Keeping up with basic car care is usually the first thing we push to the side when life gets in the way, but a healthy automobile is what keeps our lives running smoothly.

Imagine that you’re having a terrible Monday morning before even stepping foot in your office. You over-slept, the coffee can is empty, and all of your clothes have pinches of noticeable wrinkles running through them like mountain ranges. Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any worse, you back your car out of the driveway and hear an obnoxiously loud grinding noise from under the hood. The unraveling of your day has quickly turned into the unraveling of your week.

That grinding could have been prevented, and the inevitable cost of transmission repair avoided, by replacing the transmission fluid regularly.  The transmission is your car’s heart. As a vital vehicle organ, if you’re not being proactive by taking the necessary steps to properly maintain it now, daily wear and tear will turn into major damage and costly repairs later. Are you currently doing everything you should to prevent breakdowns by keeping your vehicle’s transmission healthy? If not, be prepared to reluctantly smash open that piggy bank to pay for one of the most expensive repairs or replacements you can make on your car.

Transmission Maintenance 

To help maintain a safe and constant operating temperature, your vehicle uses transmission fluid to cool and lubricate all of its moving parts. This fluid tremendously reduces the amount of potentially damaging heat inside the transmission, and significantly helps increase the life and quality of this critical system.

Over time, however, some of the ingredients in the transmission fluid breakdown due to excessive heat. Neglecting to completely remove the old fluid for prolonged periods of time can jeopardize your car’s performance and longevity. This is why one of the most important aspects of replacing the transmission fluid is to accurately follow your vehicle manufacturer’s recommended service interval. Tools are available online to quickly find your recommended maintenance schedules based on your vehicle.

DIY or Mechanic?

If you are into home auto repair, you could probably manage to change the transmission fluids on your own; however, if you were a gear-head, you'd already know the value and importance of properly maintaining your engine. For the majority of drivers, this type of maintenance should be performed by auto care professionals who can ensure all of the old fluid is completely removed and then replaced with new quality-grade fluid.

Either way, proper vehicle maintenance saves both serious cash and headaches in the long-run.