What year & miles? Transmission & gear fluid changed?

Shoulder said:

Still haven't replaced those fluids, but have been noticing slightly more rougher shifts on the transmission. It's possible the levels are slightly lower, but at that point I'd consider just topping it off than draining it. I may have the dealer look into it first, and judge from there. I could even request they check the transmission oil level, and top off as necessary (same with PTU, and RDM). They say it's all a lifetime fluid, but they say nothing of you can't top it off.
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2.0T Cherokee said:

thank you for this information,
I’ve read a flush can damage things, better to just
Drain and fill, would you agree?

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My opinion only, and this is what I do with my variety of vehicles. My research has been if your transmission is in good shape, refreshing your fluid will improve the physical properties of your fluid, ie closer to new specs. If your transmission has worn, changing the fluid may result in slipping because the wear products in the fluid is actually helping move the car. With clean fluid it will slip. If we agree on that, how does lifetime fluid impact this thought process? There will be a point that that fluid has partially broken down. Just like he said in the video, nothing lasts forever. So eventually the fluid will have degraded and start doing damage. And if you refresh, it will be further from being the cause of failure. Doesn't mean something else won't go wrong! 😞 Looking at what came out of my transmission, I will probably repeat the drain and fill next winter. The fluid had same consistency as new, but definitely was quite dark, compared to the clear green new. Hey, new fluid will not hurt if your within "Lifetime "!

I guess that was my point about the filter, that it must also be considered lifetime by Jeep. If so, the filter must be for larger particles but not truly cleaning the fluid of micro wear products, otherwise it would get plugged up. Periodic drain and refills removes at least some of the micro wear products that come out with the old. I think it is similar to the engine oil changes in that the internals stay cleaner when you change oil often before it is super black and contaminated. This results in less build up in small passageways. Additionally, replacing some fluid periodically should help maintain the fluid specs closer to new. This car is propelled by less than 7 quarts of fluid. After many years and many miles, it can't still be as good as new. I guess, IMHO, the fluid maintenance is much more important than the filter change.

I consider it a vicious cycle. If you wait too long, you shouldn't change the fluid, but by them saying it is lifetime fluid, it leads people to wait too long.