Transmission cooler or not Thread

So, I really am not sure why I am bothering throwing my own money (as little as it is) into the mix when it really does not affect me one bit LMAO

BUT

I am going to be dropping off a sample bottle with Ben, local Toyota tech, who will be doing an ATF service on buddies MY19 5.7L CM 4x4. Currently the truck has 55k hard miles on it, lives in the heat of Arizona. He does landscaping. Guy wheels frequently and beats the truck on a normal basis. Info below as accurate as my dyslexia...

His tow to not towing ratio is 70/30.
His trailer weighs in dry around 2.5k lbs.
Ratio of weights: trailer only - 25%, trailer w/ up to 2.5k lbs - 60%, trailer w/2.5k-7k lbs 15% (typical weight on a regular basis 5k total).
Oversized tires, lift, etc have been installed since 20k

Service scheduled for the 22nd. ATF degradation level will be read and documented as well.

I have a lot of personal stuff going on, I will try my best to get the sample sent to Blackstone as soon as I can.

 

Just a question to those much more in the know than I am......I have been talking to Jennifer at wolverine toyota to extend my warranty to 6 years and 125k miles......I drive A LOT. Commute is 40 miles each way 7 days a week and we use the tundra recreationally all summer for camping, kayaking, towing, etc. After reading the thread, I could be convinced to put a cooler on the truck. However, I do not want to void the warranty in doing so.....it would suck to have the extended warranty and have something go wrong that they COULD justify tracing back to the addition of an aftermarket part......has anyone spoke on this topic?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/if-you-are-asking-can-this-void-my-warranty-please-read.60493/

 

@shawn474 IMHO, it is all a crap shoot. Some dealers are happy to work with you, some are not and make the process much more difficult than necessary.

My local dealer, service writer, is ready to rip-n-tear for me if I tell him something - regardless of them being able to verify it or not. I have the Platinum Toyota Extended.

 

I would like to review the test and the associated requirements and specifications.

 

I gave you the standard, Google should be able to help with the rest.

MY19 would fall under revision dated 2016-02-04. There shows to have been a revision dated 2020-02-13, unsure if it would apply as early as MY21 or if it would be for MY22 vehicles.

 

I doubt that Toyota will publish the official test results but I will Google.

Marketing test results or test summary maybe another story ... Sounds like!

 

You did not ask for results, you asked:
I would like to review the test and the associated requirements and specifications.

Google will not yield what you intended to ask for.

 

Yeah, that is arbitrary and subject to interpretation. Trust me when I tell I have been down that road MANY times before with my 2005 Nissan Titan........the dealerships I went to laughed at me when quoting that "law", dug their heels in and it would have cost me MUCH more to litigate than to just suck it up - and I eventually sucked it up by getting rid of the piece of shit truck after all major components failed. I can appreciate the internet postings relating to the Magnusson-Moss Act but in practicality and in reality (at least in my case) it was a useless piece of paper

 

https://fifthwheelst.com/documents/tow-test-standards-2016-02.pdf

I have not been able to find version dated 2020-02 online and do not feel like paying $83 for it.

 

No one ever said anything about trying to litigate or citing the law to the dealer. Read the article linked in that thread.

Anyway, that can be discussed elsewhere. This is about the cooler.

 

That's good to know

We do a couple road trips a year with our 3500lb trailer and all this cooler has me thinking about it from time to time.

Towing 5k lbs (trailer and cargo in bed etc) for 1200km (round trip) on flat terrain, I'm probably good to leave stock without adding a cooler, at least for now.

I will probably add a ScanGauge next year, so I can at least ease my mind or push me over the edge to order a cooler kit for post 3y warranty.

 

My point was that I have tried to use this before to get Nissan to pay for warranty repairs....they refused. Claimed that aftermarket additions caused the issues. I had to pay out of pocket to make the truck drivable and couldn't leave it at the dealership for weeks and months while hashing out who is responsible for what. I spent literally months trying to get them to pay on the claim that was clearly a manufacturer defect.

 

Supposedly you can call your state AG office and they are supposed to step in for you. Yeah it doesn’t get it fixed faster, but you don’t have to spend money on a lawyer.

 

I think you have 2 options if you add it.

1. Take it off before you take the truck in and they’ll never know it had been there.

2. Leave it and hope they don’t notice or care.

If you have it installed at the dealer, there will be a record of it in the system forever, even if it’s taken off. If it was me, I’d do it myself or have a local shop do it for you. Not the dealer.

 

Definitely not MY dealer !

 

Sounds like you needed to find a better Nissan dealer. I had no issues with the couple of warranty issues I had with my '06 Titan. And your other options were to document everything they told you (who, when, etc.) and everything you had to do to make it drivable, all while contacting the state authorities. Yes, that's a pain, which is why I started with, "find another dealer." All dealers are not the same.

 

If I had installed the transmission cooler and had a transmission problem it would be removed before I took it to dealer. If problem wasn't related to transmission I would leave it on. I get the impression Tundra transmissions rarely if ever fail, so what are the odds you are conservative enough to install a cooler and then have a transmission issue? I would think pretty low... I ordered the app and will look at my own temperatures. Anything below 240F I am satisfied. Only reason I use 240F is that when auxiliary cooling kicks in on the Superduty transmission.

 

i don’t disagree; the problem is I went to three different dealerships. They ALL said the same thing. They know they have you by the short hairs when they can just let the car sit at the dealership”waiting for parts” or getting “the regional tech to come inspect”.....etc

 

I did some more research. I know i flop back and forth about the cooler. It took me awhile but i got my actual fluid and pan readings today. $10 app and had a wifi emitter from years ago, took me along time to figure out how to add PID to dashboard lol. 87F today, driving normal, pan temp 185-195, Torque converter 195-205F. Again I was driving gently. I am tired of worrying about it, Toyota jacked us even though it was good ROI for them, but i beat my shit hard and don't want to think about pulling something a long distance. Brand new truck, if I going to reap the longevity benefits of a cooler, or more likely the next owner I installing a cooler.

If for some slight reason I have an issue with transmission, i will remove. If I sale truck I will probably remove it also, lol!!!

I have a 2001 Lexus gs300 which had the 1st gear shift solenoid fail. I dropped the pan and changed the solenoid. 170K miles and the pan was spotless (so was the pan I pulled off the transmission at the pick a part to get the $500 solenoid I paid $10.00 for, lol). I changed the solenoid put the same amount of fluid I took out back in. I have attempted no less than 4 times to check the fluid level. It requires the fluid to be HOT. I driven 30 miles and pulled the dipstick and the fluid is warm, borderline cold. I drove Tundra for 3 miles it was at 200F. My F250 was same way it would go to 195 and stay there, never saw it higher. I pretty sure when its 98F in Houston from May 15th until September 25th temps will be well above 200F. Will it hurt the transmission, probably not, I know it won't hurt them at 200F. If I had a 2019,2020 Toyota at absolute minimum would be extending the powertrain warranty to 100K miles since I didn't receive what was shown on the window sticker. I got a 2021 and knew it didn't have a cooler.

 

Everyone seems to worry about temps being too high - what about the opposite? If someone like me that doesn’t tow puts on a cooler and runs the trans temps lower than normal is that an issue long term? Toyota at least put a warmer on the truck for a reason, any issues with over cooling?

 

The cooler has a thermostat and won't cool your transmission until it is over a certain temp. At least that is how I read it when I looked at the kit that Nick is offering.

 

The thermostat is the KEY. Difference between OEM and aftermarket....

 

Buying a scanguage will not ease your mind. Ignorance is bliss. Watching that temperature rocket up on the scanguage is stressful.

 

Truth ^^ Doing this will move the needle closer to you adding a cooler.

 

Only thermostat available is the oem one that was on the 07-18s. It has a wax in it that opens at certain temps. It seems to be different for different people. Mine opens around 190/195. There is a Toyota diagram of it in the other thread, but I think it was deleted.

 

Just read that whole thing. Totally geeked out on it.

 

I'm not far from Warrendale. Shall I storm their position and demand the current revision at your behest?

 

No, they cannot "void" the entire warranty, but if you add the cooler and then happen to have a transmission issue they can, and most likely will, "void" any transmission work. People on here will say they can't do that yada yada yada, but all they have to say is you "changed the fluid dynamics of the transmission" and then you have no leg to stand on. People also claim you have protection under the Magnuson Moss Act, but that is a nightmare to litigate, it literally takes years and you will be without a truck the entire time, doesn't really make sense to me! If I were you I would get the extended warranty, leave it bone stock, and drive it like you stole for 125k worry free miles.