Maybe a grenaded transmission in 4x4 2005 Sequoia

So on my home from breakfast my Sequoia died (thankfully about a block from home), and the A/T oil temp light came on and the check engine light also. I started it back up and it immediately died. No weird engine noises so I don' think its that. We bought a small travel trailer last year and have towed it maybe 500 miles total.

Transmission history: We bought the car in 2018 and a dealer service tech told me the transmission was sealed and didn't need fluid changes. I've got a 97 4runner that I know pretty well inside and out, and I've done plenty drain and fills on that. Since there was no dipstick I mistakenly believed the tech. Fast forward 4 years and 60k miles later the transmission started slipping, and I found out how to drain and fill the Sequoia transmission. It was pretty black, so I did 5 drain and fills about 300 miles apart.

I'm at work right now and won't get a chance to get it home until after lunch. Any idea's on where to start poking around?

 

Going by recent commentary on the subject, Toyota has changed that stance, and I think their new reco is every 80k (or was it 60k?) miles to change fluid on sealed trannies. The fact the DST isn't aware is disconcerting to me, unless we were misinformed here.

Before commenting on any of the other things, I'd like to know what codes it's thrown as a 1st thing to check - let the ECU tell you what it found at-fault.
I'd also like to know if you heard any unusual sounds when it happened, or is that what you meant by "no weird engine noises"?
If it's what you meant, I'd feel pretty confident about trying to start it back up, I'd turn the key forward first and see whether the CEL is flashing (bad) or solid (better).

 

If the engine is not running the check engine light and A/T oil temp light should be illuminated. If either are on while the truck is running then you have an issue. Not sure the transmission is your issue.

 

Doesn't the CEL flash, when key is ON but truck isn't running, in the event of a serious failure code set?

 

I've never seen that on a vehicle before but that doesn't mean it's not true

 

Whelp, I feel a bit stupid making this thread. Turns out it was an easy $130 fix. I was out of gas. Thank you to all who posted, and I'm sorry for taking up your time. Hopefully you can get a chuckle out of my experience.

If I can say anything in my defense, the gauge was still a ways about E, and I've never run this car out of gas before, and it didn't feel like any car dying I've had before. Now I know better.

Thanks again.

 

LOL! That's the kind of 'fix' you want! Glad it was so easy. Been there done that.

 

Great example of a "best case scenario" right here. Good for you op.

 

So was the $130 the cost to fill the tank?

 

Thanks guys. Unfortunately that was the cost. 24.5 gallons at $5.29, but way better than a new transmission. Hopefully my slow drain and fill keeps working. I've seen nothing but improvement and I'm on my 5th cycle. I'll post a picture of the fluid progress after work.

 

It's this right here that's got me leaning towards taking my truck to LexTechs here in the ATL area for a full drivetrain fluid flush, everything with gears and hydraulics in it, basically.

What I'd be paying for in fluids, mityvac, adapters, tubs, etc. - which would just add more clutter to my already cluttered shop space - based on numbers I'm looking at, it's looking like I'd be out less money and definitely save a hell of a lot of time if I just have them do a full flush and level check.

Really prefer doing the work myself, but ... Also prefer cost-effective efficiency.

 

I thought about that too shifty, but I don't like the idea of doing a power flush on an older transmission with a lot of miles that probably was still on original fluid. I've heard some old mechanics say that 100% new fluid dislodges and clean too much junk in there and can causes clogs and problems. So I figure if I drain 1/3 of the fluid several times it more gentle for the tranny. I've been doing that on my 4runner for a long time and never had any issues, but the Sequoia is more work and time since there's no dipstick. I didn't need a bunch of equipment for it, just a long hose that fits in the fill port on the side of the tranny, with a funnel that fits in the other end of the hose. The first time it took about 45 minutes to get everything figured out, now its much faster.

I've been using valvoline dexron ATF from walmart at $17 a gallon. I've done 4 drain and fills so I'm $68 plus the hose and funnel into it. I imagine that's a lot cheaper than paying a shop for a power flush. Just my $.02

 

I'd always heard that also, never do a full fluid change on anything well-past the OEM's recommended interval, for exactly that reason. The never-flush-old-fluid tale has been around for decades but I don't think anyone has really done the research on how valid it actually is.

I think Toyota changed their interval to 80k on sealed transmissions, and I'm still below 80k, it's the only reason I'm looking to do a full flush. If it weren't within OEM specs, or I was more than 50% over OEM reco, like north of 110-120k miles or more, I'd probably think twice and go the way you did.

Reality is, in my case, I'm aging-out on my fluids rather than a mileage-out. I have no knowledge of a baseline, and the transmission is probably the most important thing for me, so I'm just going to do everything at once.

 

Just thought I'd update. I've continued the drain and fills and everything seems to be going well. Towed the trailer 300 miles 2 weeks ago.
Here's a picture of the progress. The left was the 2nd drain, the middle was the 5th, and the one on the right is new fluid for comparison (not the 7th). I am actually on my 7th drain, but I lost all the samples I took by accidentally spilling them on the floor as God intended.

 

Just an FYI, I don't think Valvoline Dexron meets Toyota's recommended standards for the A750E/F (sealed transmissions). I know Valvoline Dexron was popular with the A340E/Fs (non-sealed), but I think the budget friendly (compared to Toyota WS fluid) option for the A750E/Fs is Valvoline Max Life

https://www.valvoline.com/en/maxlife-multi-vehicle-atf/

Having said that, if you are planning on doing semi-regular drain and fills it may not matter....