

4

The warranty would still be valid with a drain and refill which includes dropping the pan and changing the filter if it’s serviceable, I made sure to ask.

5

just drain and refill.

changing the tranny fluid is fairly easy (if you looking to save any cash)

its just a simple drain plug/fill plug system.

6

yeah I would do it myself, but I have lacked the time to even change the oil for the past month.

7

Def go with a filter + fluid change.
skip the flush.

I did a few months after i got my first car, didn’t fuck anything up, but i regretted getting it after i read all the bad things about it.
about how it can dislodge shit, which would lead to metal getting where it shouldn’t be.

I don’t really know how much fluid you’d get out by dropping the pan on it, but on my car it’s about 2/3 of the fluid, with another 1/3 in the converter.
So I figure it gets most of the fluid out… not like it turns to sludge or anything o.O
maybe if i beat the hell out of it… but…

I always take mine to my cousin though, because I have a sealed trans + I don’t feel like dealing with getting the car level, raised in teh air and in gear (on, of course)… crawling under it, and checking to see if any fluid pours out of the drain…
having a lift makes some things more simple.

8

Throw it in the gutta and go get anotha.

9

i think it’s better to stay away from a flush, it’s better to just drop the trans pan and put a new gasket and filter then refill with fluid

10

Thanks for the info guys, I had them just drain it and refill it at the dealership. I actually had time to change the oil this weekend too… I’m on a roll.