Transmission fluid color after change - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

steppinthrax · 07-23-2007, 08:58 AM

Hello

I recently bought a 99 Toyota Camry with 30K on the odometer. The car was owned by a 92 year old man so he used it for driving to the store and back etc... One of the first things I did when I got this car was changing the transmission fluid. I noticed the fluid color was a dark dark red. It was not black. I went ahead and ran the car for a bit and did a full filter and fluid change. My question is this.

Being the fact that there is a possiblity the fluid has never been changed (since low mileage). Is this a normal color for a new transmission considering the transmission needs to wear considerbly (break-inn) and the wear will show in the fluid.

The transmission works great. However, I'm worried that I may start having problems with slippage or something like that. They old wise tale never change transmission fluid if it's not red.

sk8ersublime · 07-23-2007, 10:55 AM

when i went for a oil change they showed me my fluid compared to new fluid, mine was black, and the new stuff was pinkish...i dont know if that helps

steppinthrax · 07-23-2007, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sk8ersublime

when i went for a oil change they showed me my fluid compared to new fluid, mine was black, and the new stuff was pinkish...i dont know if that helps

See from what I understand you never want your transmssion fluid to go black. Black means the transmission is more/less burnt inside.

Venom_5 · 07-23-2007, 12:21 PM

tranny fluid should be pinkish red when you first put it in

it should never get black

however, some trannys will turn the fluid dark red almost INSTANTLY, so dont worry if you put fresh pink fluid in and it darkens within a day ...

mine stays dark red, and my tranny is in good condition ... you can always flush and refill to be safe

thisisntjoew · 07-23-2007, 01:18 PM

There shouldnt be any problem with a flush at that low milage. I had mine pressure flushed at 150,000 miles and it didnt hurt a thing. Its best to do it with low miles on the transmission. The older the transmission gets the more reluctant you should be to pressure flush it. The belief is that the pressure flush will harm seals that have aged. With only 30000 miles you should be just fine even if the fluid is darker. If youre that worried about it then just drain and fill it (this only replaces about a third of the fluid).