2004 SXT, less than 100 miles after (first/only) tranny flush at 45k miles, the solenoid pack gasket needs replacing, then less than 200 miles after that, the PUMP goes bad!

Total damage = $1750

The good news: I bought an extended warranty when I bought it with 16k miles.

The dealer claims this is practically unheard of on this tranny but I have my doubts.

Could the infamously debated tranny flush have been a factor?

 

Not so unheard of. We have a 2003 GC Sport. We bought it with 2200 miles on it. At~5000 miles, the tranny pump went bad -- dealer replaced under normal warranty. So far, with 63700 miles on it now, we have had no more problems.

 

There seems to be a consensus that transmissionflushing can actually causedamage by dislodging and distributing crud that would otherwise sit in the system doing no harm.

 

What ends up happening is that many people only flush their systems. What they forget to keep doing is replacing the pan gasket and cleaning the screen and/or replacing the filter that's in the pan.Also, they don't inspect the magnet that's in many pans for metal flakesthat usually indicates impending tranny problems. So, they endup letting the tranny problems get worse. There's some schools of though that after a flush all the crud gets loosened and quickly clogs the filter which then causes problems. Those same folks recommend doing the old-school drain & fill where the gasket/filter is replaced and magnet is inspected; then, follow-up with a flush.

 

Transmission flushing is not recommended on high mileage cars just for the reason you experienced. Many shops will no longer flush cars with over 60k to 80k miles. However, your mileage wasn't that high. If you google the issue you will read many about many issues with flushing and the reason for problems with high mileage units.