Well, those instructions been pinned in stickies and are linked via my syg. But thank you for sharing.
Why no instructions? Because Toyota considers that fluid lifetime.
When to change it? Whatever. I do 50 000 miles just because.

 

Pump? Fancy.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/105-camry-hybrid/1424890-transmission-fluid-change-tch.html

 

ukrkoz,

Thank you and please know there was no disrespect intended if this was simply a repeat of your existing guidance. I found this job to be fairly straightforward except for the correct identification of the drain and fill plugs. There were FOUR 10mm plugs on/around my tranny and the LOWEST was NOT the drain (that, I understand, if for coolant). The HIGHEST plug...we'll I'm not exactly sure what that one is for.

The peristaltic pump really helped make the job a snap.

I would like to also swap out other fluids as well in due time to include brake fluid, engine coolant, inverter coolant (which I'm guessing is a separate loop)...I'm not sure if I'm missing anything? The book simply has no guidance on any of these such things...as you said Toyota's position is "no need to do that."

I've done my own maintenance for many years but this is my first new car and my first experience with a hybrid so I'm a little sketchy on the "how to" with some of these items. I normally purchase the factory books for my cars; however, in this case there doesn't seem to be any you can purchase. It seems all the information is now online by subscription only. Sigh! I would like to have access to the proper guides for some of this to be sure I have this right.

Keep up your great work here at Toyota Nation!

Respectfully, 14CamryHybridXLE

 

Your post is more than welcomed. I actually have dedicated "Call for write ups" thread in stickies. It's that no one really reads them and for many it's a major effort and guesswork, while it's already posted for taking and makes life easier.
Brake fluid. You CAN"T do it. Don't even try. Brake fluid is done by dealer as Techstream s/w has to be used to bleed air. Brake fluid is good for something like over 100 000 miles and I sold my TCH with 128 000 2 weeks back and BF was crystal clear. So why even bother. If you have itch to do it, simply syphon it out of canister in engine bay and fill with fresh one. Drive for some time, couple weeks, do same again. you'll slowly cycle BF out. Otherwise dealer here charges $150 pre tax. I have seen reports of dealers milking this job to tune of 500 or so.
Ah, forgot to say. They did some recall on TCH brakes related and did BF change. 2years back or so.
Coolant is 150 000 miles. If you really have to play with it, drain and refill radiator. Will you actually own car that long?
Inverter fluid. Don't mess with it. Same thing, techstream needs to operate fluid pump in order to do it. Lightspeed posted DIY from canister, it's in sticky. Again, it's same 150 000 miles, so why bother?
That's about it. OEM Panasonic 12V runs very well into 7-8 years of service. Maybe spray terminals with battery cleaner and sealant, and simply let it be?
Brake pads. They may last you lifetime or they may go bad in 45 000 miles. Like mine did. Rear ones go bad first. Write up is in stickies too. Brakes are EXACTLY same ones as on regular Camry. A lot is same. As far as you staying away from HSD and do not go brave on brake fluid change, you golden.

 

I USED TO DO ALL. BUT AGE AND HEALTH and now the dealer does it all for.me. last car was BMW. Was good drive but made cheap and money pit. BMW is now crappy.. imho

 

Thanks for posting this! Just picked up a 2014 Camry Hybrid. I was under the impression it was a 100k mile item - at least that's what the owners manual I found online indicated.

Mine has 110k and I bought the stuff to do it and was just about to give it a go today. These instructions are a big help. Hope I don't mess anything up - she shifts really well right now.

 

ATF is lifetime of the vehicle.

 

I just checked owners manual again. Here is what it says:

Check at 30/60/90/120k miles

Replace if driven under heavy load at 60k/120k

It does not specify replacement if not driven under a heavy load, so I suppose it could go either way.

 

After re-reading, you're definitely right that it's recommended as a lifetime ATF except under the conditions noted.

However, I did my change last night and my goodness, was it an epic fail. I got the old fluid drained easily enough. Got my manual hand pump out to start putting the new fluid in and that's where things went south - it would not hold a seal - as soon as the liquid got in the pump, it would start draining back out.

So after much thought and perponderance, I found a small funnel with a tilted neck and stuck it in the fill hole and held the fluid up above my head and poured it in that way. It was a mess like you wouldn't believe - I got ATF into orifices that I had no idea you could get ATF into. I was cleaning it out of my hair and ears and other places. 3 hours when it was all said and done and I'm lucky amazon had the 6-pack on sale so I had a couple extra quarts to overcome the spillage issues.

But in the end, I got her filled up and she drove good to drop the kids off at school this morning. Since buying the Camry hybrid, I've changed oil & filter, air filter, cabin air filter, and ATF. Also had to make a repair to where a mouse had eaten through the wiper fluid line, but that was simple enough.

Looks like spark plugs at 120k and brakes will have to come up eventually, but for now I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

 

Well, hand pumps are ready available at any parts store or Walmart. Also, most practical are the screw onto the bottle type.
Should you have looked at my write up, you'd have noticed very simple and functional way to attach funnel. All it needs is a longer tube.
Next time. ATF does not taste too good and eyes don't appreciate it that's for sure.

 

I tried to click on the link above but it was a dead end?

I saw the funnel pic but I didn't have a tube and didn't start until 9pm, so nothing was open by the time the real shenanigans began. Thanks covid - normally I could have made a wal-mart run.

 

The very first post here:

GENERAL Camry Hybrid questions

Transmission fluid change TCH https://electricvehicleforums.com/forums/toyota-camry-hybrid-49/tch-cvt-ws-fluid-change-26791/

www.toyotanation.com

And gallery in it live.

 

Hard to imagine the eCVT sees anything close to the mechanical stress a conventional AT is exposed to. Changing the fluid seems pointless unless it breaks down over time due to age.

 

I'm a little late to this thread but, changing your transmission fluid every 30K-50K is very important in CVTs and the eCVT's (which don't have a triangular metal belt that changes diameter on a cone shaft like traditional CVT's) it has planetary gears and two electric motors with very strong magnets for electrical regeneration when MG1 is stopped or the center planetary gear is locked.

It's gears that are lubricated just like all other gears, they will wear down if it's not changed regularly. As a mechanic for mainly Jeep/Dodge with some Hybrid Ford Mavericks(which have the same eCVT transmission system as Toyota Hybrid eCVT's) the manufacturer's make most of their money when major parts fail that cost more to replace than the cars worth so as long as it happens around 150K miles (well out of warranty) but produce them well enough to last that 130K miles. No transmission fluid is lifetime, if you don't care about your engine or transmission and change your vehicles out for new ones like your phones then by all means don't maintain fluids.

A great example of this is the 2018-2024 Ford 7.3L F450's heads that have 4mm channel slits machined out between the pistons up to the coolant channel to prevent hotspots, but instead of adding small steam holes, instead they cut ¼ inch slit going across the whole head to allow coolant to reduce hotspots between gaskets which creates a failure point at head gasket to create blown head gaskets around 120-130K miles. Warranty is usually between 70-120K on those Fords and 121K miles make it your $17,000 repair which usually ends up costing more because you only get another 100K and limited warranty.

All my vehicles have lasted 450K miles or longer without major failures because I change transmission fluid every 50K miles minimum and take all other fluid change intervals from manufacturer and half them. If it says to change your 02 Jeep WJ 4.7LV8 every 10K miles you change it every 4500-5000 miles with fully synthetic high milage 5W-30 (since it's over 75K miles)

I'm currently driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, 4.7L V8 SOHC Naturally Aspirated with 4WD Select Trac and a 454-RFE 5 Speed Auto Transmission. Same as the 2005 Dodge Dakota SLT V8 Magnum has. Runs great, that engine is bulletproof, it's been overheated 5 times by my wife and no blown head gasket, no warpage
, no parts failures. It's at 235K miles and counting.

Always change the filters with the transmission fluid and motor oil. They can last 15K miles but it's always best to change with oil or at minimum every other time. I've cut the filters open after every change and there was aluminum buildup and all kinds of gunk caught in them in just 5K miles. It's best to get OEM pickup filters and OEM equivalent oil filters(20-30 micron at 98% filtration, not the Fram 30micron at 95% filtration)

 

I've changed it in mine (2017 XLE) after 4 years and 81K km (50k miles) of mostly city driving without stressing up a car. Fluid had opaque brownish color - doesn't looks like lifetime fluid (except you expect lifetime something like 60-100K miles).

 

I'm thinking of doing this to our 2017 TCH, I'm guessing the writeup is good for that year also. Went to look at urkoz's original thread, but don't see it in stickies and don't see his sig. Probably something at my end, I haven't been keeping up with all these damn forum changes.

 

go here:

TCH CVT WS fluid change - Electric Vehicle Forums

Toyota Camry Hybrid - TCH CVT WS fluid change - ok, nice and sunny day. had CVT WS TF changed today. about only one word of caution: open fill plug first. otherwise, fluid gushes out of drain plug in very uneven manner, spilling all over the place, if you do not allow air in through fill plug...

electricvehicleforums.com

Pics are still there.
I am pretty sure, fill plug is now on the driver wheel side
ALWAYS OPEN FILL PLUG FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the dealer where I bought my 2014.5 Camry Hybrid XLE, wants $400 to do the tranny service. The car has 100k miles now.

 

Come on over, I'll do it for thank you plus your parts.

 

I am thinking about your offer... very generous...


I am thinking about your offer... very generous...
not ready yet, thinking about doing the tranny service in the coming months or so...
I need to do Spark PLugs, maybe the valve cover gasket, it had seeped on passenger side, over a long period of time, but not wet.

 

Offer stands. 30 min job.

 

1. there is no filters
2. Fords and Dodges are not example to follow for hybrid
3. Toyota considers ATF to be lifelong and many do so without any adverse effects
4. There is NO hydraulic strain on ATF in PSD, so it does not wear out like in automatic transmission.
5. There is no reason to change ATF in PSD at 30-40 000 miles, unless you are the type that does it.
6. PSD is NOT a CVT. Toyota had to categorize it as such for the purpose of being able to sell cars in the US and could not find any better niche for it. It's epicyclical gearset. That's it.