'00 Avalon transmission fluid advice

[KoG506]

I currently have 128+K on it. I bought the car almost 2 years ago and it never has a transmission service. so on the same year i bought the car, i did a drain fill (unplug and let it drain then plug it and pour new ATF same amount back in). as of now, the fluid is brown.

what should i do? should i get it flushed or drain and fill?
i looked at a toyota dealership and they advertise $100 for drain & fill, $130 for flush.

I heard it was bad to flush high mileage car that doesn't service transmission often.

do they drain & fill until the fluid is red and changed/clean filter?

Thanks

[MCX20-XLS]

If you cant find any advise here check the ClubLexus ES300 forums. They always have enough information over there...

Fluilds gotta be changed no matter what the mileage. Im going synthetic soon & also installing a B&M tranny cooler...

[poolvibe]

I really like the Redline D4.....

[maun]

With 128K and the transmission never been flushed, I would not flush, but you can keep draining and filling every few months to try to get the fluid cleaner. The reason for not flushing with high mileage is the dirt or residue in the transmission converter would get dislodged (the purpose of the flush) and my get stuck in one of the many tiny crevices in transmission.
So if you just drain and flush several times over period of time there would be less chance of something getting stuck in the small holes of the transmission.

[pmesfun]

+1

What I would do and what I DID, mine was only flushed at 40k at the dealer. I did multiple drain and refills throughout the year.

Here is what I recommend:

• Get a gallon of Supertech ATF from Walmart, $10 gallon jug.

• Remove the Drain Plug on BOTH and the pan and differential(if its too tight I wouldn't worry they share the fluid)

• Refill and drive for a week, repeat the process. Then after two weeks drain again, and repeat process.

• After another two weeks drain the differential, drop the pan, clean it, replace the filter(get a Wix filter kit from Oreily) and refill the transmission with a synthetic fluid like Valvoline Maxlife ~$4 a quart from Walmart also.

This should get the fluid clean and red, continue the drain and refill process at every other oil change until it stays red and clean. Then you can be the judge of whether to continue doing every other oil change, if its working, do a drain and refill every 15k.

[ChiTDI]

Good approach above. When you do drop the pan and clean the screen and the magnets, you should be able to see enough transmission gear to know whether the fluid is old and brown or if the unit itself is scorched. Let us know what you see, maybe even a picture! You may need a flashlight to see up into the unit.

[ChiTDI]

Originally Posted by poolvibe

I really like the Redline D4.....

Yeah, me too. And I tried them all in nine years and 137k.

[KoG506]

I wont able to do it myself because it is too cold to work on the car outside. but i can take to dealership which will cost $$$

I have to wait till its warmer and change the transmission fluid but at same time i dont want to wait because i dont want to put more damage to the transmission? lol