Consensus on transmission service interval?

Is there a general consensus on when it’s best to change transmission fluid and filter under normal driving conditions in the ‘21+ Tahoes?

Service manual from Chevy is at a high mileage if I recall correctly, north of 100k. I have an indy mechanic suggesting to I do it now at 60k given issues he’s seen in the past with Tahoe transmissions and metal shavings…not sure how much of that is based on experience with the newest generation. I don’t think the guy is trying to convince me to spend more money just for the heck of it, but id feel better about making a decision with the collective unbiased opinions of you folks here!

Thanks!!

Are the new transmissions “sealed for life” or are they easily drained and filled?

I can’t imagine they are considered sealed for life…I just found the Chevy recommend maintenance schedule online and interestingly it mentions nothing about trans fluid and filter for “normal” but for “severe” it recommends trans fluid and filter every 45k miles. Based on that, it doesn’t seem Chevy would consider it sealed for life. How easy to drain and fill, IDK.

I'd just go with the severe schedule, or 50k if thats easier to remember. It used to be rule of thumb 30k service interval back in the day (80/90's). Then GM went to the 100k no maintenance needed mindset. This was to show that their vehicles "had a lower cost of ownership" and now we have blown past that marker to a willy-nilly sort of just drive it until it breaks and replace it mindset.

I know machining and fluids have gotten better, but I also know that corporate profits are put ahead of everything, so cost cutting negates a lot of good that has come along. Personally, fluids and filters are your cheapest insurance, so I replace them at designated intervals (AHEAD of what the manual says) and it's served me well for many years.

dstewart3ss said:

Is there a general consensus on when it’s best to change transmission fluid and filter under normal driving conditions in the ‘21+ Tahoes?
Service manual from Chevy is at a high mileage if I recall correctly, north of 100k.

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Why not just buy a new vehicle @ 150,000 miles? That'd make GM SO happy ...

dstewart3ss said:

... just found the Chevy recommend maintenance schedule online, and interestingly it mentions nothing about trans fluid and filter for "normal",
but for "severe" it recommends trans fluid and filter every 45k miles.

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Bet the transmissions that have their ATF & filter serviced @ 45,000 miles last 2x longer than those that service them 'north of 100k'.

B-train said:

... used to be rule of thumb 30k service interval back in the day (80s / 90s).

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Dexron6 may be a significant improvement over Dex3, and then there's 8L90 ATF on top of that, but still ...
The longer you want your transmission to last between rebuilds, the more often you should change your ATF & filter.
Even if you drive miss daisy, every two or three years (for those who don't accrue 50,000 miles in 3 years) seems reasonable.

Like the engine (in most cases) you do oil changes because maintenance is cheaper than replacement.

Bigburb3500 said:

Like the engine (in most cases) you do oil changes because maintenance is cheaper than replacement.

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But replacement is SO baller ...

Warranties. Aren’t they great? Nothing fails when you have them but 1 mile over… boom. Lol

I just did our 21 Yukon 10spd at 63000, there was no record of the previous owner ever having transmission service, so I figured that was the original fluid.

So my shop does Pan service, filter, fresh fluid for $250. I'm gonna have it done again in 45k miles. This 10 speed is so smooth. It's a pleasure to drive.

Fluid for the 10 spd is Dexron ULV (ultra-low viscosity)

fondupot said:

I just did our 21 Yukon 10spd at 63000, there was no record of the previous owner ever having transmission service, so I figured that was the original fluid.

So my shop does Pan service, filter, fresh fluid for $250. I'm gonna have it done again in 45k miles. This 10 speed is so smooth. It's a pleasure to drive.

Fluid for the 10 spd is Dexron ULV (ultra-low viscosity)

Click to expand...

$250 seems like a great price, at least compared to what I was quoted by an indy shop near me. They quoted me nearly double that.

Thanks for all the feedback thus far. Seems like the consensus is to replace fluid and filter especially if I don’t know that it’s already been done (which I don’t).