What is the life expectancy of an auto trans?

[exranger06]

In Overkill's recent threads on his MIL's Odyssey, there was some talk about the reasonable life expectancy of an automatic transmission. Some were saying that given the maintenance (or lack thereof) the transmission lasted a reasonably long time.

What would you say is a reasonable lifespan of an auto transmission in general, given proper maintenance?

 

[eljefino]

225k-250k.

I think they should last to the typical junk point of a car, plus 50k. That way there'd be no need to rebuild, just go to a scrapper and buy one that will get you buy.

If there were a bell curve, transmission problems would send 10-15% of cars to the junkyard. Then, rust would send 15%, engine problems 15%, crashes, emissions, etc would all have their fair share.

 

[rshaw125]

The transmission in my old 1995 Plymouth Voyager lasted until 201,000 miles. I was not unhappy with it. I think it did well. I bought a remanufactured unit that came with a torque converter for less than $1000. Back on the road with the addition of a magnifine.

 

[hypervish]

All my Toyota's/Lexus's have never needed a replacement transmission and they all went well past 250k +. Too many Toyota's/Lexus's to list, but they all shifted great when I sold them.

My Grand Caravan has needed 4 transmissions, and it's slipping agin. But, there's no way in [censored] that van is getting a 5th tranny. The 3rd and 4th tranny had upgraded parts, but they still keep failing. [censored], van tries to adjust the shifts way too much, that's probably what kills them.... Stupid Shift Logic. The van has 225k miles.

All of my Honda's have done well, my 97' Accord has 205k. I previously had a 89' Accord a billion years ago, and I had 320k on it original transmission.

 

[qdeezie]

I've never had a trans to fail with proper maintenance. Maybe I'm just that lucky or syn atfs are just that good.

 

[Eddie]

I think it depends on the transmission AND how it was driven. I expect no less than 150,000 miles if driven decently and maintained per the book. However, some designs just seem to last longer or less because of design and we don't have much to do with that variability.

 

[Astro14]

I think that it should last 250K+.

Every car that I've taken to 200K has done so on the original trans. My position is predicated on the transmission getting regular maintenance in regular service.

The TH400 in my 1977 Olds was working perfectly at 210K despite being used to tow and being abused by the teenage owner of the car (me)... At 185K, when it was totaled, my old Volvo 850 was on the original trans...and at 225K, my 4Runner is on the original trans, though, due, I believe, to servicing mistake (overfilled when flushed at a shop 2 years ago) the torque converter locking no longer works, but it works fine an all other respects.

 

[Spazdog]

It's difficult to say.

I guess it would depend on what kind of transmission.
Ford FWD transmissions from the '80s-90s are notably problematic. From the defective forward clutch assy on the CD4E to the AXOD's ability to starve itself for lubrication.
But even in those instances failure isn't guaranteed. I've got a client with a CD4E equipped Probe and it just keeps on going and going.
I hear horror stories about how the Chrysler A604/41TE breaks every 60K mi. I had already doubled that + on my convertible when it was vandalized and burglarized beyond the value of fixing. I expect similar results from my 41TE in my PT (without the vandalism of course)

Then there are transmissions you really don't expect to break that do. Like a TH125 on a Cavalier. It's a simple enough transmission and it's not like the OHV 4 cyl is stressing it with high revs or prodigious torque. Countless of their numbers have outlived the engine in the car and yet we did quite a few with well less than 100,000 miles.

When will your transmission break? The only real answer seems to be, "when you can least afford it"

 

[Hokiefyd]

Agreeing with Spazdog above, I think it's relative to the design. In a perfect world, every automatic transmission out there would last forever. But, we have imperfect designs (we are all human), and all of them don't.

I had an '84 Cutlass with a RWD TH-200-C that was notoriously weak. Mine quit at less than 100k miles, with the common breakage: no reverse gear. I elected to have it re-built, and it was fine until I sold the car with 135k miles on it.

Chrysler's earlier A604/41TE transmissions aren't known for their longevity. After around 2000 or so, they seem to have gotten most of the bugs worked out, and most last well into the first 100k miles. Even Chrysler's RWD transmissions have had poor histories, though their modern units are very nice. The early Grand Cherokees and Dakotas and other 42LE/44LE applications were noted to have average or below average transmission life.

Honda's earlier V-6 transmissions aren't known for stellar life either. Most of their 4-cylinder units, and their later V-6 units, seem to fare better.

The common theme here is FWD transmissions, due to any number of things, don't typically last as long as RWD designs. There are some FWD designs that last longer than others, but on average, I would say that many FWD units are near the end of their life span by 150k miles. This number is probably growing as transmissions in general continue to improve. RWD transmissions, in general, seem to last longer.

 

[Chris142]

You guys have had great luck with AT's. I have not. I've had so many problems with them in the past that I refuse to own a car /truck with an AT.

I've had TH350's, TH400's, 727's, 904's C6's and C4's. All were considered on par with the best AT's built and none made it 50K w/o a rebuild.

Never used for towing, never neutral dropped and fluid changed regulary. All Still failed early.

The TH350 failed again soon after it was rebuilt.

My mom's Kia with an Asian AT is starting to slip in 4th now.....

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I think it depends on the transmission AND how it was driven. I expect no less than 150,000 miles if driven decently and maintained per the book. However, some designs just seem to last longer or less because of design and we don't have much to do with that variability.


I agree with you on some points, like the 150k miles figure and how it's driven. I'm trying to get a feel for life expectancy given "normal" everyday driving, say roughly half highway and half city driving. No strenuous abuse like drag racing or off-roading.
As for different transmissions lasting longer than others, well that's really the question. Some last a "long time" while others don't. But, what is a "long time?" 100k? 200k? How do you arrive at that number? Whatever number you come up with is usually because most transmissions you’ve seen have lasted at least that long and they sort of set a precedent.

So, what constitutes a badly designed transmission? One that doesn’t usually last 150k? 200k?

 

[Virtuoso]

I think it's one-third luck, one-third driving style, and one-third maintenance practice.

Of course those could be skewed any way you want them, but that's just my general guess. Our 98 Windstar (notorious for popping trannies) is at 158k on the AFAIK original AX4S (or is it an AX4N? can't remember); and shifts amazingly well... shows no signs of stopping. But a good dose of it's miles were highway (at least, since 102k); and it's had excellent maintenance since we purchased it.

 

[JHZR2]

IMO the average user has a death point of around 160k, but that is ok because they are afraid of their car once it gets to 90-100k, so they look to replace anyway.

With gentle driving, I've gotten 250k+ out of them. Some (like Honda or Chrysler) are just poor designs that need adjustments for reliability to be assured. Put a weak design on a heavy vehicle or a stronger engine, and your risk is always higher...

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Chrysler's earlier A604/41TE transmissions aren't known for their longevity. After around 2000 or so, they seem to have gotten most of the bugs worked out, and most last well into the first 100k miles. Even Chrysler's RWD transmissions have had poor histories, though their modern units are very nice. The early Grand Cherokees and Dakotas and other 42LE/44LE applications were noted to have average or below average transmission life.

Despite the care taken of Grandma's 2003 T&C van, the AT still died at 90,000 miles.

 

[rjundi]

I am hoping for 150k - 250k. I am soon buying the first AT transmission vehicle in my 23 years of driving.

My parents with AMC Eagle, GMC Suburban(used to tow 8000lbs on weekly basis) and current Subaru Forester have not had a single auto transmission problem.

All were driven to 250k range before mainly rust got the vehicles. They maintained all of them. My mum is still driving the (2001) Forester.

 

[SteveSRT8]

We routinely get over 200k miles from our GM 4L80E and 4L85E transmissions in our vans.

Had one 4L60E in a Silverado develop a hard shift but that was easily fixed for under a 100 bucks at a local indy shop I like. Several other Silverados running 4L65E with no issues.

I very rarely have any issues with any auto trans, my car has over 50 drag strip passes on it without a hiccup.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think 15 years/200k miles is acceptable with regular maintenance (ATF change at 60-100k miles). Good one lasted more than 20 years/300k miles with regular maintenance.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
I think it's one-third luck, one-third driving style, and one-third maintenance practice.


I think that's a great way of putting it. No matter how well you do or don't maintain something, sometimes you just get lucky, and sometimes you just don't.

 

[DavidZ28]

A few years ago I sold one of my customers a GM SRTA for his '95 G3500 van. His went 410K on the original one! He claimed he never serviced the trans or even pulled the dipstick to check the fluid level. It finally let go while backing up his steep driveway loaded down with 8,000 pounds of tools (mobile diesel mechanic).

 

[Spector]

My current 92 Camry has 215,000 on it and appears to shift fine, Amsoil ATF every 30,000. However, I believe it is somewhat genetic, my daughter's 96 Mystique the ATF was changed every year (yes every 12-15,000 miles) and it gave out at 150,000. Some people have great genes some have cancer cells waiting to break out. The Mystique was just not built that well IMO. All of my others have been fine. Never had a flush in any of them, just drain and fill.