Hello, have a 2000 corolla slipping in park (noticed son cranking on emergency brake I was like what the...). Still shifting still ok. Clearly the transmission fluid needs a change, its light brown. Hoping its just sheared down old fluid causing the issue.
Tomorrow's plan is to
1) Do a simple drain and fill, see if there is any change. Use dealer Dexron III to rule out aftermarket fluid incompatibility.
If it still slips should I...
1) try a mix of Dex III/Maxlife or straight Maxlife to clean out varnish, condition seals, etc.
2) drop the pan, change filter, stay with dealer Dex III
3) Sell the car asap.
Mine slips a little in park as well - done that since new, especially in steep grades. Transaxle has over 185K miles on it, drain and refills every 15K-30K miles (depends if I tow or not), plan drop and filter replace every 60K miles. Has been fine the entire time - no worries. The key is how far did it slip? Just a few feet or down the street?
Myself, a big fan of synthetic fluids - Valvoline Maxlife Dexron/Mercon ATF is a synthetic ATF, been using that exclusively now. First 100K miles, ran Redline or Mobil 1 synthetic ATFs - worked just great, switched to Valvoline mainly due to cost and availability.
In your particular case - I would do a straight drain and refill for now - don't mix the ATF right off the bat, stick with one type and do short drain intervals to get it to dilute the existing fluid in the transaxle. If you feel up to it - you can try and flush it yourself, running the engine to pump the fluid out through the cooler lines. Not hard to do yourself, though it can be pretty messy if you are not familiar with the technique. IM), much safer than machine flushing units and back flushing systems, as you use the built-in pump to move the fluid around for you. Just keep an eye on fluid levels as you are doing this.
Just sounds like a case of excessively oxidized ATF fluid not able to do its job. Might take a couple of drains and refills / system flushes to get it back to the way it was before.
Thanks fishexpo101 - will get the dealer dex III and drain plug washer (same as oil bolt?). I never had a car move a foot or more then catch after putting in park, with that horrible fluid I thought transmission may be on the way out. Going from park to drive is also strange, car races and slowly catches like a standard rather than a clunk like I'm used to.
Definitely do a drain and refill first - see how that goes. As for the gasket, I think the trans drain plug is a different size - a little larger inner diameter, but don't remember off the top of my head. Mine was an aluminum crush washer - was still in good shape, so I was able to reuse it with zero leaks.
Yeah, definitely sounds like the fluid is toast (literally) - fiction modifiers are probably non-existent now, so the shear across the fluid will be inconsistent. Giving you that funky shift feel instead of the quicker engagement. That will only work to hasten the fluid's demise - more slipping = more heat = quicker deterioration of the fluid, which leads to more slipping...
Its done! The 2000 has a 14mm bolt same as drain plug. Thought the socket fell off the bolt it was so loose. Put it back tighter with a new tiny crush washer. Could not see through Toyota's gallon jug to see where 3.3qts was so i measured what came out. Was 3.8, almost a gallon! Did my best guess 3.5, will check in a few days. Sooo much better, hardly moves at all in park, longer shifts, no slips going into drive! Was so bad the new fluid shows some brown already. Will do it again at next oil change.
Keep in mind, when you do a "drain and fill", you're only replacing about 25% of the tranny fluid. So the brand-new fluid mixes with the old dirty fluid and turns brown immediately.
As you mentioned, you may need to do multiple drain and fills to get the old fluid purged out.
pdq - Could have sworn I read on here that for 8th gen corolla transmissions a drain and fill was most of the fluid. If I only drained 25% then there's 13+ quarts in that tiny little transmission? Is there a document somewhere that has capacity? All I see is 3.3 everywhere. Thanks.
Last edited by leakyseals; 10-26-2011 at 07:43 PM.
Update. After 5k transmission is perfect. Fluid has a slight discoloration, considering how brown it was to start makes sense. Never did find out what the capacity actually is, if somebody could pass that along would be helpful. Assume by the color after the 4qt change its probably 6-8qts?
Sounds great! I'd do another drain and refill, if the coloration bothers you much. Probably doesn't hurt - assuming the fluid was that old fluid was oxidized that much. The remaining old fluid is making the new fluid's additive pack work that much harder. After the second drain and refill - you should be golden for atleast 15K-30K miles, depending on the driving conditions/how you drive.
As for system capacities - varies depending on the transaxle, specs that I found were listed as:
3-speed A131L
- Transmission = 5.8 US quarts
- Differential = 1.5 US quarts
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Linear Mode
