I've been reading lots of threads here on the topic of transmission fluid changes. I am really confused by all of this as I the manual says change the fluid at 6 years or 100k miles yet most threads suggest that you do it earlier. I've got an '03 4cyl auto.

I have become a strong believer in "if it a'int broke don't fix it" mainly because often when I take a car in for service, something gets screwed up.

So I do only what the manual says and I do it myself.

As for the transmission fluid, mine is still very pink, clean and smells fine. The car shifts perfectly.

Do I really need to change this at 6 years?

Thanks.

 

you dont really need to flush it if thats the case. if the smell changes then its time to do it but dont wait till you get that burnt smell, that on the other hand is bad.

 

Replacing the fluids on a Honda/Acura should be done at least as often as the manual recommends, if not sooner.

To each his own, it's your car, and how you drive the car as well as where you live can have an effect on the life of pretty much everything on the car, but I personally would never wait longer than 30k miles to change transmission fluid on a Honda/Acura.
Changing it on a manual/standard transmission is so easy (not to mention cheap if you do it yourself) there's no reason not to, and it will in fact extend it's life.

As for the automatics, as long as you change the fluid properly (no "flush" required), you really can't change it too much. The color and smell of the fluid is something to go by, but keep in mind that nowhere near all of the fluid comes out when you change it on a hondamatic, so if the current fluid is dark and smells different, you would want to do several changes in a row (2 or 3). Not required of course, and some new fluid is better than none, but it will last longer if you either replace it sooner (~30k) or do several changes in a row if you wait significantly longer.
Most importantly you always need to use Genuine Honda ATF in an automatic.

 

Unfortunately many mechanics aren't very good. However, if you are mechanically inclined then it's easy. But 100K miles IMO is a bit too long.