MY WIFE WAS TOLD RECENTLY BY LOCAL VW DEALER THAT HER 2007 EOS WITH 40,000 MILES NEEDS THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED AT A COST OF $300.00.
I CHECKED LOCAL GARAGES AND THEY WANT ABOUT $130.00.
ONE PLACE TOLD ME A SPECIAL TOOL IS NEEDED TO PUT THE FLUID IN ???
DOES THE TRANSMISSION NEED TO BE FLUSHED ?
VW TOLD HER THER IS “NO” TANSMISSION SCREEN IN HER CAR
I would use the independent shop, but I’d make sure they use VW brand fluid. If necessary I’d get the VW fluid myself before taking the car in for service. No flush needed.
Make sure you can supply proof of the service to satisfy an warranty requirements if the car is still covered by any warranty. VW auto transmissions are a weak spot.
+1 for Uncle Turbo but I would check with the independent shop before I carried in my own transmission fluid.
I patronize a local indenpoendent shop that does all the transmision repair for the local VW dealer. That dealer typically marks up those repairs by at least 100%!!! On a recent job I learned that an owner paid VW over $1500 for a job that this shop quoted as $550!
What does your owners manual say about transmission fluid changes??
Most VW owner’s manuals say the transmission fluid is lifetime fluid and never needs to be changed.
@UncleTurbo it may indeed say that in the owner’s manual, but I wouldn’t leave any ATF or filter in my transmission for the car’s lifetime.
I’ve seen far too many automatic transmissions die an early death due to negligence.
Better safe than sorry!
I don’t agree with VW’s lifetime fluid, no need to change it statements. Just pointing out that in this case the VW owner’s manual isn’t helpful. Lots of VW auto transmissions fail “early” in my opinion due to lack of preventative maintenance.
A failed transmission at 110,000 miles might be the cause for the demise of an otherwise sound VW. But in that case the fluid would have been good for the lifetime of the car, after all.
LOL
Not a very long lifetime, unfortunately!
Most of these “lifetime” transmissions don’t even have dipsticks or filler tubes and must be checked and filled via a plug from under the car…Todays cars are designed to make the FIRST owner or lessee happy. VW couldn’t care less about the second or third owner…
If a car maker is going to claim the fluid is lifetime then they should also provide a long as you own it warranty on the tranmsission.
If the Feds were to ever mandate such a thing can you imagine the mad rush by car makers to modify their trans fluid change intervals. It would go from lifetime to every 15k miles; at customer expense of course. 
My 2005 Camry has “lifetime” ATF. It has a dipstick tube and a dipstick.
My 1999 C280 has “lifetime” ATF. It has dipstick tube, but NO DIPSTICK. You use a “service tool”
I service the ATF regularly in both of those cars. I want my transmissions to have long lives.
The newer Benzes have no dipstick tube. They get filled from the bottom. But the newer Benzes don’t claim to have “lifetime” fluid. It’s up to the owner to find a shop capable of servicing their transmission.
The factory recommended service at 15,000 on the 700R4 transmission in my 1989 Chevrolet regardless of normal or severe service. That sounds reasonable but I wish that all automatics had a drain in the pan.
My daughter’s '05 Mustang doesn’t have a dipstick tube either. Just like recommended lifetime fluid change intervals the no tube/stick is a bad idea too.
For what it’s worth, a long time friend in a neighboring state has been a mechanic for a long time and gave it up a few years ago to become the parts manager.
On the phone one night about 15 years back he was telling me about attending a service school and during the lecture the service instructor was telling them about a prototype car (GM) that was designed to go 100k miles without ever needing to have the hood up for service at all. The hood could be opened with a dealer only key and the theory was that at 100k miles the owner wipes their nose with it, disposes of it, and gets another.
The problem was none of the prototypes ever made it anywhere close to 100k miles due to catastrophic failures; usually related to engine oil or the lack thereof.
LOL
That proves that theory and reality are FAR APART