my car has 80,000mi on the clock, and AT fluid was never ever changed. I thought it was in there for the life of the vehicle and never has to be replaced. am I wrong?

 

I flushed mine at 30k and plan to do so every 30k. I've always had tranny flushes and never had a tranny go out on me. My Maxima is still going strong at over 140k and the tranny gets flushed every 30k. My camry lasted 240k. Trannies are expensive so why not maintain...especially considering most people will only need 2-3 flushes/replacement over the lifetime of the vehicle.

 

and you go to infinti for tranny flushes? i dont understand the proper vs the wrong way with brands. Monroe and other places are cheaper because all the dealerships are morons that over price everything. Rarely people go to dealerships like I said before. Its a vehicle, how do you really know whats good or whats goin to work for it. Like the above person said 80k on car and no AT flush. Every car is different i guess.

 

Its simple. If you TRUST your 3rd party mechanic (be it Monroe or other) then let them do it. I've had some really BAD (REALLY BAD) experiences with some of the chain places to stay completely away from them. I completely trust my Infiniti dealership because I've had some work done by them and they have never let me down. In fact, they undercut Discount Tires and Tire Rack by over $100 in getting my my Pilot Sport tires.

I've also had really good independent shops work on my cars in the past so in the end, who do you trust?

 

my front brakes work fine from monroe, $350 installed for rotors and pads and air filter. Lifetime warranty on pads, no one can beat that. I think infinti wanted that price just to install pads and not lifetime warranty. Tires i will trust town fair tire, since i got all 4 brand new bridgestone turanza serenity for $600 with alignment, mount balance everything. Now onto the tranny flush, im going to look around and ask what do they use? Im sure they dont use the same tranny fluid for every vehicle.

 

Keep in mind that powertrain items can be sensitivite...especially our trannies. I wouldn't trust just anyone. Going to the dealer may be worth it just for piece of mind on this one.

 

I ordered Akebono pads from TireRack for $55 (for the rear). My ind. mechanic (also a recommended TR installer for my area). Charged me $120 for resurfacing the rotors and installing the pads.
Total is $175 (plus some tax of course). Of course, adding rotors would have upped the ante. But then knowing a highly respected and fully qualified mechanic did the job is priceless.
I've known some over the years that even work in 'chain shops'. But not many. If you find one at all, don't let go.