Changing transmission fluid on low mileage car

[kingston12]

I have got an 05 Boxster 987S. It is approaching 14 years old, but has only just hit 30k miles.

Looking at the maintenance schedule, it is recommended to change the transmission fluid after 120k miles or 12 years. Presumably this is worth doing even on a car with very low mileage?

[rdjohn]

Absolutely, a friend of mine blew the whole transmission by not changing the fluid on his wife’s 280SL Pagoda. It was an expensive and difficult repair.

Doing only 2k per year, I would be inclined to change it every 5-years, especially if you drive it hard on the occasions that you do take it out.

I do an annual oil change on my Boxster, even though it is only a sunny-day drive.

[kingston12]

rdjohn said:

Absolutely, a friend of mine blew the whole transmission by not changing the fluid on his wife’s 280SL Pagoda. It was an expensive and difficult repair.

Doing only 2k per year, I would be inclined to change it every 5-years, especially if you drive it hard on the occasions that you do take it out.

I do an annual oil change on my Boxster, even though it is only a sunny-day drive.

Advice taken! I always find it strange that the Porsche guidelines for fluid changes (two years for oil, 12 for transmission) are so long.

[anonymous-user]

kingston12 said:

I always find it strange that the Porsche guidelines for fluid changes (two years for oil, 12 for transmission) are so long.

Why do you find it strange? Modern synthetic oils have been doing this for at least a couple of decades.

As regards transmission fluid, many auto transmissions are extremely sensitive to fill level and can only be filled properly with the car absolutely horizontal, everything at the right temperature and the correct procedure followed. "Bloke with spanner and oily rag" often gets it wrong, leading to trouble. And it's often said of auto's, "If the fluid's knackered the transmission's knackered". Nonetheless I support the idea of a precautionary fluid change after about 10 years.

As with many things about a car, the best way to keep stuff working is often to keep well away from blokes with tools!