Flushing the Transmission (93 Camry 4 cyl auto)

[nemodat]

I dropped my 93 Camry (4 cyl, auto, 355k km/220k miles) off at the Toyota dealer garage today for a routine maintenance check. They are strongly recommending that I flush the transmission at a cost of $185, as the fluid is "very dirty." They claim they are more expensive than independent tranny shops because they use more fluid to ensure it's thoroughly flushed (12 litres). I flushed the transmission about 5 years ago but I hardly drive so I've probably driven another 20k km/12k miles in that time. When I did it last time, they also told me the fluid was very dirty.

- Am I due for a tranny flush?

- If so, is it worth paying $185 for Toyota to do this, rather than an independent shop at $100?

This car has been unbelievably reliable and cheap to operate so I am happy to drop $185 if it will keep Old Faithful on the road for another 10 years.

Thanks,
ND

[Yuko]

Ask the dealership and transmission shop if it's a pressure flush or a simple ATF exchange. They both are sometime called "flush". A pressure at such high mileage can cause damage as it can break loose dirt and jam the valve body. A simple exchange uses the low pressure provided by the transmission. Because the 93' Camry use Dexron ATF, good transmission shops can perform the service fine. Also, it's not necessary to change the transmission filter because it's just a metal screen that rarely catches anything. If there chuck on it, there's bigger problems. I know a few shops that would drop the pan, clean it, replace the filter and gasket, and exchange all the fluid around $100; which is a good deal.

But I would recommend a simple drain and refill over a few times, easier on an old transmission.

[Chris Crash]

Agreed, a few drain and refills will accomplish the same task but cheaper and easier on the transmission.

[zppeacock]

We use the non powered exchange trans flush at our dealership and have had no problems with high mile transmissions.

[Scottysize]

My Camry has almost 230,000 miles on it. I changed the transmission fluid a few weeks ago. It's cheap and easy to do yourself, just make sure you have an inch-pound torch-wrench, if you decide to change the screen as well. Go to the sticky and scroll down to transmission fluid change. As for dirty, it's hard to tell. You can't tell by just looking. I would say after that amount of time, it might not be a bad idea.


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