Transmission fluid change

Yup, even a short subscription to the Whatever the toyota system is called is a pain in the ass. When you try to download pdfs forprocedures, everthing is hotlinked to everything else.

Naive little me thought I could get a 2 day subscription and download everything for my 2006 Sienna. I was barely able to set enough time aside to find and download information on brake replacement and a couple other things.

 

Honestly, paying to have it done is the best option but.. no one to pay. The dealership has proven not great, so far.

 

Time to find an independent Toyota mechanic, word of mouth who is good in your area..
I agree, after looking under the bottom of the 4runner, I can see dealerships that worked on it sucked. missing bolts, incorrect bolts, broken plastic locking tabs.. Not right. but, how many people inspect before and after with the service guy, under the car. Shouldnt have to..

 

Changed my transmission fluid yesterday.

Cold drain and fill.

I got 3.5 quarts out and put 3.5 quarts back in.

No hot-wiring of the OBD2 port or going back and forth with the shifter like you're entering a Nintendo code.

I'll let you know when my transmission blows up in a couple hundred miles.

I like to live dangerously

 

If you did it within a decent time for fluid to change allot of temperature, you will be fine. I guess we need to find out how much fluid expands when hot vs cold.

 

According to the owner manual the power steering fluid is actually transmission fluid (Automatic transmission fluid DEXRON® II or III). And if you look at your power steering fluid reservoir you can see how much the fluid can expand by the hot-cold markings, for about 1.1 quarts capacity.

 

I agree.

 

I really think some people are nuking this... It really isnt that difficult.

Ive done mine 3 times (I do mine every 15k) and a buddy's once (he was at 70k and has never had it done!) so far. Drain it, fill it, let it idle for about 10-15 minutes while you check and fill all the other fluids, tires, wash the windows, eat a sammich and have a frosty one. Then pull the "check" plug. If it starts puking out, let it run until its a slow and thin stream. If nothing comes out, kill the engine, put in another 1/4 quart and recheck at idle. If you are hesitant to be under the car while its running, put the E-brake on and chock the wheels. I was brave enough to let my wife sit in driver's seat

I promise, it wont blow up in your face. If you can change your own oil, you can do this. I/WE have faith in you.

 

Here's my Blackstone analysis after a 75,000 mile transmission fluid change.

 

Thnx for posting. Its as if you havent even driven it according to the data.

 

Thanks for this post! When do you plan to do a change after seeing this info?

 

Probably somewhere around 150,000 miles.

 

So a 75k change schedule? Good stuff. This whole debate of some people on the other forum saying never to change it to some people saying every 30k, made things tough to figure. Your post seems the most fact based. Love it. Thank you.

 

I'm glad you found it helpful. I always thought 30,000 intervals was pretty ridiculous unless you tow on the regular or beat the living shit out of it.

I also didn't trust it being a "lifetime" oil after learning a little more about Toyota WS fluid.

After some consideration, 75,000 just seemed like a good fit for my normal driving habits.

Looks like I got pretty close with a good change interval based off what Blackstone said.

 

Yeah 30k intervals for a non performance suv seemed insane to me. Some of these guys are well over 100k without a change and see no reason to swap it. I don't believe anything is "lifetime" but some seem to think it equates to a couple hundred thousand mile lifetime, minimum. Even that is pretty comforting. I wish service centers were more reliable. At least now I know I have some time to figure out a good place to get it done.

 

Newbie here. I bought a 2009 4Runner in ‘09, and drove it 90k perfect miles. I was T-boned by a stretch Chevy pickup, that bent the nose of the 4Runner 10” to the right and totaled it. The adjuster said it saved my life. I then bought a 2008 with 28k on it, and have driven it now to 247k. One repair: radiator.

I have been very fussy with fluid changes, but my dealer has always told me that the transmission fluid was lifetime and should not be changed. Today I went to a different dealer, due to scheduling, and they said it should’ve been changed every 100k.

What’s right? And, if it hasn’t been changed, will it respond like an American transmission and promptly die? Thanks, RJW2000

 

Technically, both are kinda correct and not, it depends.

A lot of transmission fluids are considered "lifetime" by the manufacturer and clearly you've gotten a lot of miles out of the factory fill and it hasn't keeled over yet, so mission accomplished there. (But "lifetime" isn't a hard number, some folks consider "lifetime" the length of the warranty. "Lifetime" here seems 15 years, 240k miles and counting.)

For conventional torque converter autos (and my post only applies to those, not any CVT or DCT, can't speak for those that use a wet clutch instead of the TC), I'd say 60k-100k miles is a good fluid change interval.

But if the fluid was never changed, it eventually becomes load-bearing so there's a risk there of fresh fluid slipping where the old contaminated fluid provided the necessary grit/grip. (but on the other hand, it means the transmission's condition is terminal.)

I'm personally particular and sometimes like to poke at things I probably shouldn't so I'd hit it with a single drain and fill and see how it looks, maybe more over time and especially if the fluid doesn't seem trashed - but you'd probably best let it be and expect to chuck a transmission in eventually if the rest of the vehicle is in solid shape.

(Fun fact, for the 5th gen, the manual recommends a change every 60k miles for "severe" use which includes a number of uses like towing. There's likely a similar recommendation for the 4th as well. These don't strike me as particularly hard on fluid like a pulley CVT would be.)

This is just my unprofessional opinion though.

 

I enjoy maintaining my vehicles so I drain/refill the transmission fluid every 50,000-ish km which time-wise works out to about every four years.

 

Oh man.....this is a tough one.

I agree with everything @icebear said.

How much longer do you plan on driving it?

If you're trying to get 300k out of it, I'd say leave it.

If you're trying to get 400k and beyond, maybe do a drain and fill.

I would not do a total fluid replacement on this and whatever you do, don't do a flush.

 

This seems very logical... not overdoing it and not overlooking it.
Another great post by Care Care Nut on this, transmission fluid talk @ 7:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTlNai40Eg

 

I did my 1st drain and fill on my 2019 at 80K. I'm about to do another drain and fill at 135K.

 

That's how we did it back in the good ol' days (the 1990s). Lifetime transmission fluid lasts the life of the transmission fluid.

 

I don't have time to read all the posts, but for FS just drain and fill at ambient temperature using the exact same amount of fluid.

 

This is the most straightforward method but relies solely on how much the last person put in. Half a liter either way probably is no big deal but I did it the slow way for the first time, getting the level bang-on, so I know for sure.

 

Yes - you do need to be confident that the current amount is correct. Also, a half liter discrepancy probably would be a problem.