I,m very confuse I have a 2016 Ram 1500 with 58,000 miles the transmission is the **** type so I figure it's an 8-speed transmission the motor is a 6 cylinder. my owners manual does not show any filter and fluid change unless the truck is used for towing or if its a fleet truck (which is not on both issues) but the dealer says I should change it on the 60,000-mile range (which they quoted me $900 bucks to do this. so who should I listen to the dealer or the owner's manual is the fluid lifetime or not. any help is greatly appreciated.

 

900 bucks for a fluid and filter change on the trans??????? That's just stupid. I can understand why the dealership would think you should do that, they want your money. If the owners manual says not to worry about it, then don't, and ignore the dealer.

 

Yes down here in Miami dealers are a bunch of crooks I was shocked when they told me it cost 900 bucks and it needed at 60,000 miles the manual only goes up to 150,000 miles and in no place does it shows a filter change I told that to the dealer and they told me "oh but Miami traffic puts a lot of wear in the transmission so don't go by your manual. so when they said that I just drove out of the dealer.

 

I am REAL curious why that service is so expensive. Used to be like 75 bucks for a fluid/filter change...... Do they have to pull the trans to do it?? That seems really stupid..... I don't have a manual to look it up in though.... But, if your owners manual doesn't mention it, I would be FAR more likely to believe that, than the dealer.

 

Actually, based on what has been discussed elsewhere, ZF (the company who actually manufactured the transmission) recommends replacing the fluid around the 50,000-75,000 mile mark. I can't find the links anymore other than forum discussions and don't want to violate forum rules, but the price is about right. Changing the fluid on these transmissions is more expensive due to ZF Lifeguard's fluid (even if it is packaged through Mopar is around $25-30 A QUART and the transmission filter is integrated into the pan which costs around $200 which means to change the filter, you have to change the pan as well. As for questions on whether this is just ZF lying just to make some extra bucks, many youtube videos and forums with used oil analysis indictate this to be accurate. It isn't hard to imagine that if a 4-6 speed transmissions need fluid changes every 30,000-60,000 miles that an 8 speed would need it no matter how special the fluid is. You can do what you want ultimately, but if it were my truck, I would take their advice. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is why I'm not so crazy about these over complicated dummkopf German designs being used.

 

Here's another one done at 40K miles. Clearly not a fill for life of the vehicle if you are intending to hold on to this for 200,000-400,000 miles with the original transmission. Like all transmission, it needs to be maintained.

 

no fluid is for life. life for engineers is when the warranty runs out. all fluid wears out. the fluid is expensive and the filter is incorporated into the oil pan cover so you need a new cover to change the filter. if it was me and you had this vehicle from new...change the fluid and leave the filter. Other manufacturers say its ok to do all long as you do complete fluid exchanges from new at the set intervals.
most Asian trans don't use changeable depth filters but rather screens. gm has some products that have filters but they are only accessible during complete teardown. the first fluid exchange is the most important. it removes 80% of the particles that circulate in the life of the trans.