How the price estimate was built
What it shows: Our default range is $189 to $461; 1 of 2 published ranges overlap it.
What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($282)MiddleHigher-cost states ($360)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $360 and AR the lowest at $282, across 51 states.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is under 50,000 (41%), against 60% for all complaints: the biggest difference between the two.
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 3-5 years (38%). The biggest difference from all complaints is under 3 years old: 22% against 40%.
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
1,220 owner complaints name this part.
Owners say the dealer could not fix or repeat the problem. If it comes back after a repair, ask what was tested before you pay again.
Which trouble codes do owners report?
P0700 Transmission Control System (MIL Request) leads at 7.
Trouble codes owners quote in complaints about this part. P0700 Transmission Control System (MIL Request): 7; P0841 Transmission Fluid Pressure Sensor/Switch 'A' Circuit Range/Performance: 6; P0867 Transmission Fluid Pressure: 5.
The code owners quote most is P0700. Read your own code from a scan and give the shop the exact code, not only "the light is on".
Which other parts do owners name in the same complaint?
Among the 1,220 owner complaints naming this part, clutch is named in 5% of them, more than any other part.
Other parts named in the same complaints. Clutch: 5%; Transmission control module: 3%.
Owners name the clutch most often in the same complaint, which is not proof that one caused the other. Ask the shop whether it checked the clutch too, so you are not quoted twice for one visit.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
55 mph or faster leads at 40%.
Owners reported it most often at highway speed. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
How serious did it get for owners?
Among the 1,220 owner complaints naming this part, being towed is the outcome owners report most often.
What it shows: Towed is the largest at 61, followed by Fire reported at 7; the smallest shown is Injury reported at 3.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 1,220 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2019 is the largest at 211 (17%), followed by 2015 at 138 (11%); the smallest shown is 2025 at 10 (1%).
Do transmission fluid change problems track share of workers who drive to work alone across states?
A weak hint, not a firm finding: across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about transmission fluid change run higher where share of workers who drive to work alone is higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that share of workers who drive to work alone causes this repair.
How much of a repair bill is labor and how much is parts?
In the 2017 Economic Census, transmission repair shops took 49.8% of their repair revenue from labor charges and 50.2% from parts installed, close to the 51.0% labor share of all auto repair shops (U.S. Census Bureau, national, 4,365 shops).
| Shop type (NAICS) | Labor charges | Parts installed | All revenue of the shop type | Establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive repair and maintenance (all shop types) | 51.0% | 49.0% | $115.3 billion | 162,185 |
| Automotive body, paint, interior, and glass repair | 50.6% | 49.4% | $43.0 billion | 41,542 |
| Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance | 50.4% | 49.6% | $54.9 billion | 92,088 |
| Automotive transmission repair | 49.8% | 50.2% | $2.2 billion | 4,365 |
How often do owners actually win a lemon-law case?
In Connecticut's 2025 lemon-law program, 113 of 141 arbitration hearings (80%) ended in a refund or replacement vehicle, while Texas ordered 14 repurchases or replacements after hearings among 576 complaints filed in fiscal 2020; these are program totals for all vehicles and defects, not for transmission fluid change.
| Program and year | Cases | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut decisions on Chevrolet (since 2018) | 13 of 357 | a make from this page's top owner complaints; the file lists the case, not the outcome |
| Connecticut decisions on Ford (since 2018) | 35 of 357 | a make from this page's top owner complaints; the file lists the case, not the outcome |
| Connecticut, 2025 | 141 hearings | 113 refund or replacement (80%), 15 cash and keep, 13 no action |
| New York, 1998 | all cases | consumers prevailed in 68% of new-car cases and 63% of used-car disputes (awards and settlements combined) |
| Texas, fiscal 2020 | 576 complaints filed | 302 settled before a decision; 14 vehicles ordered repurchased or replaced after hearings (78 post-hearing orders) |
Which transmission designs are in cars of my age?
EPA's Automotive Trends data show continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) went from 2.3% of new cars in model year 2005 to 28.6% in 2024, while manual transmissions fell from 6.2% to 0.9% (sales-weighted national shares).
| Model year | Manual | Conventional automatic | CVT | Average gears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.7% | 90.2% | 0.0% | 4.1 |
| 2005 | 6.2% | 91.6% | 2.3% | 4.5 |
| 2010 | 3.8% | 85.3% | 11.0% | 5.2 |
| 2014 | 2.8% | 78.3% | 19.0% | 6.0 |
| 2018 | 1.6% | 76.0% | 22.3% | 6.5 |
| 2021 | 0.9% | 72.4% | 26.6% | 7.0 |
| 2024 | 0.9% | 70.5% | 28.6% | 7.0 |
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz | E 450 4matic 2019–2025; SL 450 2018–2020 and 130 more | LI27.00-P-080840 | Aug 4, 2026 | Complaint Mercedes-Benz USA is currently experiencing limited availability of transmission fluid specification ATF 236.17 due to a global supply constraint. |
| Porsche | 911 2015–2026; Cayenne E-Hybrid 2019–2026 and 114 more | D768.1 | Mar 5, 2026 | Parts information for parts withdrawal involving the transmission fluid. |
| Porsche | Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid 2019–2023; 718 Spyder 2018–2026 and 114 more | D768 | Feb 27, 2026 | Parts information for parts withdrawal involving the (00004321048) Transmission fluid. |
| Mazda | CX-30 2023–2026; CX-5 2024–2026 and 3 more | SA-040-25a | Nov 18, 2025 | A New Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF-A7) is being used for some 2023-2026 models. |
| Volkswagen | Passat 2015–2022; EOS 2015–2016 and 18 more | V3718022033975_14 | Oct 14, 2025 | Cautions about using aftermarket transmission flush machines and aftermarket transmission fluids. |
| RAM | 1500 2020–2025 | 9100570 | May 12, 2025 | "Transmission Fluid Please note fluid color/condition/odor is NOT an indicator of transmission health and should not be used as the reason for unit replacement. |
55 more bulletins name this part; the car finder at the top checks yours, and the NHTSA bulletin file linked below lists them all.
Manufacturer warranty extensions naming this part (3)
| Maker | Vehicles | Date | Notice number | What the maker extended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac | Escalade 2015–2017; Escalade ESV 2015–2017 | Feb 7, 2022 | 17336 03 | AC condenser crack from thermal cycling allowing refrigerant. |
| Chevrolet | Suburban 2015–2017; Tahoe 2015–2017 | Feb 7, 2022 | 17336 03 | AC condenser crack from thermal cycling allowing refrigerant. |
| GMC | Yukon 2015–2017; Yukon XL 2015–2017 | Feb 7, 2022 | 17336 03 | AC condenser crack from thermal cycling allowing refrigerant. |
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
This model does not have a dip stick to check transmission fluid resulting in a $2500.00 drop an drain to which I am told by the mechanic that this needs to be done every 40k.
Service technician found excessive metal in transmission fluid and recommends replacing transmission, transmission cooler and transmission lines for $8085 plus tax.
The dealer says the torque converter failed and subsequently damaged the transmission fluid pump and will require the entire transmission to be replaced and cost us over $6600.
Diagnosed as bad transmission fluid requiring flush and fill 3 times: $850.
Check your car
A transmission fluid change costs $189–$461 at a shop charging $120 an hour. Adding a filter and pan drop, choosing a full flush, and driving a European car move that range most.
What does the estimate cover, and what does it leave out?
The estimate covers the fluid change itself: labor at $120 an hour and the fluid for a standard car.
It leaves out the filter, the pan gasket, a machine flush, and any repair a shop finds once the fluid is out. A leak at the pan or a worn seal is a separate bill. Taxes and shop fees are not in either number.
How much does each choice change the price?
Four settings move the number: shop type, whether the filter is replaced, drain-and-fill versus flush, and the kind of car. Each row changes one setting from the default.
| Setting | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Default: fluid change, standard car, $120/hr shop | $189–$461 |
| Independent shop (about $100/hr) | $178–$443 |
| Dealership (about $175/hr) | $222–$507 |
| Add filter, pan drop and gasket | $261–$677 |
| Full machine flush (100% fluid swap) | $245–$599 |
| Asian import (Toyota WS, Honda DW1 fluid) | $235–$605 |
| European (BMW ZF Lifeguard, VW G052, Mercedes MB 236) | $420–$1,183 |
The shop's hourly rate matters less than you might expect, because the job is short and the fluid is a large share of the bill. The car decides the fluid, and the fluid decides most of the price.
Do you need the filter and pan drop, or a full flush?
A filter and pan drop is the more thorough of the two on cars that have a serviceable pan. The shop drops the pan, replaces the filter and gasket, and refills. A machine flush pushes new fluid through the whole system and swaps all of it, including the fluid that sits in the torque converter.
Neither is always better. If the fluid has never been changed on a high-mileage car, ask the shop whether a flush is safe before you approve it, because some technicians prefer a gentler drain-and-fill in that case. Your owner's manual names the service the maker expects. Follow it, and ask the shop to point to the line that says which one.
How do you know the fluid is the problem, and how urgent is it?
Fresh fluid is usually bright red and clear. Fluid that is dark brown or black and smells burnt is overdue. If your car has a dipstick, check it on a level surface with the engine warm. Many do not, and then the service interval is your only guide.
Symptoms point to the fluid when shifts get slow or rough, the car hesitates going from Park into Drive, or you notice a whine or a burnt smell. A fluid change is cheap insurance against those. It cannot undo damage that has already happened, so a car that slips or will not move needs a diagnosis before a fluid service.
How do you get a fair quote?
Ask three things, in this order:
- Is this a drain-and-fill, a filter and pan drop, or a machine flush?
- Which fluid spec will you use, by name? The wrong fluid can damage a transmission.
- Are the filter and gasket included?
Then run your own car through the calculator with your shop type. For the default job, a quote under $178 or over $507 is worth a second call. A European car is a different job: compare it against $420–$1,183 and not the default.
What do people ask about this service?
Can I change the fluid myself? On many cars, yes, if you have the right fluid and the tools. RepairPal says the common mistakes are over-tightening the pan bolts and using the wrong fluid, and that European cars often need a special pump.
Does the default price include a filter? No. The default is the fluid change only; adding the filter, pan drop and gasket is the $261–$677 row in the table above.
Will fresh fluid fix rough shifting? Sometimes, if worn fluid is the cause. It cannot repair worn parts, so ask for a diagnosis if the problem stays.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year 2019-2023, counties summed to states (B08301), joined to NHTSA owner complaints file downloaded 2026-10-06
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 Economic Census, Other Services, revenue from labor charges and parts installed (EC1781LABOR) file downloaded 2017 data, published 2021
- Connecticut DCP Lemon Law annual report (2025), data.ct.gov Lemon Law Arbitration Decisions, Texas DMV Lemon Law Annual Report FY2020, New York Attorney General (1999 release on 1998 results) data from 2026
- U.S. EPA, The 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report (EPA-420-R-26-001) file downloaded 2026-10
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote. Derived: computed from the records; an association, not a cause.
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Checked against 2 established price guides on 2026-10-06: our default's midpoint is 0% above the middle of RepairPal's range ($294–$356). Methodology