Yes... and no...
I had a 2001 Ford Escape with about 99,000 miles on it.
In preparation for a long trip I let the Ford Dealer do a "Flush and Fill" of the transmission.
By 101,000 miles the transmission had failed and I had to have a factory remanufactured unit installed.
That experience sent me researching and my conclusions follow.
First,
Honda says never "flush" because they say the seals cannot handle the pressure. They suggest three "drain and fills" with just a few miles of driving in between.
I wonder if other car brands should have the same practice.
Next,
Some on the web say flushing stirs up lots of crud from places where crud settles and sends it to places where crud does bad things. Prior to the 99k "service", my Escape had never had its transmission fluid changed. I believe the flushing caused it to fail. I wish I had not asked for that.
But,
Some say it's ok to flush if you do it at regular intervals starting at low mileage. Are you feeling lucky? I wasn't.
But, but,
What if you just do drain and fills on a schedule? While this seems like a good plan there are some detractors on the web. They (you know, "them") say that there are particles in the old transmission fluid that help the clutches grip better thus allowing an older transmission to function better. Yeah, whatever...
So there you have it!
Should you flush? No.
Should you drain and fill? I guess if on schedule.
Should you let it mellow and drive it until it breaks? Probably.
P.S.
This advice comes with a five mile/five minute warranty.
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