Lincoln Navigator gearbox oil, is “lifetime fluid” a real thing or a myth?

[elegantdha]

I have a question that keeps coming back to me, and I hope some Lincoln owners can help. I have a 2018 Navigator with about 85,000 kilometers, and I use it for the family and for long weekend trips. It drives very smooth right now, and I have no warning lights at all. But I was reading my manual last week and saw words about the gearbox oil being “lifetime.” That sounded strange to me, because nothing in a car lasts forever. My brother says it means the oil never needs a change, and I should leave it alone. My friend has an older MKZ and he said he changed his gearbox oil at around 100,000 kilometers, and the old oil looked dark and smelled burnt. I did not know who to believe, so one night I read about it online. I opened a page about Lincoln cars on a Sharjah website to learn how the gearbox and the oil work together. It said that old oil can slowly wear the inside parts, and that a small service now costs less than a big repair later. That made sense to me, especially because I tow a small trailer sometimes, and I read that towing makes the oil hotter. Then a coworker told me to look for a Quality Lincoln transmission service in Industrial Area 10 and ask them to show me the old oil and write down what they used. He said a good place will also do a scan and not only drain and fill. I liked that idea because I want a small record in the glove box. So I have some questions. Does lifetime oil really mean forever, or is it only the maker’s way of saying no service is planned? Is it risky to change oil that has never been touched, or is that only a myth? How often do owners here change it if they tow or drive in heavy traffic? And about how long does a basic service take, and what is a fair price? If you changed the gearbox oil on your Navigator, MKX or another Lincoln, please tell me what you did and how the car felt after. Thanks a lot.

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