Should I change the transmission fluid?

Hey so I've got a 2001 Ford Escape V6 XLT V6. The car used to be my mom's then she gave it to me my senior year of high school. I graduated in 2015 and the car is still going with almost 220,000 miles. I don't know if the car has ever had the transmission changed or not. I remember her taking it to a transmission specialist but I don't know what was done and neither does she. I'm starting a new job this week and I'd like to change the fluids and any filters, I typically change the oil every other month, Fill the coolant, and change the oil/fuel filters every few months. But the trans fluid I typically don't mess with because I remember reading that changing it can cause damage. What is the difference between the flush and a change? The fluid is brown which means it's burnt. Should I drain it and fill it back up?

Yes

Gigging

Go to a quick oil change place and have them suck the old transmission goo out the dipstick tube. That way you won't have to drop the tranny pan and cause leaks and you don't change it all, which is good…

Dropping the pan removes about 1/3 the fluid. Flushing changes all of it. That can be a problem with neglected transmissions. But it really depends on the condition of the old fluid. If it's dark brown and smells awful, that means it's neglected and burned and changing it may cause far worse problems. It's not the the new fluid damages the transmission--that damage has already been done by neglecting it. It's that the new fluid flush removes all the crud that's allowing old seals to seal. Remove the crud and they start to leak and that's when big trouble starts

Proper servicing should do transmission fluid every 5 years or 50000 miles whichever is sooner.

You can drain it and change the filter, but, DON't flush it, you'll just be causing problems if you do.

The valve body will get clogged and then youll end up having to pull/rebuild the trans. If you do

Find out if the ATF filter is serviceable. I'm not sure because I work mostly on imports. If the ATF filter can be changed take the tranny pan off and change it. Make sure you by the correct AF for your vehicle. Go to Advance Auto to buy the ATF. They can look up the type of ATF and amount of quarts you need. Ask them if there's a serviceable ATF filter. They'll likely have it in stock if it's serviceable. DON'T flush the transmission. That's what makes them fail. When a lube joint flushes the tranny it gets back flushed and all the dirt caught in the ATF filter gets blown out of the filter and into the valve body which causes a high failure rate. If the ATF filter in non-serviceable get the brown ATF out of their. Just do a drain and fill.

This slushbox is almost certainly a Ford CD4E. The pan is mounted vertically, so dropping it in the usual fashion is suboptimal. And the filter is inaccessible unless you do a fair amount of disassembly.

Yes, you should change the fluid. Make sure the person you hire to do it understands the CD4E.

Whet

DON'T flush it.

But have a look at this:
http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/the-ford-cd4e-your-most-burning-questions-answered