Hi guys
My ride is a 02 S2 Tj advance sedan 4 sp tippy
I got a question to ask if i may. Im due to change my transmission fluid tommorrow, i got it booked in for a trans flush at north east Mitsubishi here in adelaide. The fluid is black when i checked it and i been driving around a while like that no probs with the trans changing gears except its a little sluggish changing. Mitsi are charging $250 for the flush, my question is should i bother doing the flush spending that money?? or would a standard fluid change be sufficient??. I cant see any records of it ever being flushed in my service books, im the third owner its got 173000km on the odo. Any advice/ help would be greatly appreciated?? Thanks guys
Rob. M.

Drain and refill will only get about half the fluid out. Flush gets it all out.
So a drain by itself doesn't seem like the best of ideas.

yeah my thoughts too, other half is in the torque converter just annoying its so expensive to have it fushed ive spent a bit of money in past 15 months fixing quite a few things on it so im gonna keep the car for as long as i can im not willing to give it to somebody for a $1000. Thanks mate:)

Black fluid ain't good, your transmission won't be liking it one bit. I'd definitely change it, but be aware that there are some cases of transmissions that have been long neglected failing after a flush as dislodged contaminants lodge in sensitive places. If it was me, I'd still flush it, but consider yourself warned I guess. Proper flush takes a bit of time and uses a decent quantity of fluid, I wouldn't reckon $250 is a bad price to be honest. Otherwise do it yourself, there's a few threads on here on how to do it properly. Much less $$ and the satisfaction of knowing it was done right.

Mitsi are charging $250 for the flush

will cost $100+ for a drain and fill if you doit by the manual - so $250 is good value I'd say - got quoted $700 by a well known and respected local transmission shop (ran away quickly...)

I had mine done for around the same price. Noticeable difference with much smoother gear change. Economy improved by .3 per litre average also as a side benefit.

I just got two 5L bottles of SPIII from the dealer. They cost $82 ($41ea). That puts the labour at $168 which ain't too bad for a dealer.


I'd definitely change it, but be aware that there are some cases of transmissions that have been long neglected failing after a flush as dislodged contaminants lodge in sensitive places. If it was me, I'd still flush it, but consider yourself warned I guess.

The method used isn't really a flush as it is not hooked up to machine to force fluid around. It uses the internal pump to displace the old fluid with new fluid, so is very gentle.

yeah i know black fluid aint good mate if i had the chance to do it straight away i would of, just didnt have the money and time but i certainly hope that my trans does'nt fail after the flush. thanks

I done a fair bit of ringing around to dealers and trans specialists, and yeah $250 from a mitsi north east road was the best price, so i shouldnt be complaining to be honest. they will flush around 10L of trans fluid through it.

Had both my TL'S flushed, the wagon was black and when finished it was a different car, really nice gear changes and smooth. The AWD had it done because I could not find it done in the service book, no noticeable difference but have peace of mind about it.

Yep i would flush as well.

yeah i know black fluid aint good mate if i had the chance to do it straight away i would of, just didnt have the money and time but i certainly hope that my trans does'nt fail after the flush. thanks

Obviously it's still working as it is so you should be fine for a little bit longer just as long as you don't take any long trips. A lot of people have had their trans fluid cook on long trips because they've had bad fluid.

There's no shame in paying $250 for a trans flush, it will get 95% of the bad stuff out. My brother and I did it to his AWD using 15l of fluid, the results were profound! Near instant gear changes and no sluggishness on cold starts etc. It's $250 well spent if it hasn't been done in a very long time.

ok nice to hear mate thanks guys for you comments and advice much appreciated. My TJ should be ready soon for me to pick up hopefully all good.