2004 chevy impala transmission fluid change , have a few questions
Asked by ajavila Mar 02, 2015 at 07:53 PM about the 2004 Chevrolet Impala FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Ok I bought a 04 chevy impala with
96k miles and it is at 135k miles now.
I have serviced everything but
transmission fluid. Ok does it need to
be changed? It's clean and smells
normal.also the fluid is not red it is a
clean/clear oil.why? I heard it should
be red .car has run great the whole
time I've had it 4years :-) really happy
with it and would love to keep her
happy because she makes me happy
lol
4 Answers
Yes I would change it, just a simple filter change and new fluid. You shouldn't need a flush. Remember it's preventative maintenance, you don't want to wait until it's bad.
Thanks ,do you know why fluid is not red? Is it synthetic maybe ? I heard over time it looses the cooler , I was also told that the shops might not have used dye? (I bought it from a dealer)
Hard to say, perhaps some coolant or water has gotten into the trans fluid and caused the lighter/clear color. Article: The Color of Automatic Transmission Fluid - http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/141 Sometimes it's hard to see the trans fluid color unless you have a lot of it, but just wiping it off a dipstick it might appear very light in color. Since it's been at least 40K miles since you've owned it and maybe many more since it was last serviced (and perhaps it's never been serviced) I'd say it's overdue for new trans fluid and a filter change. Afterwards, keep an eye on it and watch to see if water/coolant is getting into it, as well as watch for any signs of oil getting into the radiator fluid.
