Worth paying dealership to fully replace transmission fluid?

???

 

The drain and fill technique usually yields 3-4qts of ATF. little more than a third of the total volume at best. But changing the ATF is not like an engine oil change. The fluid is not subject to the environment that engine oil is. Its not exposed to combustion and its byproducts. A sealed transmission is only exposed to heat and pressure. If there is internal damage occurring inside the transmission, then particles produced by that wear will get into the fluid. If you're using synthetic fluid, there's practically no breakdown of the fluid occurring over time. It doesn't produce the sludge that dino oils do. A drain and fill and a periodic filter change is all I've ever done. 255k trouble free miles. Towed a #7500 or so camper to the lake for years. Pulled a double axle Uhaul box trailer across the US. No issues. The flush from the cooler line looks legit, but not sure I'm going through the trouble at this point. Not a how to for the masses, merely my experience.

 

I can say that when I do the Drain and Fill (4Qt version of draining at plug) that I can feel the shifts smooth out. Keep in mind I do a drain and fill about every 5-8k miles since a few years ago and the fluid started very fresh from a full service full 12Qt. swap a year prior.

I can feel things smooth out even when it was already smooth. Another factor not addressed here is the proper levels are extremely important. A low level fluid shifts harder than when proper. The 2002 has a dip stick but its not accurate science. The fluid expands in Ambient and Operating temps which requires a Mojo Factor when calculating readings.

 

The transmission in my 2002 has always shifted well, and I recently had the dealer perform the drain & fill @ 170,000. I haven't driven it much since the service, but it does feel like it's shifting a little smoother. I believe that I will stick with this method going forward.

 

Leave it alone do not change it. If you changed it more often it would be ok but you have passed the point of no return.

 

This is one of those questions you maybe don't ask in mixed company, ala religion or politics.

Being a Toyota owner & lover for a scant 25% of my later years with earlier years enveloped primarily by GM, VW and Honda ownership, I'd tell you ... gearheads in that wide realm, especially GM folks, would warn about making radical changes to your transmission maintenance once you enter the 6-digit mileage range. Like, don't start babying your transmission if it spent its whole life in neglect, and if you don't know the history of care or neglect to your used vehicle, don't get radical with tranny service doing things like full fluid changes because you feel it'd help or make you feel better somehow.

That viewpoint is often justified with "new fluids have more detergents, so if your tranny wasn't taken care of, and you suddenly replace that old fluid completely with new fluid, you add craploads of new detergent that could potentially break loose a chunk to clog something that doesn't need clogging or dissolve chunks holding something together". Scour the web and you'll find no shortage of horror stories about "yup, truck ran perfectly for 200k miles, got a full flush-replace, tranny died 3k miles later!"

I don't personally have an opinion on it for reasons I'll get to in the next paragraph. Dad was a Navy airplane mechanic, taught me how to care for vehicles. I bring all my vehicles in to my favorite non-stealership shop every 30k for filter/flush/refill. At least 2x in between, I'm following drain/fill method PHM mentions above because it's a no-brainer you can do at home with limited tools like oil changes, bushings, the myriad of SeaFoam service and whatnot. Buy the right ATF, measure carefully what comes out, pour that off, add fresh fluid to the same level, then pump or pour it in. Some argue doing this once every 3-5k miles, you'll gradually add in detergents to safely melt things out, then after 4-5 changes you're in a good spot for a full flush.

For what it's worth, I've never had to replace a tranny. I've owned no less than 3 dozen cars so far and have driven many well-into the 200k range. I can only tell you with my used cars, all bought under 110k miles, I've followed the above and *knock on wood* never had an issue.

Of course, YMMV. Don't sue me if you have a different experience. I'm not a Toyo tech and only a 10-12 years happy Toyo experience.

 

Interesting, I've had a dozen cars over the last 35 years and I've had two that the transmission went south on.... a 2002 Toyota Sienna minivan and a 2006 Toyota Tundra. I'm about to close the deal on a 2004 Tundra DC 4x4 for a hunting rig. Hoping the tranny holds together on this one.

 

I owned more than 60 vehicles... the only transmissions that gave me problems was the automatic in a new '96 Crown Vic and the 5 speed in a new '97 Acura Integra GS-R. The Ford had computer issues, and the Acura 5-speed grenaded at speed.

 

Transmission fluid.

 

Could you provide us with more details on your Tundra? Thx

 

I once asked the dealership about changing out my dexron 3 with Mobil 1 and they told me I’d have to pay to drain the dexron 3 out of their flush machine and the new synthetic Mobil 1 they put into it!

Joined TS, paid $10 and got access to the area explaining how to drain it and refill it via the tranny cooler.

That was a long time ago when Mobil 1 atf was $5/quart. Today it’s like $10:qt. Not bad for $60 to change it out.​

 

Have a buddy with an '05 DC . . . it started 'cutting out' when on an incline. (I was in it when this happened, literally it would cut in & out) . . . pull over to the curb and slow down and it would be fine. Rarely happened, but he was convinced the transmission was going out, since he tows way over capacity. So he goes down and buys a $65K FORD F250 4WD , takes the tundra in to his buddy's transmission shop and it was a $350 (parts/labor) solenoid. That was back in May of 2020 . . . he's still driving the Tundra and the Ford sits in the driveway. 'DOH'!!!!

 

Not a whole lot to tell... It had about 64k miles on it. I towed a popup trailer up a long grade (wasn't hammering it) and by the time I got to the top it was slipping and slamming into gear. After it cooled it was making a "whomp whomp" noise. When I got back from the trip I took it to a dealership. They checked the fluid, said it wasn't burned, ran diagnostics and said it was bad.. Said, "Sorry, it's out of warranty, you're SOL" It was less than 5k out of warranty. I took it to another and they told me to pound sand. Ended up taking it to an independent shop and they said the planetary gear was going out and it was $3500 to fix it. In addition, it needed a power steering hose, a rack and a front wheel bearing. I traded it in for a Tacoma. Which I hated.

 

Whoa!

 

Man, this all makes me nervous as hell. I plan on keeping my Tundra for at least 300,000 miles. I want to do the best I can for the vehicle and of all the maintenance of this vehicle, the only one that scares me and has more options given by Toyota and people is the transmission. I don't know what to do. Drain and fill, flush from the dealer that is a fluid exchanges at the same rate in/out, not a "flush", or leave it alone. I am not mechanically inclined enough to attempt anything myself other than oil and differential changes, but I am afraid the dealer will have some kid do it and mess something up, and I am afraid a transmission shop won't know all of the specifics that need to be done for my transmission. If something gets screwed up, I can't afford transmission repair.

So confusing...

 

Don't overthink it. Your truck is a 2019 right? How many miles do you have now? If it were my truck I would do one or two drain+fills around 40-50K miles. I think I waited until 75K for our Rav4. I've done it 4 times now from 75K miles to 125K miles. It didn't hurt anything and I'm confident I got all the old stuff out. I don't plan on touching it again for a while.

 

Whenever I need work done on my vehicles that may require more smarts or experience than I possess, I can always rationalize "Doing It Myself" by simply considering the probable intelligence and experience level of the hired individual that will do this very same work for me. Maybe it's my arrogance, but as long as I'm physically able, it's usually not a contest.

Start with something simple like oil changes, and gradually take on more complicated maintenance projects, like brake work for example. Educate yourself in advance using threads here and youTube videos. You'll save money, and derive the satisfaction of being self-reliant.

 

A tad over 40,000. Plan on doing the differentials next weekend.

 

Anyone want to throw up the best video for doing a drain and fill for our transmission? I'd appreciate it.

 

Geez. Sorry, Guys. I just noticed I am in the 1st generation forums. I apologize. I should have asked this in the 3rd generation forum.

 

Just responding to the thread title here. I’m not sure going to the dealer is worth your time unless they’ll let you watch the entire process.

My experience: My local dealer quoted me $299 for a flush-and-fill, fluid included for my 2012 4Runner. They said it takes around 2.5 hours. So I booked an appointment and dropped it off a few days later at 1:30pm. Well, they called me back and said it’s ready a little before 3pm, an hour ahead of schedule. Any time your dealer runs an hour ahead of schedule for service work, you should make this face:

I asked if they actually performed the $299 flush and fill service. They said yes they did. In hindsight, I don’t trust that at all. I booked the service because I had TC shudder when shifting from 4th to 5th, and I read that a full flush and fill—if you do it the right way and get the buildup out of it—can reduce or eliminate the shudder. A few other 4Runner guys told me this worked for them. My shudder stayed the same after the service. I know that’s not definitive proof, but that with the quick turnaround makes me think they just replaced the fluid.

 

I missed that too. PM me for a link to a simple drain and fill procedure.