Changing tranny fluid

[American Pie]

I'm a bit confused and want to get this straight before proceeding with maintenance on my new-to-me '96 Avy. I've read that the Avalon has a "differential" in addition to its transmission. Most front wheel drive cars I'm familiar with (mostly Hondas) have a transaxle, which is to say, the transmission and differential are integrated into one unit and therefore share the same fluid. This means that there's no "differential fluid" to change; when you drain and fill the transaxle, you've changed both at the same time.

So on the Avalon, are there actually two separate units I have to drain and fill...a transmission AND a differential, or do they share the same fluid, and therefore when I've changed the tranny fluid I've also changed the differential fluid? The factory manual shows a separate service procedure for each one, but it seems like I've read on this forum that only applies to 4-cylinder Camrys.

Maybe it's just a matter of semantics (you say potatos, I say...) but I've actually never heard of a front wheel drive car having a "differential". I've always heard them referred to as "transaxles".

Sorry for all the confusion.

[robcam13]

avalons have a transaxle.they also have a front diff.to replace the diff fluid remove the drain plug and the fill plug.when the fluid is drained replace the drain plug and add fluid to the fill plug until its full.replace the trans fluid like any other transaxle.

[robcam13]

the diff fluid is not replaced often. i would check it before i replaced it.just remove the fill plug and stick your finger in it and see how the fluid looks .

[American Pie]

I changed the oil and tranny fluid today, and was going to do the diff fluid but couldn't get the diff's drain plug out due to poor access. There's not enough room between the diff and a crossmember to use a hex socket with a ratchet wrench so I'll need to run out and get a 10mm "L" allen wrench. I WAS able to get the diff fill plug off and there's plenty of fluid in it but I'm going to change it out anyhow; the cars' got 160K miles and for all I know it's never been changed.

I must say though, changing engine oil/filter and tranny fluid is a piece of cake on this car.