2011 tundra 235000 miles. Change transmission fluid or ride till it dies?

Hi All, just got a 2011 Tundra with 235000 miles. Don't think the transmission fluid has been changed. Previous owner said mainly highway miles with minimal towing. Would you try to do a drain and fill or just leave it alone and ride it till it dies? Don't notice any slipping just some rougher shifts when it's cold. Once it's warmed up I don't notice any rough shifts though. I drained less than a half quart just to see the condition and put the same amount back in with fresh fluid.


Thanks for any help/info!

 

I'd drain and fill about 3-4 times a few hundred miles apart. Don't forget to pin open the transmission thermostat during the service process. It's a little plunger up toward the front top pass side of the transmission, will have cooler lines attached to it. There is a small hole cross drilled for a pin to hold the plunger in or the thermostat in open mode. A small stiff wire nail or small cotter pin might work.

 

Little bit clunky or hard shifting is normal when cold. It shifts like a truck

 

Drain & Fill as others have mentioned. 200-300 miles apart (or just a full tank of gas). Will have to do it several times to dilute the old fluid enough to make the truck happy again.

 

Change it, don't flush it. You didn't buy it to kill it didja?

 

Flushes are snake oil anyways.

Drop the pan (careful those bolts are made of pot metal and many of the holes they bolt into are open at the top; put penetrating oil in there), change filter, clean the gunk off the magnets, reassemble. Do a drain and refill every other oil change for a bit.

 

Ditto...do a complete fluid change over time.

 

Drain and fill for sure.
Here's 5 drain and fills from my 02' Sequoia with 156k miles when I first got it. Definitely not "lifetime fluid"

Sorry for the blurry pic. Far left image is first drain, far right is new fluid.

 

Glad I found this post! Answered my question

 

When people are talking about doing a 'drain and fill' are you talking about everything that comes out of the transmission drain plug, or draining a certain amount? I guess the premise is that you don't want to drain too much?

 

Yes, drain till it stops draining, then put that exact amount back in.

 

Agreed.

 

There's a rumor floating around that if you replace all the fluid you lose all of the debris/metal/whatever that the transmission needs to operate properly. My question is what about a brand new transmission that isn't broken in yet? If this assumption it true than does Toyota throw in a cup of floor sweepings when new? Even the local hero, Car Care Nut subscribes to this theory?

Which is it. Floor sweeping or BS?

 

Red herring...

 

https://youtu.be/TH90IJSgg2M?si=d2WWOC6Kj2tr1oXx I followed this guy video. and it worked out fine for me. I just did my second drop and swap. I have one more. Just remember don't pull that check plug unless the truck is running. He will explain what to do with the transmission cooler as far as pushing in and pinning it. One of the better video's. If you don't have a transmission cooler just follow what he does and ignore the trans cooler part.

 

I have a 2008 5.7 that had a full fluid change done at Toyota at 170,000 miles. Two years later and at a 190,000 miles it shifts just fine. No problems

 

That's fine I guess, But did you have it flushed also? If so, I guess It's just one of those things some just don't want to take a chance on.

 

I kept getting conflicting temperature ranges for when to check the trans fluid. Each Youtube video or service recommendation had different temperature ranges for when to open the overflow port and when to plug the port and let the fluid cool before checking.

I opened each of the attachments that Brums provided above.

Here are the temperatures in Fahrenheit for each transmission type.

TIS shows 5 different code transmissions for 2012:
A750E - 97 - 115
A760E - 127 - 138
A760F - 127 - 138
AB60E - 99 - 111
AB60F - 99 - 111

You can find the code for which transmission is in your truck of the inside of the driver's door. It is in the lower left corner of the sticker.