Sup guys, well I'm lookin at buyin a new car. Actually, let me re-state that...It's an '01 I30, so a "new" used car it is and it has 61K miles on it. Pretty much everything about it was immaculate, except for a few scrapes on the bumpers, which is no biggie. My main concern however is the Tranny Fluid.

I was always told that if the tranny fluid wasn't pinkish/reddish and was brownish instead then it's most likely the clutches burning up and the tranny might be on it's way. The color was def. brown and couldn't really put a significant smell on it, but the guy noticed I was concerned and offered to throw me a 6 month warranty on top of it for no extra charge. He also said he'd be willing to bring it to any mechanic I'd like on Saturday and have them check it out if I would like to just to be safe. So with that being said, if there really IS anything wrong with the trans than I honestly don't think he has any idea, not to mention he also gave me the only copy of the Carfax report that they had printed out for it.

Anyways, I'm just curious if the pink/red and brown myth is really true and if I should have anything to be worried about. I checked the Owner's Manual and no log in's for Tranny fluid change were in there, but there were plenty for Oil changes. Can it be that the fluid is just old and needs to be changed maybe? Is this normal for the 5th Gen cars or even any Nissan/Infiniti's at that? Please somebody help me out a little here. Thanks.

 

With 61 K miles and no indication the fluid has ever been changed, that is likely why it has a brown color.

If you don't get a burnt smell when you put the dipstick with the fluid on it to your nose, you probably will be OK.

I would take the owner up on the 6-month warranty on the trannie and get it in writing.

If you buy the car, the first thing I would do would be to get the fluid changed.

Good Luck.

 

at 61k the fluid should not be brown. the brownish color is an indication that the fluid has overheated/oxidized (this usually happens from towing a trailer, or frequently climbing steep inclines such as mountain drving, etc). this may or may not have resulted in premature transmission wear. the only way to know for sure is oil analysis. I would take a sample of the ATF and send it to blackstone for analysis before buying the car. if you fedex it to them and let them know it's urgent you can have the results in less than a week.