Transmission Drain and fill on 2016 Tundra with 125k miles?

Hey all,

Looking for some advice here about doing a drain and fill on my Tundra with 124k miles. I don't think it's ever been serviced and while looking up how to do it I found the car care nut's video and he said not to touch an overdue transmission.

What do you think? Let it be or do a drain and fill?

Thanks!

 

Following. Similar year and mileage but unsure of past maintenance history and was planning to have it done in the next 2 months.

 

Do the drain and and fill. Don't do a flush. Then it'd be wise to do several more drain and fills over the next 10-20k miles

 

I bought a used truck with 135k on it. No idea about its history. Did a simple drain & fill with oem fluid from dealer parts counter. No issues now 4 years later. I'll do another drain & fill this summer maybe.

 

This is strictly internet advice, so take it with a grain of salt.... But, I believe the spirt of what CCN was getting at is that if you're in a truck that hasn't seen service in very, very high mileage (250k plus) one consideration is to not touch it.

I think most folks here would suggest that you DO perform a drain and fill (or a small series of them over much shorter duration) to swap out the old fluid. Flushes are not advised, but a proper drain and fill should not have any ill effects on your transmission. It would be advisable to start doing it/them sooner than later. Personally, if I just bought the truck, and it had 124k on the clock w/o any trans service, I would have no hesitation in starting that process.

Personally, my procedure would be as follows:

Use only Toyota ATF WS fluid

I would do my first DnF immediately, which usually results in an exhange of about 4-5 qts. At this time take note of the fluid. It will probably be dark, but you'll be wanting to know if it smells burnt or abnormal in any other way...

If so, I'd almost immediately do another DnF as you are hoping to get the majority of the old fluid swapped out, so you have the proper lubricants, protectants and friction materials running through the transmission. Aftern the 2nd DnF, I would then perform another DnF in about 30k miles. If you notice on the 3rd DnF that the fluid is now just coming out slightly dark w/o any 'burnt' smell to it, then I'd say you're good to go w/maintaining a single DnF every 60k from that point forward.

On the other hand, if (on the first DnF) you simply notice dark fluid w/o a considerable burnt smell or other concerning factor, then I would then do a second DnF in about another 30k. Followed by a third DnF in another 30k. If all is looking (and smelling) good on that last one, then I'd say you're good to switch to a single DnF at 60k intervals from there.

Edit: Also, if you are not familiar with these rigs, don't worry about dropping the pan or trying to replace the 'filter' in the DnF process. The filter is really just a 'screen' and doesn't need replacement, and most of us experience breaking bolts off (which is a PITA) when having to deal with removing the pan, so avoid that process until it's necessary...

 

Doing a drain and fill only replaces about 1/3 of the ATF so it doesn't cause a big change in the fluid, but gets some fresh stuff in there. On my 2003 Tacoma, I decided to do a drain and fill on my "lifetime ATF" at 140K miles and then did one every year. It was running great at 230K when I went to the Tundra. I recommend using the OBD jumper the way the Car Car Nut did to find the correct temperature for removing the fluid level bolt. The temperature varies with model year so might as well have the truck instrument panel tell you exactly when to open it.

 

Thanks for the detailed information! This was the original thinking until I saw that advice. I will definitely be doing a drain and fill or a few. Seems like the slight risk is worth it.

 

Hopefully you'll see at least another 125k miles out of that rig before it gives you any issues.