A Dodge Charger owner kept asking a mechanic about changing the transmission fluid. The answer was always to wait. Now, with nearly 100,000 miles on the car, the mechanic has a new recommendation: get rid of it.
The vehicle is a 2023 Dodge Charger SXT with roughly 98,000 miles. Its owner says the transmission fluid has never been changed, despite bringing up the service during multiple visits to a repair shop.
At first, the mechanic recommended waiting until 60,000 miles. Once the Charger reached that number, the target jumped to 90,000. On the next visit, the mechanic abandoned the mileage recommendations and suggested trading in the car before it reached 120,000 miles.
That advice left the driver worried about what might be happening inside the transmission. After following the shop’s instructions for thousands of miles, the owner turned to Reddit to ask whether the delay had caused damage. Dodge’s maintenance manual, however, tells a different story about when this transmission needs service.
Moving The Goalposts
Bad mechanic advice and now I’m worried.
by
u/Fairster007 in
MechanicAdvice
The driver described the changing recommendations in a post on Reddit’s r/MechanicAdvice forum. Each time the owner asked about transmission maintenance, the mechanic pushed the service farther down the road.
By 90,000 miles, the advice had taken a strange turn. Instead of discussing a fluid change, the shop recommended trading in the Charger before the odometer reached 120,000 miles.
That’s a substantial recommendation for a car whose transmission hasn’t been diagnosed with a problem. The owner didn’t mention slipping gears or rough shifts in the post. There was no reported warning light, either.
The worry came from the mileage itself. Having driven almost 100,000 miles on the original fluid, the owner feared that following the mechanic’s advice had been a costly mistake.
Check The Manual
There’s a problem with the idea that the Charger missed its required transmission service. Dodge doesn’t list a routine fluid-change interval for its eight-speed automatic transmission under normal operating conditions.
The 2023 Dodge Charger owner’s manual says the factory-installed fluid is designed to provide satisfactory lubrication throughout the vehicle’s life under those conditions. Fluid and filter replacement becomes necessary if the fluid is contaminated or the transmission is disassembled.
So neither 60,000 nor 90,000 miles is a required replacement point in the manual. The mechanic’s earlier recommendations may have reflected the shop’s preferred maintenance schedule, but they weren’t Dodge’s routine service intervals.
There’s also a difference between changing transmission fluid and performing a chemical flush. Dodge specifically warns against chemical flushes because they can damage transmission components.
None of that proves the Charger’s transmission is in perfect condition. It does mean the mileage alone isn’t evidence that the owner missed a manufacturer-required service.
Time For Another Opinion
Reddit users questioned why the mechanic kept changing the recommendation. Several encouraged the owner to find another shop rather than rely on advice that had already shifted multiple times.
Other commenters favored changing the transmission fluid if the driver planned to keep the car. Whether that would be worthwhile at 98,000 miles remained a point of disagreement.
The discussion also exposed a gap in the mechanic’s advice. The Reddit post described a recommendation to trade in the vehicle, but didn’t identify a mechanical problem that would justify replacing it.
Without an inspection or a specific diagnosis, the owner has little reason to believe the transmission is approaching failure at 120,000 miles.
Still Running
Getting a second opinion would require a shop familiar with Dodge’s eight-speed automatic. This transmission doesn’t have a conventional dipstick, and checking its fluid level requires special service tools.
Dodge advises owners to contact an authorized dealer if the transmission develops a leak or starts malfunctioning. A qualified technician could inspect the Charger and determine whether any service is needed.
For now, the driver has reported no confirmed transmission failure. The Charger has reached approximately 98,000 miles on its original fluid, and the mechanic’s warning about trading it in before 120,000 miles remains unsupported by any diagnosis described in the post.