I'm hearing a whining sound coming from the transmission. Since the car has almost 100k I thought it would be a good idea to have the transmission fluid changed. I called the Jaguar dealer and the guy wanted to know why I want the fluid changed. I told him the car almost has 100k and I'm hearing a whining sound and I want it done, that's why. He said "The transmission fluid should never be changed and it's sealed from the factory. You can actually damage the transmission by changing its fluid. Bring the car in and for $150 we'll diagnose it".
Now, I was born at night but it wasn't last night. I know BS when I hear it. I know for a fact it isn't sealed and as far as I know there is no lubricant that lasts forever. I know where to fill and drain and check the fluid. But I'm not a transmission specialist so I was wondering if there's some truth to what he says or are they just trying to get money from me? Can anyone with knowledge about this subject chime in?
Thanks

 

Hi Jaguila, and greetings from down under. Gotta be careful here because much of my knowledge and research has focused on the ZF 6speed auto 6HP26 - not yours - but some similarities are worth passing on.

This "sealed for life" rubbish was not invented by Jaguar, but almost certainly by the bigger German carmakers who, under quaint EU specs, were allowed to define a modern car's useful "life" as 150.000 or 160,000 Km (100,000 miles). Regrettably, Jaguar perpetuated the myth - since amended amidst huge embarrassment by several OEM suppliers (like ZF, but unsure about Modratec).

Your BS detector is not damaged however ... because your dealer should be full bottle on these revisions as per TSBs. Your mileage would suggest that fluid change would be a wise move to prolong the health of your transmission, but I would start by changing your dealer ... immediately! $150 as a sucker hook is far from the trusted relationship you ought to expect - and the reason many small independent specialists beat the bigger dealers hands down!
Best wishes

 

It could also be the transfer case. I know a lot of these leak and need to be resealed and filled.