"Lifetime" MT fluid? Should I change?

[JosephH1]

I have a 2006 VW GTI with the 6 speed manual transmission. VW does not call for transmission fluid changes. I am struggling with this as I may want to keep this car for 200k miles. I would like to know what the consensus is regarding "lifetime" MT fluid. Also if you think that it should be changed, do I stay with factory fill or is there something better out there?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Harley Anderson]

Nothing is lifetime fluid wise, fluid breaks down and gets contaminated. Synchros and gears bed in which creates meatal particles floating around in the oil. Change it on a routine basis. Amsoil call for this for tranny:http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/mtg.aspx

 

[mechtech2]

Any fluid can be called lifetime.
It will last for the life of the component!
However, if you want to prolong the life of the component, change your fluids. You can also get improved fluids vs. factory fills, which is great.

 

[Titan]

With gear-boxes/differentials/transfer cases, I prefer to change them relatively early with a fluid that is better than OEM, THEN I feel good about leaving it in for a long interval. "Lifetime" is a vague term, but, the potential lifetime of a unit is incrementally improved by cleaner/better fluids...what the sweet-spot is from a financial standpoint varies from unit to unit, and vehicle to vehicle, and is also affected by the conditions under which the vehicle is operated. If you are in the salt belt and drive a lot in bad weather, who cares if the transmission will last 400,000 miles, when the rest of the car will be eaten alive by rust in 200,000 miles? So, it's not always a simple answer, at least as far as pure financial impact.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

The manual for my wife's '94 Saturn says to change m/t fluid at 6000 miles and then leave it alone. The fluid looked like it was probably due again when I changed it at 160,000.

Saturn's recommendation seems logical, as does Titan's. Change early to get rid of breakin material, and then change to a high-quality fluid.

I suspect "lifetime" is a marketing term that has more to do with the manufacturer's expectations than with the consumer's.

 

[PT1]

There is an Amsoil guy named Pablo here ask him he will know what to use that will give you better service life. Definitely change the trans oil.

 

[jbl]

Yep its cheap insurance to exchange the fluids in the car.

 

[heathenbrewing]

Dropped the GL-5 that came OEM in my 5-speed at 12K miles and put in some GL-4 (redline). What came out of the tranny looked dark, smelt a bit off (even for gear lube). I saved 50mls or so in a glass vial and sure enough, there is a fine grey powder at the bottom of the vial. I feel an early MT fluid change is important to long trans life.

I plan on doing mine every 2 years. Overkill? Possibly. But it is cheap insurance and I enjoy doing it.

 

[Pablo]

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I have a 2006 VW GTI with the 6 speed manual transmission. VW does not call for transmission fluid changes. I am struggling with this as I may want to keep this car for 200k miles. I would like to know what the consensus is regarding "lifetime" MT fluid. Also if you think that it should be changed, do I stay with factory fill or is there something better out there?
Thanks in advance!

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Lifetime of the fluid....the fluid is worn out when it's lifetime is up!

I recommend: Amsoil MTG GL-4 75W-90 Change it every 50K miles or so.

 

[glxpassat]

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Dropped the GL-5 that came OEM in my 5-speed at 12K miles and put in some GL-4 (redline).

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You may be doing damage using a GL-4 which has about half the extreme pressure additive of a GL-5 if that's what your car specs.

 

[The Critic]

There was a guy on SaturnFans that kept his 04 ION for a little over 365k miles. He never changed the manual transmission fluid and he had no problems with the transmission or the clutch when he got rid of it.

 

[Titan]

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There was a guy on SaturnFans that kept his 04 ION for a little over 365k miles. He never changed the manual transmission fluid and he had no problems with the transmission or the clutch when he got rid of it.

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IF this is true, it tells me that driving around the highway in fifth gear wasn't too hard on this fellow's Ion. That's 100,000 miles of driving a year...I thought I did a lot at 50,000 per year!

 

[The Critic]

Only reason why he dumped the vehicle was because the head cracked. I posted about it in the Auto/General topics section a few months ago.

 

[Mr Nice]

MT Fluid is cheap and unless you do all your driving on the highway, why wouldn't you want a smoother shifting transmission with new fluid ?

 

[The Critic]

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MT Fluid is cheap and unless you do all your driving on the highway, why wouldn't you want a smoother shifting transmission with new fluid ?

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Is it worth the money? The correct fluid can be rather expensive, such as for a VW. Last that I checked, some of the VW manual transmission lubes were well over $20/qt.

 

[crew219]

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I have a 2006 VW GTI with the 6 speed manual transmission. VW does not call for transmission fluid changes. I am struggling with this as I may want to keep this car for 200k miles. I would like to know what the consensus is regarding "lifetime" MT fluid. Also if you think that it should be changed, do I stay with factory fill or is there something better out there?
Thanks in advance!

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Lifetime of the fluid....the fluid is worn out when it's lifetime is up!

I recommend: Amsoil MTG GL-4 75W-90 Change it every 50K miles or so.

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Way too thick for that application.

Dave

 

[moribundman]

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Way too thick for that application.

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Dunno about the 2006 Golf, but my Audi requires 75W-90 (GL-4).

 

[Pablo]

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I have a 2006 VW GTI with the 6 speed manual transmission. VW does not call for transmission fluid changes. I am struggling with this as I may want to keep this car for 200k miles. I would like to know what the consensus is regarding "lifetime" MT fluid. Also if you think that it should be changed, do I stay with factory fill or is there something better out there?
Thanks in advance!

---

Lifetime of the fluid....the fluid is worn out when it's lifetime is up!

I recommend: Amsoil MTG GL-4 75W-90 Change it every 50K miles or so.

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Way too thick for that application.

Dave

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So what vis is recommended?

 

[Mr Nice]

$20 per quart is pricey if you change it every year,

but when you do the trans fluid every 5 years.....it really isn't that expensive.

 

[rpn453]

I'd probably change it every 60,000 miles with an initial change at 6,000 miles.