1999 Avalon maintenance questions.

[UNCatTech]

Hello, new to the forums.

I have a 1999 Avalon. It runs great and I have never had any issues. It has been well maintained. Only thing I have done since it was given to me is oil, breaks, and struts.

My mother in law gave us this car. It now has 150K miles on it.

The reason I am here is I also have a 1999 Acura TL and the transmission just stopped working. When reading about it I found there were so many issues with that transmission and many recommendations to make it last longer. One was to change trans fluid more often than recommended, but not to flush it. Well of course I flushed it before I knew this.

So I'm hoping that the nice owners here can help me to not make similar mistakes with the Avalon.

I want to get the transmission serviced. Any precautions? Should I only use Toyota fluid? Should I avoid flushing it?

Any other recommendations regarding maintenance would also be welcome.

I used seafoam on the Acura to clean the fuel delivery system, is this recommended for the Avalon?

Thanks in advance.

@Tech

[ottogaus]

Interested in responses so subscribing to the thread.

[pmesfun]

I think the transmission for the Acura may be under warranty, not sure.

For the Avy, just get the transmission drain and refilled, or fluid exchange via cooler lines(both you can probably do yourself). There is no Toyota Dexron III anymore, any Dexron III compatible fluid will work. Make sure to get the Power Steering Fluid(same as trans. Dexron III) changed, probably the weak point on these cars. Seafoam can be used to clean the fuel system, or any fuel injection cleaner.

Any oil leaks? Valve cover gaskets are common. When was the timing belt last replaced?

[5thgencamryJ]

if you can afford it ($7 quart) you can put synthetic fluid, I think newer toyotas use that.

[ProjectAvalon]

I'm all for doing regular trans service(fluid drain filter swap) but i would NEVER have anything 'power flushed' and yes DEXIII of any variety will work.

as far as maintenance. you know the basics. one thing i find important is to keep an eye on the pcv valve. usually a dinky cheap part that never gets replaced, but if anything can be pointed for a sludge issue it usually stems from pressure& heat not escaping properly from the top end.

and replacement pcvs are cheap i'd do it once a year.

[denverdog]

never ever flush. if your mechanic tries to tell you it won't hurt anything, do not argue with him. get a new mechanic. he's an idiot. that tells you all you need to know about the quality of his work.

get dealer fluid or a full synthetic. never go cheap on the fluid. it is the lifeblood of the transmission. the specified intervals should be fine. if the fluid gets dark real fast, repeat the drain and fill earlier.

and the drain and fill isn't going to be chea[er, unless you do it yourself. its more labor. but its worth it for the protection to your tranny.

[UNCatTech]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

I think the transmission for the Acura may be under warranty, not sure.

For the Avy, just get the transmission drain and refilled, or fluid exchange via cooler lines(both you can probably do yourself). There is no Toyota Dexron III anymore, any Dexron III compatible fluid will work. Make sure to get the Power Steering Fluid(same as trans. Dexron III) changed, probably the weak point on these cars. Seafoam can be used to clean the fuel system, or any fuel injection cleaner.

Any oil leaks? Valve cover gaskets are common. When was the timing belt last replaced?

The timing belt was replaced as recommended by toyota. I believe around 100K.

No oil leaks. The engine is amazingly clean. Even the brake fluid looks original. (color wise )

[UNCatTech]

Originally Posted by 5thgencamryJ

if you can afford it ($7 quart) you can put synthetic fluid, I think newer toyotas use that.

I believe I am going to do this. $7 a quart is nothing compared to the cost of a transmission.

I need to get to at least 250K miles with this car.

[UNCatTech]

Originally Posted by denverdog

never ever flush. if your mechanic tries to tell you it won't hurt anything, do not argue with him. get a new mechanic. he's an idiot. that tells you all you need to know about the quality of his work.

get dealer fluid or a full synthetic. never go cheap on the fluid. it is the lifeblood of the transmission. the specified intervals should be fine. if the fluid gets dark real fast, repeat the drain and fill earlier.

and the drain and fill isn't going to be chea[er, unless you do it yourself. its more labor. but its worth it for the protection to your tranny.

Thanks. I am going to drain and fill the trans this weekend, when I change the oil and rotate the tires.

Any recommendations on a particular type of synthetic? If I use synthetic should I attempt to change all the fluid or will mixing the new and the old be ok?

Thanks for the responses.

[(sic) CAS]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

I think the transmission for the Acura may be under warranty, not sure.

For the Avy, just get the transmission drain and refilled, or fluid exchange via cooler lines(both you can probably do yourself). There is no Toyota Dexron III anymore, any Dexron III compatible fluid will work. Make sure to get the Power Steering Fluid(same as trans. Dexron III) changed, probably the weak point on these cars. Seafoam can be used to clean the fuel system, or any fuel injection cleaner.

Any oil leaks? Valve cover gaskets are common. When was the timing belt last replaced?

i think acura transmission was recalled for the cl and tl not 100% on that tho look in to it , my friend had a 02 cl type s and the the tranny went out at like 120000 miles and he said he didnt pay ne thing n he got a brand spanking new one for FREE

[9T6AvalonXLS]

Originally Posted by UNCatTech

Thanks. I am going to drain and fill the trans this weekend, when I change the oil and rotate the tires.

Any recommendations on a particular type of synthetic? If I use synthetic should I attempt to change all the fluid or will mixing the new and the old be ok?

Thanks for the responses.

A couple of weeks ago I drained and refilled mine along with changing the filter. I will be doing it again, D&F in a week or so.
I used: http://www.mobiloil.com/usa-english/...etic_atf.aspx#