These stories of people who never change their ATF amuse/intrigue me. In the car column of today's Wall Street Journal, there's some guy with a 1999 E320 with 175,000 miles on it who has NEVER changed the ATF. Boggles the mind on two counts: that he never changed it (though he apparently inquired about doing so on several occasions) and that the car is running just fine.

The fluid has just GOT to degrade and become contaminated. How do these cars keep going? It would be interesting to know the mileage record for a completely neglected transmission....

Anyway, I'll continue to replace my ATF every 20-25,000 miles.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 161k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 180k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 147k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 81k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife