[dcm0123]

Called Toyota and was quoted about $200 to flush the fluid in my 2012 Camry 2.5L.. Brought it into the dealer who did not want to flush it, instead wanted to drop the pan and change fluid (7 quarts fluid), add 2 magnets and pan gasket which ended up costing almost $400. Person who quoted the original price was from a different location which sets up appointments for the local dealerships.

Got the same spiel previously from the dealer stating this does not need to be done for 100K but I told the dealer I want it done because I expect to drive it 200K. I am at 80K.

After seeing the process on U-tube the dealer now goes through just to check the fluid, I can understand why this is a $400 job. They previously did the flush for about $200. This was before they came out with the ridiculous process to check the fluid level at operating temperatures. Hopefully the engineers can correct the design on future generations. My 2013 Highlander has a dipstick and my 2004 Ford Explorer has a tube in the pan just like the Camry but temperature compensation of the fluid level is not needed.

 

[Blackness]

.. Brought it into the dealer ....

Not to bring you out of your dreambubble, but... you only take anything to dealer if you only aim is to get screwed... and engineers wont 'correct' the fluid reading procedure... its done that way on purpose... its called 'planned obsolescence'...

Drop your pan and drain/fill your own fluid at 60k intervals...

 

[Esoteric Image]

And just because they drain it, doesnt mean theyre going to road test it to get all of the old fluid out of the solenoids and let the new fluid in, then drain that, then do the proper re-fill.

 

[dcm0123]

And just because they drain it, doesn't mean they're going to road test it to get all of the old fluid out of the solenoids and let the new fluid in, then drain that, then do the proper re-fill.

I have always done my own repairs and maintenance (except alignments and tires) but do not do anything while under warranty so there is no question if there is a problem. We have the 125K mile warranty on the converter which they provided to all the Camry owners. If the converter grenades the rest of the transmission, hope this will be covered as well.

 

[Esoteric Image]

Who cares if they warranty it.. if it takes a shit right after the warranty ends, now what do you do?



Every transmission must have fluid changes for longevity. Toyota didnt engineer some miracle fluid that doesnt need changing. Nor did they engineer some miracle solenoids or clutch packs.. Contamination is still there.



If you plan on keeping the car, then do the 50-60K PROPER fluid change.


EDIT: 200 bucks every 50k is nothing compared to replacing a inferior transmission.

 

[dcm0123]

It was changed by dealer at about 40K then 80K and will continue to do about every 36K. Unfortunately now it is $400, not $200 to have them change it. They told me they have to now drop the pan and this is what it costs if I want it done. They would also clean the screen and add the magnets. They would not flush it using conventional equipment for $200

In my opinion still cheap insurance but will be doing myself when out of warranty.

 

[Blackness]

I have always done my own repairs and maintenance (except alignments and tires)....

You CAN do your OWN alignment and tires yourself -- it is UBER EASY to do... you can do it!
The first thing to remember is that all the 'fancy tirechanging and alignment machines and balancing machines' only exist to help mechanics who have to do ALOT in one day (high rate)... those machines are NOT necessary to do a proper job... they just ease the physical stress from the operator....

SO when you are bored one day, tackle mounting and balancing your own tires, and/or your alignments... don't fall for the myth of fancy computers being necessary... it all works of the principle of water finding it's own level... you can do it!:smile:



..

 

[Blackness]

Who cares if they warranty it.. if it takes a shit right after the warranty ends, now what do you do?



Every transmission must have fluid changes for longevity. Toyota didnt engineer some miracle fluid that doesnt need changing. Nor did they engineer some miracle solenoids or clutch packs.. Contamination is still there.



If you plan on keeping the car, then do the 50-60K PROPER fluid change.


EDIT: 200 bucks every 50k is nothing compared to replacing a inferior transmission.

Spot on... furthemore engineers design components to break just outside of the warranty window with 'dealer recommended' maintenance... cars have been around long enough for everyone to know that you change the oil every 3k-7k, the tranny fluid every 40k-60k, pcv valve every 30k, belts every 60k and so forth... unless there is some drastic change in the design of theise components (and there's not) then using trandional maintenance practices with some basic common sense is all you need...

dealers on these 'sealed transmission' recommending 'no fluid drains'... lol.... I can see the poop-show now when the warranty ends on those... its a slient war people... gotta use your own head.. otheriwse you get screwed... dog eat dog out there... never will change... 0

 

[Blackness]

It was changed by dealer at about 40K then 80K and will continue to do about every 36K. Unfortunately now it is $400, not $200 to have them change it. They told me they have to now drop the pan and this is what it costs if I want it done. They would also clean the screen and add the magnets. They would not flush it using conventional equipment for $200

In my opinion still cheap insurance but will be doing myself when out of warranty.

Go to a LOCAL, non-corporate meachanic and have him drain the fluid... the price will be closer to $200... ask your neighbors for who is good/trusted/reputable... dropping the pan to drain tranny fluid is hella common on nearly all cars since the 1940's.....:laugh:... so there's nothing 'odd' about the job..


..

 

[denzyota]

I have always done my own repairs and maintenance (except alignments and tires) but do not do anything while under warranty so there is no question if there is a problem. We have the 125K mile warranty on the converter which they provided to all the Camry owners. If the converter grenades the rest of the transmission, hope this will be covered as well.

I believe it's 8 years or 150,000 miles.

 

[denzyota]

You CAN do your OWN alignment and tires yourself -- it is UBER EASY to do... you can do it!
The first thing to remember is that all the 'fancy tirechanging and alignment machines and balancing machines' only exist to help mechanics who have to do ALOT in one day (high rate)... those machines are NOT necessary to do a proper job... they just ease the physical stress from the operator....

SO when you are bored one day, tackle mounting and balancing your own tires, and/or your alignments... don't fall for the myth of fancy computers being necessary... it all works of the principle of water finding it's own level... you can do it!:smile:



..

Could you please explain in detail how I can mount and balance tires, and perform an alignment in my home garage. Or perhaps you could post an instructional video of you doing these things. Thanks in advance.

 

[BUFFO]

dropping the pan to drain tranny fluid is hella common on nearly all cars since the 1940's.....:laugh:... so there's nothing 'odd' about the job...

Really? I've drained tranny fluid over the years on diff brands & didn't have to drop pan to drain fluid? In my real early younger (& broke) DIY days I removed tires from wheels, didn't have right breaker tools (at the time) so just drove my other vehicle over tire to break bead..yeah, real hi tech stuff. :wink:

About tire balancing...used manual one (antique today) where u place tire on top of stand & while rotating tire by hand you watched bubble indicating where to put weights..yeah, more hi tech stuff. Never figured out DIY front end alignment so left that to others.

FWIW...my DIY days are about over. Why..ole age creeping up, but now I can now afford to pay someone else, so now inquiring around who to use. Do know sloppy work is alive & well at my local dealer. 2nd o. chg...pan bolt leaking oil. Long story short.gave um another chance after talking with SA. Also know same with other pvt shops I used (diff. vehicle) All the reasons (as much as u can) for DIY if one is really interested, capable & saving a few $. Just remember if u screw up u only have one person to yell at. I know about that. :wink:

 

[01lexpl]

200$ for 15mins of work, and ~45$ in fluids?

LOL

Go to an independent. I'm not going to post the same reply I do in every thread, but there's a really easy way to do it, that my mech has done to many, many vehicles with these sealed units, going back to the original sealed ones [~2004 Lexus LS' series]

 

[Esoteric Image]

Mounting and balancing is quite laborish, requires a bubble balancer and even then its not spot on.


alignments require a sting placed into the groove of the tire with a pointer weight. (like fishing tackle) then you measure the front of the tire and rear of the tire for toe.


Whole thing is a pain in the ass. Id rather watch jerry springer in the waiting room than have to go thru all that BS needed. Especially crawling under the car to turn the end links

 

[dcm0123]

Mounting tires- gone as far as putting a 2 by 6 against the tire and driving my other car on it to break the bead. Decided for $15 I will let the people with the right tools do it.

Balancing- never tried

Alignment done by eyesight- if you look down the side of the tire sighting the rear tire in the distance, the front and rear sidewalls on the front tire should line up with the sidewall of the rear tire. Have done this to bring it in close enough after replacing parts then brought to a tire dealer for a proper alignment.

 

[sethr]

One dealer gave me the "no need " kabuki dance. When I balked, a drain-and-fill was quoted as $300. No pan drop.
Then she gave me, That's only 4 quarts so it won't do you any good."
I gave her, "Thanks for showing what you don't know about transmissions."

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

 

[dcm0123]

One dealer gave me the "no need " kabuki dance. When I balked, a drain-and-fill was quoted as $300. No pan drop.
Then she gave me, That's only 4 quarts so it won't do you any good."
I gave her, "Thanks for showing what you don't know about transmissions."

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

If you ever watched the new procedure on You Tube with all the fancy equipment Toyota has issued you know how complex it is.
Only reason I can think they would refuse our money is they do not want to do it wrong and ruin our transmission.

 

[Blackness]

Could you please explain in detail how I can mount and balance tires, and perform an alignment in my home garage. Or perhaps you could post an instructional video of you doing these things. Thanks in advance.

I mount my own tires on a manal tire changer... same way its been done since forever... you dont even need that you can just use tire irons to dismount and mount...

^ This is a manual tire changer... they are sold everywhere including harbor Freight for like $80 bucks or something..perhaps less... it breaks the bead, and takes the tire on and off...

^ This machine is called a 'bubble balancer' or 'bullseye balancer' - it's how you balance your wheels.... been around since forever, it WORKS dispite any claim otherwise and is PERFECTLY ACCURATE if used correctly... and costs all of $80 at HF or online...


As far as alignments - on modern cars this shouldnt even be needed if you mark everything when you take it apart.. index any alignment cam-bolts before you take things apart and it will go back into alignment just fine... IF you need to align things simply use a combo of strings, squares and levels:

You can do ALL of these things yourself... the industry tire-machines, balancers, and alignment machines are meant for INDUSTRIAL VOLUME and not accuracy... the 'manual methods' listed above work just fine, if not better -- but like anything in life, if you havent done it before you mystify and complicate it in your mind and think its too complex... the same way how many 'mechanics' will not rebuild an automatic transmission or do any body-work... it's not that they can't do it, it's that they REFUSE TO EVEN TRY...

 

[Blackness]

Really? I've drained tranny fluid over the years on diff brands & didn't have to drop pan to drain fluid?

it is common the vast MANY of cars in the past 100 years to have to remove the automatic-tranny oil pan (all those little bolts) to drain the fluid... there is typially no 'drain plug'.. the entire pan has to come off to do a drain... SOME cars have a drain plug...MANY do NOT... makes a big mess when the whole pan gots to come off..

 

[Blackness]

If you ever watched the new procedure on You Tube with all the fancy equipment Toyota has issued you know how complex it is.
Only reason I can think they would refuse our money is they do not want to do it wrong and ruin our transmission.

"Fancy equipment"? Just drop the pan and refill it, the same as any auto tranny of the past 70 years... its just a hunk of metal and rubber, its not the Starship Enterprise...:laugh:



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