The CVT in our cars is a closed unit. I'm pretty sure there is no easy way to locate a fill location as it's something the engineers of Toyota don't want people screwing up. Adding fluid or doing any flushes/services prematurely can also void the warranty. Unless you put 100k miles on it in a year, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If there is something wrong with it though, take it to a toyota service center as the car is still under warranty.

 

Did you empty it ?!?!?

BTW, you might be in a bind and HAVE to trust the stealership... but be SURE they describe the process they will do to refill it if you have emptied it.


I called 10 dealerships across the nation and ONE knew how to properly level my 6 speed automatic Camry with the "sealed system" such as yours. (but not a cvt)

 

Nope, no fill plug or dipstick on CVT. A sealed unit and no way to check level or condition of fluid other than dealer connecting computer to sensor on transmission. Changing fluid is done by dropping pan very carefully and refilling very carefully to exact level. Meant to be "lifetime fluid", whatever that means. I plan to just follow maintenance schedule in manual, and have it inspected when called for. I doubt that dealers will try to up sell a change when not needed because they won't be excited about performing a tricky task which if messed up would result in them being on the hook for a new CVT.
The big advantage of being sealed is it means no contamination and no leaks, necessary for the fluid to be considered lifetime. In my mind that means 200k miles, don't know what that means to toyota

 

In my mind that means 200k miles, don't know what that means to toyota

To Toyota it means they have successfully duped a whole new generation of young people into thinking 200K is a good long life for a transmission.

20 years ago a Toyota automatic was only 30 years old (in equivalent human years) at 200K miles if the fluid was changed regularly.

 

I think that is a reasonable lifetime. I take pretty good care of my cars, and only one of them made it past 200k (approaching 300 now) before enough little things began to pile up that,( while financially probably the wrong thing) I was ready to get a new vehicle. I don't think any automatic transmission is going to last as long with as little maintenance as a manual transmission. So if I make it to 200k with low maintenance and repair costs I'm satisfied, and don't feel duped at all.

 

There is oil pan and drain plug, on transmission, got OEM filter from Toyota and I don't think it is sealed transmission. Dealership don't want you to service your own tranny and they will give you all reasons just to get you in for service!!!

 

The CVT is absolutely a sealed unit. The 4 speed auto may not be.

 

Found the price of a CVT...$4,920 from http://toyotapartsestore.com/corolla-parts/

 

By the time you paid the tax and odds and ends also needed, you'd probably be up around 6k. I know I read that number somewhere, perhaps that is the installed price.

From what I've read, rebuilds aren't feasible on these, at least by Toyota. The manufacturer may be able to do it. Seems like there'd be a market for non-OEM CVT's, at those prices.

 

when are you suppose to change the oil in these new CVT transmissions? at what mileage? I'm used to hearing every 50k with non CVT.

 

There is no interval specified. Toyota calls it a "lifetime fluid". It can be "inspected" by the dealer by connecting to an electrical sensor unit on the CVT which will give feedback as to whether the fluid is still in spec. I don't remember the "inspection interval".

 

CVT oil pan must be dropped to drain fluid, clean the 3 magnets in the pan, and to remove the filter, then reinstall pan with new gasket. Total capacity is 8 quarts. A drain and refill takes close to 4 quarts. Fill plug is on the front of your K313 CVT transaxle, underneath air intake airbox... Drain tube on pan is used to confirm proper fluid level. I'm just not sure at which specific transmission fluid temperature it must be checked at, and if the engine should be idling.

 

There is no such thing as a lifetime fluid. I was told the same thing by several dealers when I asked about it for my 10 Prius. I did finally find out that I could do a drain and fill just like a manual gearbox. If there is a way that you can do a drain and fill like some have said then do it regularly for a CVT last will last forever. I would change it every 50k miles at the most.

 

It is not possible to flush the CVT. Drain and fill.
Ideally, drop the pan completely and fill. Otherwise at least 1 liter of old fluid will remain in the CVT.
CVT service is straightforward but certain precautions must be taken.
CVT fluid must be used as opposed to any sort of ATF.

Redline recommends 30k mile CVT OCI or the manufacturer recommended service interval. In the absence of clear guidance from Toyota, we should follow the highly conservative 30k OCI from a synthetic CVT fluid manufacturer. Some members of the Pakwheels Corolla forum have been told by Toyota to follow a 40k km OCI, which is equivalent to a 25k mile OCI. AISIN (the manufacturer of the K313) suggests a change every 2 years or 20k km (12k miles)]

The recommended fluid is Toyota OEM part number 08886-02505. $64 at Toyota Parts Deal.
I am partial to the Redline CVT fluid. Use the Toyota fluid unless you are adventerous.

Replace the gasket. Toyota OEM part number 35168-12091. $8 at Toyota Parts Deal.

ALWAYS open the filler port first.
ALWAYS use CVT fluid.
ALWAYS perfectly level the car. No tilting.

NEVER open the drain plug before the filler port.
NEVER fill the CVT through the transmission air breather hose.
NEVER overfill the CVT.
NEVER overtighten bolts. Finger tight plus 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 a turn. Never more. Larger turns for larger bolts. Smaller turns for smaller bolts. Don't risk over tightening and ruining your transmission. You can always tighten up a tiny leak later.

 

Question which remains:

Is part number 35150B the correct plug for fluid fill?

K313 parts diagram

Photos of part number 35150B are attached to this post.

In Toyota nomenclature, 35150B is known as "PLUG ASSY, TRANSMISSION CASE"

 

Some beautiful pics of damage to the K313 CVT due to lack of maintenance.

 

Another poster pointed to this K410 transmission guide for inspiration

K410 transmission parts diagram

In that guide, the part referred to as the fill point is part number 35133.

This part number is identified in Toyota nomenclature as "PLUG, TRANSMISSION OIL FILLER"

So the question begs is the oil filler bolt for the K313 part number 30400L? See attached photo for K313 diagram.

 

More digging. More scraping. More updates.

It appears as though the specific fill hole used to re-fill the transmission is IRRELEVANT. I'll explain shortly. Based on where the fill bolt is on the K41A CVT, I believe the K313 uses bolt 90341 as the fill bolt. Parts diagram is in my post a few posts back in this thread.

This procedure begins with a cold or warm but not a hot car. Once you remove the oil drain bolt and the associated tube, also known as the "oil filler tube", you can optionally drop the pan and remove whatever is left in there, wipe it down extremely well and remove all traces of dust particles, then replace the pan gasket.

However, you must then re-insert the oil filler tube into the transmission and torque it down (7 inch-pounds force) before doing anything else. Do not plug the drain yet. Add fluid into the transmission with a fill hole. Fill until oil starts to drip out of the oil filler tube. Close drain but do not tighten fully. Add 0.4 L (0.42 US quarts) (0.35 imperial) of CVT fluid. Close the filler but do not tighten fully.

Toyota offers a fluid check mode. You should use it if you can get it to work. You must heat the CVT fluid to between 35 °C (95 °F) and 45 °C (113 °F). There might be a temperature sensor you can read with an OBD2 scanner. Otherwise maybe use an infrared thermometer on the pan.

I use a IR gun to measure the temp; first on the pan as it warms up, then on the ATF as it flows out to make sure it is at recommended temp. This method has been proven to be as accurate as reading the temp sensors via Toyota's Techstream software.

The end goal is to open up the drain hole and have a little bit of fluid trickle out. If nothing comes out the first time, you need to add another 0.4 L of fluid and re-run the test until you open up the drain hole and a end up with a few drops coming out. The test is finished successfully when fluid comes out and slows to a trickle. The fluid must be between 35 °C (95 °F) and 45 °C (113 °F) and the car should be idling during the entire process unless it is too hot. The car should only be on when shifting through gears or warming up the fluid.

The oil filler tube screwed into the pan, proper fluid temperature measurement, and shifting through each gear is absolutely essential for completing this procedure according to Toyota spec.

Hope this helps.

Some more notes from Toyota:

• When adjusting the fluid level, park the vehicle on level ground.
• Longitudinal tilt should be within 1°
• When adding fluid, add the specified amount of fluid while the engine is cold. Then, warm up the engine to circulate the fluid in the transaxle and adjust the fluid level with the engine idling at the specified fluid temperature.
• When adjusting the fluid level, turn off all electrical devices, such as the air conditioning, headlights and electric fan, to reduce electrical load.
• Drain plug torque spec. 1.7 N * m{ 17 kgf * cm , 15 in.* lbf }

 

More digging. More scraping. More updates.

It appears as though the specific fill hole used to re-fill the transmission is IRRELEVANT. I'll explain shortly. Based on where the fill bolt is on the K41A CVT, I believe the K313 uses bolt 90341 as the fill bolt. Parts diagram is in my post a few posts back in this thread.

Hope this helps.

Anybody can confirm if the fill bolt to use is 90341 ?..
I understand it's irrelevant as long as oil goes in there, but I just want to make sure before I open anything.
The plastic plug doesn't seem to easy to take off, it just turns but it doesn't unscrew, so I'm not sure how it comes off.

 

anyone got a price on this from the dealer?

 

You're just going to have to call them up on that issue bud.

 

I found another diagram that labels 90341 as Filler Plug (CVT), so I think this is it.

 

I am 95% sure the vehicle in this video has a K313 transmission and it looks like he uses 90341

What bothers me most about this video is that quite a bit of fluid comes out before the drain tube is removed. If the transmission is properly filled, this shouldn't happen at all.

 

I am 95% sure the vehicle in this video has a K313 transmission and it looks like he uses 90341

What bothers me most about this video is that quite a bit of fluid comes out before the drain tube is removed. If the transmission is properly filled, this shouldn't happen at all. [/url]

Looking at the video, the procedure he used is the exact same procedure for my Tacoma and my previous 2016 Camry. On the Tacoma and Camry procedures a good bit of fluid will drain out if you remove the drain plug with the engine off just like the video. Then more fluid will drain when the check tube is removed (he did not show the tube actually removed).
On the Tacoma and Camry procedures you check the level with the "engine running" and at the required temperature by removing the drain plug and watching for a slow drip. According to the video the previous post by "______a" may be wrong about checking the fluid level with the engine off.
There is a good written procedure on Tacomaworld, 2nd gen forum, about checking the ATF level. If you read through that procedure and watch the video again it will make a lot more sense.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/

 

Basically the factory doesn't want owners to change them at normal intervals. That's the gist I get. In fact, most newer Toyota owner maintenance schedules don't mention anything about fluid swaps for the transmissions.

 

Which is utterly amazing and stupid all at the same time! :headbang:

 

The price of the oil alone ( 4 liters? $64 to $88 +) is going to temper a lot of enthusiasm for doing a fluid change on anything other than an as needed basis.

On the other hand, if the tube is there on all transmissions, you could do a fluid check to make sure the tranny is not over full (only).
Start it up cold, run it thru the gear positions, then pull the plug and nothing but a dribble should come out.

Yes / no???

Nice research by the way ______a

 

If you look at ______a's earlier post, you will see the temperature of the fluid needs to be between 35C and 45C to get an accurate measurement of the level.

 

Got another perspective

 

Shud we just trade in our CVT to get a manual one? Just to get away from this hassle and confusion when it comes to changing the fluid


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

OK, so what if I, used a topside or moeller pump to remove 4 quarts out of the fill hole, then added 4 quarts, when the car is cold for 12 hours. Would the computer notice that and then shut me down or give me an idiot light?
Or what?

 

You must always use the built-in tube to properly level the fluid.

 

You will be fine, but you'll never know if the level is actually where is should be...

You'll just be keeping it at the level you've had since new..!!

That may not be bad IF it WAS full to begin with...

(My 2016 Tacoma was 1 1/2 Liter low from factory)...!!

 

SO have we come up with the conclusion how to really service our CVT Trannys?!

 

Yes, my posts on page 3 of this thread.

 

2 weeks ago after Hurricane Irma I drove over a large catalytic converter that was on the highway. It dented the transmission pan causing a leak.
My mechanic knows his stuff and had no problem refilling the CVT transmission and installing the new pan. My car is currently at 41,200 miles

New Pan: