Changing Auto Transmission Fluid 2005 2.5 V6 Petrol Auto

[Geoff Walker]

Good morning folks.

Could anyone tell me how often the Auto Gearbox fluid should be changed?

My car has REALLY low miles - it has only done just over 25,000 miles now.

I wanted to know if it will need changing - and how difficult it is to do that.  Although it is only low mileage, the fluid in the auto box is now 20 years old.

Many thanks for any advice and help.

[N6 JMX]

Hi Geoff, this is one of those "piece of string" questions, without a definitive answer. It is compounded by the Jaguar indication that the gearbox is "sealed for life", although the cynics amongst us would say that hidden in the small print of this indication is "sealed for the life of the gearbox that we (Jaguar) have warranty liability for".

Another school of thought is that the gearbox Oil should be changed at 60,000 miles, however there are question marks associated with that concept. For starters there is usually not a drain plug so the Oil needs to be vacuumed out. Then by measuring how much you have sucked out, you replace that same amount, but then there is a complex process of leaving it to stand on a level surface overnight, then bringing the gearbox to a specific temperature and removing the fill plug to top it up, until the new fluid just dribbles out of the fill plug. Then you are "good to go", but another level check is encouraged. Having gone to this effort, of course you can only remove around 50% of the contents of the gearbox Oil fill, as there will be an amount in the oilways and torque converter that has not been removed and therefore you now have a mix of original and replacement fluids. Are they compatible?

Unless your gearbox is showing any signs of lumpy operation, or sluggish changes, you may well consider it best to leave well alone, but it comes to personal choices after having done the research.

Let us know what you decide.

N6 JMX

[Geoff Walker]

Thanks for he thoughts and advice, I'm still thinking about it, but there is a drain plug and a level screw that can be used to gauge the right amount has been put in. There are no issues with the auto transmission at present so I might just go for checking the level and topping it up if necessary. Then there is the question of what ATF fluid to use- I've seen somewhere that there are two types - one for earlier boxes and one for later models ...... so is mine an earlier or later box on a 2005 car? Any ideas?

Thanks.