My rule of thumb is to change it along with the diff's/transfer case, at the end of winter and in the fall(for me thats every 20K highway miles). I do the drain and fill. Did this in my last car, it had 300K miles before it was retired to Mexico where it will probably go another 100K( I am sorry old girl).

 

My father owns an 05 Maxima SL wit the 5AT and the dealer the a complete flush of the transmission oil at 50K and the next one will be done at 100K. The Nissan dealer a reputable one (R Nissan in MD) said that it's better to do a flush every 50-60K instead of drain and fill. I think for the G (5AT) I was just gonna take it to the dealership every 35K for a drain and fill. From what I hear it's a real pain to do it yourself on the auto and I'm not gonna attempt it. This seems to be the only thing that the car needs to be taken for the dealership for basic maintenance as the engine oil, differential gear oil, both air filter and coolant can easily be changed yourself. What do you guys think?

 

Did they provide a reference source for this opinion? Technical documentation? Engineering procedures? The FSM procedure should be the standard unless something supercedes it. Otherwise, people tend to operate on rumor, wives-tales, and profit incentive.

 

Normac, you have a valid point. Their statement was probably not eveidenced based but based on their "experience," haha. By the time my father had told me, the work was done. He also said the dealership 5 miles away said the same thing and both seemed really adament about getting the flush as oppose to the drain and fill. Well, based on the postings I'll be doing 35K drain and fills for both cars from now on. I hope the work is as cheap as the Hondas..it's only $50 at the dealership, but it'll probably be more.