Is transmission flush recommended for certification ?

[abose1t]

Hello,
I am planning on buying a 2004 certified Toyota Camry (4 cylinder) with AT, 34K miles
from a local Toyota dealer who told me that they flush the transmission fluid
of every Toyota Camry they sell as Toyota Certified. Heck, the sales guy even told
me that the Camry maintenance manual requires complete flushing of automatic
transmission every 15K miles! I thought that was a bit sleazy to convince
me to buy their car..never heard of transmission flushing that frequently!

I would like to get your opinion about buying this car. Is it normal to flush the
transmission of Camrys around 30K miles ? Is there anything I should check
or inspect on how well they performed the flushing ? If the transmisison develops a problem later,
will my Toyota certification cover it ? (I would think so..but I don't really trust
used car dealers!)
Thanks!
Andy

[Toysrme]

Flushing the transmission is not apart of Toyota certification. In fact Toyota/Lexus does not flush transmissions themselves. They do pan drains.
To add onto that. The pan drain interval is not 15,000 miles. That's BS, and no Toyota dealer would preform that service. The "Schedule A" (I.E. non normal / hard driving / towing schedule) is to INSPECT the fluid every 15,000 miles / 14 months.
The transmission fluid is never scheduled to be replaced. It is simply listed as an inspected item @ 60,000 miles / 48 months.

It is good practice to repalce any transmission fluid as often as possible. "Certification" from anyone does not cover anything. That's called a warrantee.

[somick]

The sales people will say anything to you if they smell your dollars!!!

Toyota is a very good car. No doubt!

But!

I used to work with a guy who would star his car in the moning and shut it down in the evening, while making no more than 10 miles a day. In other words car's milage does not always represent the real car's value.

I do not want to discourage you. Just to share my thoughts.


Sam

[abose1t]

Thanks toys and Sam. I checked the maintenance manual; you are right, it just mentions checking the tranny fluid...not flush or drain. But I checked with a few Toyota delaers, they all said they did flush to certify the car! God knows if thats the standard BS for them!

As for the car, it drives well, and I am getting a price of 16,600 incl. 7yr/100k extended warranty. I thought that was a good deal. What are your opinions?

[Toysrme]

kbb.com
private party VS retail.


When you buy a car... I would still flush the oil, transmissions first thing. Flush the brake & powersteering fluids shortly there-after. (and any differentials if they're seperate) It's just common since LoL! Seriously tho $20-30 worth of fluid on a multi-thousand dollar purchace. It's just cheap!

[touringcamry]

You have to consider that abose1t may not have the capability or desire to flush these fluids him/herself so the cost to would be more than $30 due to labor - which may be he's asking.

[Mike Gerber]

Go to Toyota's corporate website and do a search for "Certified Used Cars" or "Toyota Certifed Used Vehicles". I remember something on their website that tells exactly what is done to a certified used car and the warranty that comes with these cars. Either do that or call Toyota corporate customer service and ask them what is done to a Certified Used Toyota. The number is 1-800-331-4331.

Mike