Will Changing Your Transmission Fluid Cause Any Damage?

First what is transmission fluid? Well, automatic transmission fluid is the fluid that is used in automobiles with automatic transmissions. Simple enough right? It is usually a red color. Automatic transmissions require a lot of things in order to function properly, because there are a lot of different things happening at once. Some of the needs of an automatic transmission that transmission fluid helps is proper valve operation, brake band function, torque converter and also gear lubrication. Multiple gears are constantly being shifted, especially in newer models with higher gear amounts and this can leave more room for trouble if it’s not properly maintained.

Modern automatic transmission fluid combinations contain a lot of different components including: anti-wear additives, rust and corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants and surfactants, which is what protects and cleans metal surfaces. They can also contain kinematic viscosity and viscosity index improvers and modifiers, seal swell additives and agents. A few other important components of automatic transmission fluid includes anti-foam additives, anti-oxidation compounds to inhibit oxidation. ATF contains much more than these substances and as you can see, this is a fairly complex formula.

This video goes into detail whether or not changing your transmission fluid can cause any damage to your engine, which is definitely not something anybody wants!