I'm not very good with car maintenance, but I try. My 03 Corolla has been giving me a slight bump when changing gears. It's noticeable. I bought the car at 100,000 miles and now I have it at 120,000. When I bought it, the problem was there but it was so minimal I just ignored it.
People tell me you're not supposed to change the transmission oil because doing so may damage the transmission. What's the story on this? Might my problem be fixed by doing this? Even if it doesn't fix the problem, wouldn't I need to change the oil by now? I have no maintenance records of previous owners (It was owned by a rental company and then by a private owner).
Thanks for your advice.
EDIT: Here's where I'm also confused...
The maintenance schedule for my car says to replace automatic transmission fluid at 120,000 miles, but the Service Specifications book says this:
"Fluid type:
Automatic transmission fluid Type T–IV
Change automatic transmission fluid only
as necessary.
Generally, it is necessary to change
automatic transmission fluid only if your
vehicle is driven under one of the Special
Operating Conditions listed in your
“Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
“Owner’s Manual Supplement”. When
changing the automatic transmission fluid,
use only Toyota Genuine ATF Type T–IV
(ATF JWS3309 or NWS6500) to aid in
assuring optimum transaxle performance."
So which is it?
Last edited by ColorNapkin; 04-28-2010 at 05:54 PM.
Fluid capacity (drain and refill), L (qt., Imp qt.):
Up to 3.0 (3.2, 2.6)
Inspect for signs of leakage
Change using only Toyota Genuine ATF Type T-IV, ATF (JWS3309 or NWS6500).
Notice: Using automatic transmission fluid other that “Toyota Genuine ATF Type T-IV” may cause deterioration in shift quality, locking up of your transmission accompanied by vibration, and ultimately damage the automatic transmission of your vehicle.
So is changing the fluid safe? My parents seem to think you're never supposed to change it. I'm arguing with them that Toyota asks for it on their maintenance schedule, but they say every mechanic they have ever spoken to says you don't have to. Can you give me your opinion on this?
I linked a DIY guide which member dz63 completed an automatic transmission fluid change on his 2008 Corolla with no incidents.
Is it safe? Well if you know what your doing and have the right tools, of course it's safe... If you stick to his guide you should be able to perform the service.
Is it necessary? Depends on how much you love your car I guess, hahaha. What I posted is what toyota recommends for keeping the car in tip top shape. My opinion would be to change it if you have the money and the time. No auto fluid lasts forever.
However, I want to take it to the dealership. They're charging $90 with an online coupon and I want to see what their inspection has to say about the car. Other than a tune-up a year ago, brake change when I bought it, and oil change every 3,000 miles, I don't know the status of the car. I'm a terrible owner.
However, I want to take it to the dealership. They're charging $90 with an online coupon and I want to see what their inspection has to say about the car. Other than a tune-up a year ago, brake change when I bought it, and oil change every 3,000 miles, I don't know the status of the car. I'm a terrible owner.
Thanks Exage.
With that mileage do NOT do a full fluid change / flush. ATF is a detergent and it will clean out any build up inside the tranny and send it through the valve body in the tranny and kill it. 4qts of new will not hurt it, but a tranny full of fresh fluid can. If you really want to get it cleaned up and safely, do a drain and fill every 5k for about 3 changes.
Go to the dealership and buy 4qts of t4, put it on jack stands and take out the bolt in the pan, let it run to empty (3.2qt per Toyota, 3.5qt per every time I have changed it), put the bolt back in and fill it back up. Start with 3qt and start checking the dipstick. Be careful when putting a funnel into the dipstick tube as they can be broken. Don't pay the dealer 90 bucks for something you can do in 15 minutes and for 20 or less.
I am currently looking into a auto transmission drain for my car
Instead of buying the stuff from the dealership, is there any off-the-shelf ATF that anyone would recommend?
I am currently thinking of buying valvoline maxlife ATF.
If you are only doing a drain and fill stick with OEM. I would stick with the OEM regardless, but if you feel you must change, do a full flush. Just be advised of the repercussions of doing so.
This is a good topic because I'm approaching 100,000 miles and was considering changing out the transmission fluid. What about the filter within the transmission. Would you recommend swapping that out while draining the 3 quarts with the first initial drain? Then drain/refill a couple more times over a 5-10k mile period after that? Obviously it can be concluded that a flush from a shop is a big no no on a high mileage car but trying to find the safest method here for changing fluids cause I would like to see this car go 200,000k.
DIY: GEN 9 Corolla Transmission Fluid Exchange & Strainer Replacement Procedure.
I love this write up but he doesn't really give any caution or indication on what to do with higher mileage transmissions.
I'm not sure I would drain the cooler lines but would prefer to just drain and refill in about 5k miles which I think would completely eliminate any contaminants left over from the original fluid, I know lazy. I performed a trans filter/fluid swap in my 95 corolla years ago to try and resolve a hard shifting problem and had no ill affects after wards (car had probably 120k-130k miles). Granted it didn't solve my hard shifting issues the trans never blew out on me and the vehicle was later sold @ 175k miles. I believe the hard shifting to have been caused by a stuck solenoid in the transmission.
The filter is said to be a life long part. Do I personally believe that, not really. Will I change it on our 06, probably not for awhile. My fiance drives all freeway miles so even at 100k the fluid is still fairly clean. If you want to do it, might as well go for it as it doesnt cost much to do. Just be sure you have a tq wrench before starting, and be sure that you tq to spec (which is in lbs not ft lbs).
As for not emptying the cooler lines, that is not being lazy. That is what you would do if you wanted to do a full fluid swap, which is no bueno if you want the car to last 200k with no major (transmission) issues
Let me throw in my 2 cents. When a person is trying to decide wether or not to replace/flush his transmission fluid, it's not necessarily a matter of the mileage. If you're concerned about replacing the fluid because you have 125K miles and it's never been replaced or you don't know if it has, the real deciding factor is not the mileage, but the condition of the fluid. If your fluid is VERY dirty and black or even almost gooey, like tar, DO NOT replace the fluid; just top it off. If it is just brown or dirty or greyish looking red, you SHOULD do a flush and you should replace that strainer. I don't care what those guys at the Toyota dealer say. They want you to come back and buy a new transmission, or better yet (for them) a new car. Does it make sense to never change a filter??? Have you ever heard of that with any type of machinery? There is an excellent DIY tranny fluid flush on this website with great photos. I had it flushed the first time by my 81 year old mechanic. I watched him and did it myself again about 75K miles later but replaced the strainer and gasket as well. The strainer/gasket set I used was a Beck/Arnley, which appeared to be excellent quality. Both times I used AMSOIL synthetic ATF with excellent results and no troubles. I don't believe that there is anything special about Toyota's T-IV fluid and don't believe that ONLY that fluid can be used. I'm sure the Amsoil synthetic ATF (or any other good brand) is better or at least just as good as the Toyota T-IV. Companies always try to make you believe that only THEIR maintenance products are compatible, but we all know there are even better products out there. Bottom line: Flush your tranny fluid from time to time and replace the strainer some of those times and use synthetic if you don't want to do it so often.
i definitely agree with u on this one man. the owners manual calls for type T-IV or JWS 3309. both amsoil and mobil 1 synthetic atf work fine for those fluid type specs. i used mobil 1 atf before and had no issues in my mothers car. toyota does not "approve" of any other brand other than their own, but think about it, why would they? that would give u the green light to buy a 3rd party company's product, thus meaning less money for the dealer. i always change the filter and pan gasket, i took it off my 95 rolla and the filter was very dirty, its very hard to clean them too. besides they sell the filter as a kit along with the gasket for cheap $$$, i paid $20 for mine.
Last edited by Greasewrench; 05-11-2010 at 06:38 PM.
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