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I purchased a 2005 from an estate with 65,000 original miles. The car has been sitting many many years. Worked on car and got it running good. However not sure if transmission or rear has been serviced. I am scared to drive it because I don't want to break the trans. I have an appointment to take to cottman to have the filter and fluid changed however a mechanic friend says if it works don't mess with it. He says I should not have it serviced unless there is an issue. He is an old tyme mechanic that says you should never change the fluid in a transmission if it is not giving you any problems and he thinks I will be asking for problems. He believes I should drive it until it gives you a reason. The cottman trans person says that the fluid can breakdown even if the car is sitting, my friend believes otherwise. What should I do? Have it seviced or just drive it?
When I bought my 06 C6 A6 factory stock coupe with 38k miles last October from a GM dealer, I had them change all of the fluids and filters to establish a maintenance baseline because I was driving it from Michigan to our home in Sedona, AZ. It was a great, trouble free road trip and everything works the way it should. Now I know exactly what the maintenance status is. Zero second thoughts, money well spent.
My 05 with manual and 119,000 miles. I have owned this car since 2008 and changed fluid regularly and had no problems. Have not changed the harmonic balancer, will do that when needed.
Your profile is silent, but I'm presuming your '05 is an auto trans. The factory scheduled trans fluid replacement is 100K miles, so I wouldn't be concerned about driving until some convenient time to replace all the fluids.
I've had my '05 since new & it's been totally reliable, but here's a few things to watch for:
Noise from rear end can be caused by loose axle nuts or incorrect diff fluid from factory (insufficient friction modifier). The p/n for the axle nuts is 10257766 & they're just a few bucks each. The correct diff fluid is Dexron LS 75W-90, GM p/n 88862624.
Do a search here for correct replacement procedure for both. Also do a brake flush. I don't believe the trans fluid deteriorates just sitting, but brake fluid definitely will absorb moisture in the air & affect braking. Other usual maintenance items like brake pads & rotors should be checked for wear, as well as runout or wobble on the harmonic balancer. Again, loads of information if you do a search here on CF. Also, if tires are original, they definitely need to be replace & if the tire pressure sensors are original, they also need to be replaced.
In case you didn't get it with the vehicle, I've attached a copy of the Owner's Manual.....have fun with your Vette!
This car (2001 A4 Coupe) sat for a good 15 years with the occasional trip around the block (by me) just to keep things flowing. We finally transferred it to my wife's name a couple of years ago (it was her mother's car, but she couldn't drive it anymore). The only fluid ever changed in it during that time was the oil. When we transferred it, I had all fluids flushed and replaced front to rear to "reset" the clock on them.
The car currently has 55K miles on it. It had 39K miles when my late father-in-law bought it in 2002. So that's only 16K miles in 21 years, and it still runs and drives beautifully. So I'd say you're perfectly fine driving your 2005.
05-25-2023, 10:11 PM
2005 with 65,00 miles
