Auto or manual maintenance - which works better?

Hi
when it comes to repair and maintenance of a transmission. Which works cheaper
is it manual or automatic… And why
lets take the case of honda city ivtech - that comes in both manual and automatic transmission.

Auto transmissions used to be a lot less fuel-efficient, and they required more maintenance (even though there was no clutch to replace). Today I think auto transmissions are much improved, in fact cars with manual transmissions are disappearing!

NEITHER. Proper preventative maintenance is identical for both. If the transmission actually needs repaired, you have FAR more serious issues.

A manual transmission is more reliable than an automatic transmission and is cheaper to repair. The manual transmission is much simpler in design so it is not as prone to failure. You have to make sure that you don't abuse the clutch on a manual transmission or you can burn it up. It is important to change the fluid at regular intervals in both transmissions. The automatic transmission is more expensive to maintain and requires fluid changes more often. Nowadays, the new 6-8 speed automatic transmissions are very efficient and often get better MPG numbers than the same car with a manual transmission. The CVT automatics are smooth and also get good MPG numbers but the fluid changes are very expensive and they can't be rebuilt if they fail. You have to buy a new or used CVT transmission.

If you have a manual transmission and keep lube in it and don't abuse it, you will NEVER have to work on it. With an automatic transmission, you will have to replace it every 60,000, 200,000 miles.

Most autos, if taken care of, will last several hundred thousand miles before maintenance/repair is needed. As a matter of fact, the Volkswagen I used to have is a sealed unit that was never intended to be serviced, didn't even have a dipstick to add fluid. Basically a lifetime maintenance free transaxle. Some manuals will do the same if taken care of, however, the first point of failure in a manual is usually the clutch or synchro parts.

This is not to say that a manual won't last just as long as an auto(my dad's old Ford went for over 250,000 miles on the original clutch, but he does drive like a grandpa), I'm just saying the failure point of a clutch is TYPICALLY less than that of an automatic trans. And most of the time the transmission has to be removed to replace a clutch, and that's where most of your repair bill is, just the labor removing and re-installing the trans.

Manual transmissions are cheaper to repair and maintain. Maintenance on a manual consists of checking the fluid yearly and occasionally changing it (every two to five years), which is simply pouring out the old and adding the new oil. You can do this yourself with just some simple tools and a few bottles of the proper gear oil. This might cost you $30 every couple of years if you are really strict on maintaining your transmission.

The automatic transmission requires a special machine to flush the transmission fluid. They also require more disarming to service and need a filter change. This service usually costs well over $100. If you do that every two years then that's over 3 to 4 times more expensive.

(Note that most people never ever do either one of these maintenance procedures to their vehicles in the life of their vehicle.)

To repair a transmission the manuals are much simpler and easier to fix. The only thing the manual has against it is poor drivers. If the driver is hard on the shifter and clutch he'll be needing to repair it much sooner than if he had an automatic.

However, in the end most people have driven their automatic and manual transmission vehicles up to 200,000 miles or more without ever servicing or needing to repair their transmission. On modern vehicles that's about the point everything starts failing anyway. So unless you're going for more than 200,000 miles on your vehicle and so therefore are real strict on how well you maintain your vehicle then I guess it doesn't really matter.