Hayk

iTrader: (1)

This amused me. I just thought I'd throw that bit of trivia into my response, so I'm glad it helped you out.

ES330MD05

Folks, I am getting all different dipstick readings. Sometimes it seems low sometimes way too high. I am going to do a drain and refill tomorrow anyway so not going to worry too much about it. But I want to fill the right amount this time - 3.7 quarts which is what owner's manual says. Now the confusion I have is, why did my car spit out almost 4 quarts last time. Could it be because it was on ramp and highly tilted? If that is the case, may be I can raise it on jacks just enough for me to unscrew the drain plug instead of putting on ramp which raises the car more than I need to. Thoughts? This is my first fluid DIY (started with first drain and fill last week) and want to get it right so I can continue to do it.

LeX2K

You can remove the drain plug without jacking the car up. If you are having trouble with this, then loosen the plug while the car is on ramps, then drop it back down and drain the fluid. The car MUST be level (engine running of course) when checking the fluid, this should be common sense. Don't concern yourself with how much fluid drains out, that does not help you one bit because you don't know if the level was correct to begin with.

If you have just filled the tranny with fluid, the dipstick tube will be coated in oil and will give false readings, you have to wait about an hour so that the fluid drains down, then you can get an accurate reading. It is VERY important to get the fluid level correct, in my experience the transmission works best when the fluid is exactly right.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

The level of your fluid depends on its temperature. So it's very tricky to get an accurate reading. I would recommend to get a reading after driving the car for more than 10 miles.

ES330MD05

Drain and fill #2.
So before I did another drain, I measured again the fluid I drained first time carefully. Turns out it was not really 4 quarts. It was more like 3.75. Anyways... drained the fluid again after almost a week from first drain. Had driven car only for couple of minutes and idled for about 3-4 minutes before draining. When drained completely it looked like it was about 3.5/3.6 quarts. But put back 3.7 anyways. Drove for around 10 minutes and got the dipstick reading. Still not very clear reading but looks like in hot zone. Tad below it. May be because it was not completely warmed up yet? Will measure again tomorrow after 50 min of my drive to work.

Also, last time I may not have tightened the drain plug enough so there was a very minor leak. So this time I got Torque wrench from Amazon and torqued the drain plug at 36 ft lb. No leak whatsoever. I think good torque wrench is a good investment.

Another thing, the drained fluid looked dirty/brown even this time,. Wasn't as bad as first time but still pretty bad. Whats inside now should be much better.

ES330MD05

I am at a point where I think my trans fluid drain and fill saga will never end. When I got dipstick readings today I saw some small air bubbles on the dipstick. Read it online somewhere that those bubbles indicate overfill. I have done pretty much everything except for going inside the transmission and swimming in the fluid to check the level. If its overfill, is there any easier way to take some of it out than draining through drain bolt?

clunkjunk

You can buy a cheap hand vacuum pump and suck out the excess via the dip stick.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

You're overthinking it. A few bubbles is perfectly normal. If the level on the dipstick is within the full mark, and you only put in the amount that came out, you're fine.

clunkjunk

One thing I have not seen mentioned on this thread is if the computer should be reset. Does it matter? I know with other cars that I have DIYed, resetting the computer allowed it to relearn with the cleaner fluid.

I guess it can't hurt?

hypervish

It's not necessary, but it'll make the re-learn process quicker.

jbl-1985

The Trans fluid levels make absolutely no sense to me. I was banging my head as well...my experience was that when my engine was cold, the trans fluid level was HIGHER than it was when it was hot. So, then what is the purpose of the "Cool" markings on the dipstick as they are far below the hot markings? It would indicate that the fluid level drops when the engine is cool but absolutely not in my case. I plead insanity and just left it alone. My level, when hot, is right at the "Hot" level on the DS and I decided that was good enough for me.

ES330MD05

You are right about cold level. I read the thread about it on either this forum or ToyotaNation. Nobody seem to know why cold level is way higher than hot (I checked twice in the morning as well as few hours after engine was switched off after driving). I plan on doing only one check going forward - drive about 15-20 minutes/miles and check the level while car is parked and engine is running. My transmission fluid level seem to be ok. But this DS reading sure caused headache for me. Lessons learned.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

This is why I am all for electronic fluid level sensors. Although I still want a physical dipstick to be able to remove some fluid for a color and odor inspection.

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

Read the fluid level when the engine is hot and follow the procedure in the manual. If the level is OK on the diptstick, it is OK.

Not to worry.

speedkar9

I changed my transmission fluid yesterday. Just wanted to update this thread with my video illustrating the procedure.

YouTube Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W5OK9XgbNw

Some photos of the procedure:

The transmission dipstick where the fluid is to be checked and filled:



The transmission drain bolt at the bottom of the drain pan, located on the driver side of the car. 10mm hex to remove and drain the fluid.



Draining the fluid. Good time to replace the crush washer. I didn't replace mine, but now its leaking, so off to the dealer I go. Its $3.40!!



My transmission fluid came out quite red, not as dark as those earlier in this thread. The fluid history is unknown, other than I haven't changed it for the almost 2 years I've had the ES330.



I measured roughly 3.5 quarts.



Refilled with Toyota Type IV fluid.



Refill via the transmission dipstick hole. Start with 3.5 quarts and recheck and add fluid later as necessary.



Start the car and shift through all the gears. Allow it to warm up.



Go for a nice test drive, make sure it shifts smoothly.



Double check the transmission fluid when its hot on a level surface with the vehicle in park and engine ON.



Is it just a placebo effect, or does the transmission actually shift smoother with 1/3 new transmission oil?