[RushilPatel]

I am at 30k miles right now. I would like to drive my corolla for years to come, so I was thinking of getting a CVT fluid change done. I called several dealerships and one of them noted to me that since it is a sealed transmission, I have nothing to worry about and fluid changes will not be performed. A few dealerships said that they will perform the service. However, I am not confident that anyone at these dealerships even knows what a CVT transmission is and if they will perform the job correctly. In this situation, should I disregard the fluid changes for the CVT until I reach 100k miles or should I try to get the job done by a local shop by bringing them the fluid. I am not sure if a local shop would know how to perform this job adequately either. Prices from the dealership range from $350-$460.

If I do decide to get this done, is there anyway I can make sure that they perform the job correctly?

Additionally, should it be a drain and refill or a complete replacement of all the fluid at 30k miles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[invader]

It takes about 4.5 quarts for a simple drain and refill (9 quarts total capacity)... Take it to a good independent mechanic at a reputable local garage or transmission repair shop.

Auto Trans Fluid Capacity and Drain

We bought a 2019 Corolla HB last year. Since I drive a ton, I'll soon replace the auto trans fluid. I'm not doing a flush, just drain and refill. Anyone know how much drains out? Not the capacity, but how much will drain just pulling the plug. It's always less, sometimes much less than the...

www.toyotanation.com

 

[Chuy]

Look at your maintenance schedule manual to see if it has a special operating conditions procedure. For most Lexus/Toyota vehicles, the manual states to do a full ATF flush for automatics every 60K if the vehicle is used for towing, off-roading, commercial use, etc … You still have a ways to go, so if you want to have a drain/refill done now, an independent shop will have to be sought, or DIY it.

 

[raymond10078]

I am at 30k miles right now. I would like to drive my corolla for years to come, so I was thinking of getting a CVT fluid change done. I called several dealerships and one of them noted to me that since it is a sealed transmission, I have nothing to worry about and fluid changes will not be performed. A few dealerships said that they will perform the service. However, I am not confident that anyone at these dealerships even knows what a CVT transmission is and if they will perform the job correctly. In this situation, should I disregard the fluid changes for the CVT until I reach 100k miles or should I try to get the job done by a local shop by bringing them the fluid. I am not sure if a local shop would know how to perform this job adequately either. Prices from the dealership range from $350-$460.

If I do decide to get this done, is there anyway I can make sure that they perform the job correctly?

Additionally, should it be a drain and refill or a complete replacement of all the fluid at 30k miles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Which transmission do you have? K313 or K120?

K313 for the 1.8L and K120 for the 2.0L.

The amount drained differs:

K313 (only 1.3 quarts or so drains out, 7.9 quarts total)

K120 (5.3 quarts or so drains out, 9.0 quarts total)

There's no way to check that the job was done correctly, other than to check that they used enough fluid. For my older 2016 K313, the service manual said drain, refill, run, and repeat a few times. I don't see that in the newer service manuals (I'm looking at 2021 manuals today). I do see that when towing, replacement is specified every 60,000 miles; but I don't see the requirement at all for normal driving.

Lastly, the service manual talks about a software code/number that tracks the condition of the fluid. You could ask them to check that value on your car. It's called the ATF Thermal Degradation Estimate. You could track/trend that number - and then replace fluid when the car says it needs it.

 

[Avalon 3X]

Which transmission do you have? K313 or K120?

K313 for the 1.8L and K120 for the 2.0L.

The amount drained differs:

K313 (only 1.3 quarts or so drains out, 7.9 quarts total)

K120 (5.3 quarts or so drains out, 9.0 quarts total)

There's no way to check that the job was done correctly, other than to check that they used enough fluid. For my older 2016 K313, the service manual said drain, refill, run, and repeat a few times. I don't see that in the newer service manuals (I'm looking at 2021 manuals today). I do see that when towing, replacement is specified every 60,000 miles; but I don't see the requirement at all for normal driving.

Lastly, the service manual talks about a software code/number that tracks the condition of the fluid. You could ask them to check that value on your car. It's called the ATF Thermal Degradation Estimate. You could track/trend that number - and then replace fluid when the car says it needs it.

I've got a 2016 Corolla 1.8L and drained and filled it at 38K miles. Just about 2 quarts drained out. I replaced exactly what came out and have had no problems since the drain and fill. It's 30 months later at 50K miles. I don't know about doing multiple drain, run and fills on this car. They sell the CVT FE fluid by the gallon jug and it is expensive at about $25-$30 a quart. The fluid was bright red when I did the first drain so I'm sticking with a 40K drain interval.

For the OP, make sure the car is cold when you drain and fill to make sure there is no fluid expansion and the fluid coming out is the same temperature as the one going back in to ensure the fill is correct. Good luck!

 

[invader]

RushilPatel actually has a 2021 Corolla 2.0 with K120 Direct-Shift CVT.

The blue plastic level plug is well visible here... It's in the bottom of transmission casing above drain plug, as there is no oil pan. About 1.5 quarts drains out when removing the drain plug, followed by an extra ~ 3 quarts for a total of about 4.5 quarts drained when removing drain plug and plastic level plug.

Finally got around to fully changing the AT fluid. Like before 1.5 Qts drained out after removing the drain plug and another 3 Qts after removing the plastic level plug, total 4.5 Qts.

The plastic piece you can remove with a Phillips or screwdriver, or even your pinky finger, it wasn’t torqued down in there. So I put it back the same way.

Auto Trans Fluid Capacity and Drain | Toyota Nation Forum

 

[invader]

K313 CVT Oil And Filter Change (2020+ Corolla LE 1.8) ~4.625 qts drained with oil pan removal.

Video and text for doing a transmission Oil & Filter change - the text is also under the video on youtube.

1. Get 5 qts of AISIN ATF TFE oil from Rock Auto. Filter, O-ring 90301-22014 & Gasket 35168-12091 elsewhere. It’s an Aisin K313 transmission, so a google search for the filter should work.
2. Jack up left front wheel, remove wheel & plastic panel behind it so you can see the fill bolt marked with “FE”. Loosen bolt. Put wheel back on.
3. Drive car up on ramps for 4 wheel lift to keep car level – within ±1° so for wheelbase of 106”, wheel height must be within 106*tan1° = 1.85 inches from level. Handbrake on.
4. Remove tranny drain bolt (6mm allen hex) & drain fluid into container, not drain pan, so quantity can be measured.
5. Remove in order, sump “straw” (6mm allen), sump (10mm hex), filter (10mm hex) and continue draining fluid into container.
6. Clean out bottom of drain pan and magnets & note any debris. Replace magnets in sump pan, replace straw in sump pan, replace drain bolt finger tight.
7. Install new filter with oiled O-ring. (low torque)
8. Install sump pan with new gasket. (low torque)
9. Measure amount of oil drained. I got 4qts + 20 ozs (4.625 qts)
10. Remove fill bolt and use funnel and tube assy to put the same amount of oil back in plus a little bit. Check for leaks.
11. Put OBD connector into temperature sensing mode – see picture. I used paper clip
12. Start engine and move the gearshifter thru R, N and D for 3 seconds each. Now shift quickly (1 second each change) from D-N-D-N-D-N etc until the display shows D even when the shifter is at N. Then shift to park.
13. If the D disappears, the oil is cold, remove drain plug. If no extra oil comes out add till it does, ELSE wait for D to show up, when it does, put the drain plug back in, then shut the engine off. If D is flashing, the oil is too hot. shut off the engine and wait for it to cool down
14. Torque the drain plug to 30 ft lbs. 30 seemed OK
15. Replace the fill bolt torque to 36 ft lbs – 36 seems too high, 30 seems right. With plastic panel out the way, torqueing from under the car is easy.
16. Replace plastic panel and wheel 76 ft lbs.

Edit 29-Dec-2022: car is now at 141,000 miles (was 110,000 miles) No leaks, no issues

 

[2005 es330]

Sealed Trans... Evil manufacturer that wants you to pay their dealership big money to do what should be a simple home garage job.
CVT fluid, is very expensive compared to ATF.
CVT is a bad transmission design to begin with, Runs very hot. Though Toyota makes it work, unlike Nissan, Avoid Nissan CVT like the plague.
You can do the fluid change yourself, it is little bit of a procedure, you can look it up on Youtube.
Whoever told you the fluid does not require a change because of a "sealed" trans is full of Sht. The saying about lifetime trans fluid, yes, it will last the life of your transmission, but they don't tell you, it is the fluid that causes the end of your transmission's life.

It should be changed, I would myself do it every 30K at least on a CVT, Flush would be great, and drain and fill at least. I would hate to have to pay someone that much to do it every time. Also, (research it for yourself) but I believe you can use any CVT fluid, you do not have to use "Car Brand". But you just have to confirm that the CVT fluid meets or exceeds the requirements for your transmission. I used Castrol synthetic CVT, very good fluid, WAY cheaper than the name brand fluid, and exceeded the manufacturer's standards. My sister had a Nissan with CVT, the fluid burned up and destroyed the valve body, I changed out the valve body myself with a remanufactured one, a pretty easy job actually, About $200 for the part, I also added an external CVT fluid cooler for her, another $70 or so. Used the Castrol CVT fluid and did drain and fills for her a couple of times a year and she put a hell of a lot of commuter miles on the car for a couple more years with no further issues. You will have to look up what fluids you can use in your CVT.

 

[invader]

AISIN ATF-TFE $8.39 per US quart

Transmission-Automatic Fluid / Chemical Transmission Fluid Parts | RockAuto

ATF-TFE Product Announcement copy (aisinaftermarket.com)

MAG 1 CVT Fluid $6.63 per US quart

Transmission-Automatic Fluid / Chemical Transmission Fluid Parts | RockAuto

MAG 1® Continuously Variable Transmission Fluid - Mag 1

 

[invader]

news_60.pdf (aisin.ae)

Free shipping from Japan! OEM CVT transmission oil 4 liter can CVT gear oil Aisin Excellent CFEx | eBay

 

[2005 es330]

AISIN ATF-TFE $8.39 per US quart

Transmission-Automatic Fluid / Chemical Transmission Fluid Parts | RockAuto

ATF-TFE Product Announcement copy (aisinaftermarket.com)
View attachment 408995

MAG 1 CVT Fluid $6.63 per US quart

Transmission-Automatic Fluid / Chemical Transmission Fluid Parts | RockAuto

MAG 1® Continuously Variable Transmission Fluid - Mag 1
View attachment 408996
View attachment 408999

Wow, those are really good prices.

 

[cmannn]

I do 2 drain & fill with Aisan CVT FE from Rock Auto a couple times and then 2 final drain and fills with Toyota Genuine CVT FE just for peace of mind. Mine is a Toyota CVT K313 not Aisan (K313 can be made by either Aisan or Toyota)…. But most of the parts are interchangeable so I highly suspect the cheap Aisan CVT FE fluid from Rock Auto is just fine…

Toyota genuine fluid is too expensive to be doing multiple drain and fills with LOL

i’m sure I have some kind of mixture in there, but supposedly mixing them is perfectly fine.

I absolutely would not use any other brand of fluid, besides Toyota or Aisan on the FE trans… the previous Auto trans sure but these CVTs are picky

 

[2005 es330]

I do 2 drain & fill with Aisan CVT FE from Rock Auto a couple times and then 2 final drain and fills with Toyota Genuine CVT FE just for peace of mind. Mine is a Toyota CVT K313 not Aisan (K313 can be made by either Aisan or Toyota)…. But most of the parts are interchangeable so I highly suspect the cheap Aisan CVT FE fluid from Rock Auto is just fine…

Toyota genuine fluid is too expensive to be doing multiple drain and fills with LOL

i’m sure I have some kind of mixture in there, but supposedly mixing them is perfectly fine.

I absolutely would not use any other brand of fluid, besides Toyota or Aisan on the FE trans… the previous Auto trans sure but these CVTs are picky

I used to do the same thing when I did my oil changes in my old truck, My Lexus, I change the oil so often I don't do it but in my old work truck I would add an oil system cleaner just before changing the oil, then drain the oil, and remove the filter, then throw on a cheap filter and fill with super cheap oil, let it run for a minute, then drain that out to carry out all the dirty stuff that was pulled up in different areas such as up in the cam/valves, side walls of the pan etc. Then take off the cheap filter and put in the quality oil and filter. Overkill? Ya I guess, but it calms my ocd.

 

[qrumcar]

I am at 30k miles right now. I would like to drive my corolla for years to come, so I was thinking of getting a CVT fluid change done.

I am very distrustful of dealers sealed transmissions and 10,000 mile oil changes. I’ve had two Toyotas since 2000, and never changed the trans fluid and both went well over 200 K miles. But my 2010 Venza burns oil like crazy, and has been for many years. I plan to strictly change the CVT oil, and especially the engine oil on my next TOYOTA..

I saw a detailed answer below, but you might also search for the “car care nut” on the sealed transmissions (if TOYOTA really believes you don’t need to change the oil, maybe they should make the warranty longer). I believe the sealed transmissions/CVT’s really do need to be changed, but TOYOTA has let us all down by not giving us real world (believable) recommendations..

 

[Cyclingmasterseller]

I am at 30k miles right now. I would like to drive my corolla for years to come, so I was thinking of getting a CVT fluid change done. I called several dealerships and one of them noted to me that since it is a sealed transmission, I have nothing to worry about and fluid changes will not be performed. A few dealerships said that they will perform the service. However, I am not confident that anyone at these dealerships even knows what a CVT transmission is and if they will perform the job correctly. In this situation, should I disregard the fluid changes for the CVT until I reach 100k miles or should I try to get the job done by a local shop by bringing them the fluid. I am not sure if a local shop would know how to perform this job adequately either. Prices from the dealership range from $350-$460.

If I do decide to get this done, is there anyway I can make sure that they perform the job correctly?

Additionally, should it be a drain and refill or a complete replacement of all the fluid at 30k miles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have attached a link below on how to perform the procedure. Note: If you are doing this yourself, and are performing this every 30k -- which I recommend to keep your Toyota running like new -- a simple "drain & fill" will be sufficient. The link below is for the full job, filter included. Next, if you are having a local, trusted, mechanic doing it for you, who will allow you to bring in the fluid to use, then I recommend going to your dealership and buying a can of CVT fluid, specifically engineered for your vehicle -- using anything other than OEM TOYOTA CVT FLUID WILL DESTROY YOUR TRANSMISSION! The can of fluid runs about $107 and one can should do it. I recommend just a drain and fill every 30k. Here is the link: CVT FLUID DRAIN AND FILL PROCEDURE

 

[drumman]

Sealed Trans... Evil manufacturer that wants you to pay their dealership big money to do what should be a simple home garage job.
CVT fluid, is very expensive compared to ATF.
CVT is a bad transmission design to begin with, Runs very hot. Though Toyota makes it work, unlike Nissan, Avoid Nissan CVT like the plague.
You can do the fluid change yourself, it is little bit of a procedure, you can look it up on Youtube.
Whoever told you the fluid does not require a change because of a "sealed" trans is full of Sht. The saying about lifetime trans fluid, yes, it will last the life of your transmission, but they don't tell you, it is the fluid that causes the end of your transmission's life.

It should be changed, I would myself do it every 30K at least on a CVT, Flush would be great, and drain and fill at least. I would hate to have to pay someone that much to do it every time. Also, (research it for yourself) but I believe you can use any CVT fluid, you do not have to use "Car Brand". But you just have to confirm that the CVT fluid meets or exceeds the requirements for your transmission. I used Castrol synthetic CVT, very good fluid, WAY cheaper than the name brand fluid, and exceeded the manufacturer's standards. My sister had a Nissan with CVT, the fluid burned up and destroyed the valve body, I changed out the valve body myself with a remanufactured one, a pretty easy job actually, About $200 for the part, I also added an external CVT fluid cooler for her, another $70 or so. Used the Castrol CVT fluid and did drain and fills for her a couple of times a year and she put a hell of a lot of commuter miles on the car for a couple more years with no further issues. You will have to look up what fluids you can use in your CVT.

I agree. A friend of mine is a former Toyota technician and recommends fluid change at 30k for the Toyota CVT and E-CVT. Toyota does build in his opinion the best CVT transmission. I just purchased a 2022 Venza with a E-CVT and it shifts so smoothly, which a CVT transmission should.

 

[Cyclingmasterseller]

CVTs are great in one regard, because they are torque converter based, they provide an infinite number of gear ratios; this provides you that great gas mileage you get. But I cannot wait to get back into a 6-speed manual transmission and rear wheel drive GR 86 -- crap for mileage, but oh the power feels sooo good (for a four-banger Subaru boxer engine).

 

[Anthony593]

I have 2015 Corolla (with CVT) and I was researching this few months ago when it has 55,000 miles.
Based on my research here and internet, most perform it when it is around 100,000 miles and in internet, there are
people change it at around 60,000 miles but the fluid come out pretty new. Of course, fluid color something does not means anything unless you send it out to analysis. Last time when I called dealership, it is not cheap (few hundred) and I am sure it is much much higher now due to inflation/shortage of labor/material import delayed....etc ; however, I believed
30,000 miles may be too early. You may add unnecessary risk if the shop did not perform it correctly or using the wrong third party fluids. For example: Toyota's Ball joint is the best and seldom need to replace and same apply to CV axle. If those work, I would rather keep the OEM equipment.

 

[Cyclingmasterseller]

I am at 30k miles right now. I would like to drive my corolla for years to come, so I was thinking of getting a CVT fluid change done. I called several dealerships and one of them noted to me that since it is a sealed transmission, I have nothing to worry about and fluid changes will not be performed. A few dealerships said that they will perform the service. However, I am not confident that anyone at these dealerships even knows what a CVT transmission is and if they will perform the job correctly. In this situation, should I disregard the fluid changes for the CVT until I reach 100k miles or should I try to get the job done by a local shop by bringing them the fluid. I am not sure if a local shop would know how to perform this job adequately either. Prices from the dealership range from $350-$460.

If I do decide to get this done, is there anyway I can make sure that they perform the job correctly?

Additionally, should it be a drain and refill or a complete replacement of all the fluid at 30k miles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unless you demand a complete CVT change, filter and all, all they will do is a drain & fill. In Ohio, this job, at the dealer, is around $250. But honestly, here is what I would do. Watch and save this link I am placing on here, exactly for a 2015 Corolla. CVT fluid and filter change
Next, take it to your mechanic if you really do not feel comfortable with him doing it. I recommend going to your dealer's parts department and picking up a can of CVT fluid, specific to your exact vehicle. If you read through the posts above, I have already outlined what to do. If you care about your car then at least do a drain and fill every 30k, if not you run the risk of unnecessary transmission wear. YOU MUST USE TOYOTA'S EXACT FLUID; OTHERS MAY RUIN YOUR CAR'S CVT. But it's your choice. Remember, your transmission is the second most expensive item that makes up your car. Just sayin'

 

[raymond10078]

FYI. I just lost my 2016 Corolla (1.8L, K313 CVT) late last year to an accident, with 145,000 miles on it. But, specific to this thread, I had performed two CVT drain/refills, using Valvoline CVT Fluid, with no issues.

Valvoline CVT Full Synthetic

On the back of the bottle, Valvoline identifies it is an acceptable alternative to FE fluid.

I'm not a Valvoline fan (I'm a Mobil1 fan) - just sharing what I used. Back in 2016, there were essentially no other alternatives. As the CVT becomes more common, I'd expect to see a number of alternatives become available. As for those still within the warranty period, I'd use Toyota FE fluid, as I had bought that early on, too.