If you regularly take your car in for oil changes, you’re bound to be told that your car needs a transmission fluid flush. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on whether or not transmission flushes are safe for your vehicle.

A transmission fluid flush is a service that replaces your vehicle’s old transmission fluid with new fluid. A fluid flush is meant to prolong the life of the transmission and improve performance. Changing your vehicle’s transmission fluid every 30,000 to 50,000 miles will ensure that your vehicle is running smoothly.

We recommend taking your car to a reputable mechanic when considering a transmission fluid flush because flushes are a unique service. Transmission fluid flushes may not be the best thing for all vehicles. A reputable mechanic could help you determine whether or not this is the right service for your vehicle.

Transmission fluid flushes could cause damage to high-mileage vehicles that have never had a flush before. Build-up in the transmission that has accumulated over the lifetime of the vehicle could become dislodged and decrease performance and possibly even damage your transmission.

As a rule of thumb: If your high-mileage vehicle’s transmission fluid — which has never been changed — smells burnt, it’s probably not best to get a flush.

However, for low to medium mileage vehicles, it’s a good preventative measure to regularly flush your vehicle’s transmission fluid to prevent the buildup that could later cause damage to your vehicle. Regularly getting an Albuquerque transmission flush or a Phoenix transmission flush can add years to your vehicle’s transmission.