How we price a transmission fluid change
Every figure on this site is one of two kinds. A quoted figure comes from the shop's or the vehicle maker's own page or manual, and we link to it. An estimate is a price range we compiled because nobody publishes the real one. The chains in this category (Jiffy Lube, Valvoline, Midas, AAMCO, Firestone and the rest) publish no national transmission service price, so every shop price range on the site is an estimate.
| Kind of figure | Example | Where it comes from | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| What a shop's service includes | Midas: its fluid change replaces 50 to 60 percent of the fluid, its flush 100 percent | The chain's own service page, linked on the page | Quoted |
| Fluid type and capacity | Hyundai ATF SP-IV for the Elantra 6-speed automatic | The vehicle maker's owner's manual | Quoted |
| Shop and chain price ranges | Midas, AAMCO, Jiffy Lube, Valvoline and the other chain pages | Third-party reported prices; no chain publishes a national price | Estimate |
| Vehicle price ranges | Camry, RAV4, Silverado and the other model pages | Third-party reported prices for the fluid and job the manual specifies | Estimate |
How the estimates are built
Shop price ranges are compiled from prices that third parties report (repair-cost estimators, customer reports and franchise promotions) for the same service type. We keep the three services apart, because shops often sell them under one name: a drain and fill replaces only part of the fluid, a machine exchange or flush replaces nearly all of it, and a pan-drop service adds a filter and gasket. A range is a guide to what a quote is likely to be, not a price any shop has promised.
What moves a quote within the range: how much fluid the transmission takes and whether the maker requires its own fluid, whether the pan has to come off for a filter, the shop's labour rate, and local franchise pricing. Vehicle pages list the fluid specification from the owner's manual so you can check a quote against it.
Dates
The "Updated" date on each page is the day that page last changed, taken from our version history when the site is built. A date next to a specific source ("checked July 2026") is the day that source was last read.
What we do not do
We do not take payment from shops, and no shop sees a page before it is published. We do not present an estimate as a shop's published price. If you find a published price we have missed, or a figure that disagrees with its source, tell us through the question form in the footer. See also about the site.