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I have to agree with Shaun here. If you change the fluid and the trans dies, that trans was long gone already. In our case though, my experience tells me that fluid maintenance matters less than other platforms. Sure, you don't want fluid totally destroyed, but a serious number of failures in the 4t60/65 lineup is hard parts, which couldn't care less what state the fluid that bathes them is. If you ask me, adding a good trans cooler is far more important than doing fluid maintenance.

Hello, I just picked up a 1995 Cutlass Convertible and found this site. I have owned many different cars over the years, but my first car was a used 1969 Cutlass convert, so I wanted another. The new one is bright white/white top, tan interior. I see a lot of knowledgeable owners here and hope to learn some things about these special cars. I will post pictures when it's cleaned up. James Robert

The handling of this car has been amazingly improved since I've installed both the convertible front and aftermarket rear strut tower braces. I've been using my 96 all summer now with these improvements (along with KYB's all the way around) and the Cutlass is actually a fun car to drive.

The only time a transmission fluid and filter change MIGHT accelerate a failure is if the transmission is already fucked, and the clutches have gotten so damaged that the fluid is full of friction material. The transmission in that case is already on it's way out. A fluid and filter change will never harm a properly functioning transmission. All lubricants have a maximum service life, and filters get clogged with garbage. There's no reason not to change it. It's also an opportunity to clean the magnet in the pan off, especially with the 4T65E and how quickly it gets full of gunk. The only thing that is not recommended, including by manufacturers, is using a solvent-based flush. It tends to be done incorrectly, leaving lots of it behind. A flush using normal fluid being pumped by the transmission itself should cause no ill effects. If we're going off anecdotal evidence, which is weak at best, I've changed the fluid and filter on plenty of 200K+ mile transmissions and I have never seen a failure. Including changing the FACTORY filter from my 200K mile 1998 ZJ. The key is that none of those transmissions were defective in the first place (well, beyond being 4T65Es which is a defect in and of itself).

They're either incompetent, overcharging you, or some combination of both. No way it takes 40hrs to do anything you've mentioned. Any shop with competent techs can work on your car despite the fact that it's "old." If they literally can't, they're probably not a shop you want to deal with in the first place. I suggest finding an independent repair facility in the area that does general repair instead of going back to that classic car place. Talk to friends, family, neighbors, and look on facebook or other social media in your area to see who people use and if they're satisfied with them. I don't really have a preference when it comes to old or new. Sometimes the new stuff is very convenient to diagnose because everything communicates.

Electrical diagnostics are fundamentally the same regardless of vehicle. I'd rather diagnose an older car than a newer one with 30 freaking control modules and 4 electrical centers.

It depends on where he lives and what's available. Many dealerships will tell people with older cars "go pound sand". Especially for problems that the original poster had. Imho, good luck finding any dealership in Mass or Conn that would work on that car. Electrical troubleshooting can get super expensive very quickly. And, the chance of the owner being PO'd and Very upset over bill (regardless of the final price) is 100%. Dealerships here will tell the person to take it to an electrical troubleshooting place. And, most of those places would have zero experience with a W-Body. So, often, for older cars that need special/different work/repairs, it can be a big hassle or impossible. That's very true for older cars that aren't classics or super popular (Camry, Accord, etc). Yea, places here will replace the brakes, do the half-shafts, replace engines/trannys, etc. But, when I thought that I'd need to have my tank dropped to replace the fuel pump, because of the rust (from the snow here in New England), the independent rear suspension, the ability/issues in get potential replacement parts for the independent rear suspension, places told me "I was much better off living with a fuel gauge - or be prepared over a thousand in repair cost, and the possibility of the car not being repairable" (but, I'd still be responsible for the accumulated repair costs). Back many years ago, my '94 Achieva with the rare DOHC, 5-speed, and dual exhaust (ha ha) option need an exhaust. That section also included the cat. No OEM, or replacement part was available. So, every place told me "You're SOL"! Because of the smog laws, they wouldn't even custom build an a exhaust to the exact OEM spec. Yea, I don't understand that BS either. Argg! But, the Dealerships, every major exhaust place, every local shop I went to, and even the "custom" shops I went to told me the same exact thing. So, getting different things fixed can vary a lot, depending on where people live. Fwiw, I made an appointment with a local shop in Northern NH (no smog laws in that section of NH) that a friend knew, I took a long trip up there, had a "custom-made" replacement exhaust system put in, and drove back. The car never had problems with emissions testing. So, having an older car, that was not popular, can make it a massive PITA to get even simple things done.

A wise man once said "If you ain't fucking something up you ain't getting nothing done" It's a double negative but I don't think he intended the reverse word play. Anyway, when we make the decision to maintain /repair /modify our own cars there's always things that go wrong. We learn from those mistakes and it's how we become competent. Everyone here has had things go wrong and made things worse with a novice repair several times over in the beginning. If you keep trying then things get easier, and yes that shop sounds much too costly.

At the prices you've listed in your two threads, you need to find a new shop ASAP. There's no way in hell they spent enough time on that car to justify a $2500 charge for something this simple.