dsigala

Recently after working on my ES300, I notice that I hadn't tackled the transmission fluid area. I purchased the about 2 years ago with 190000 miles (it has 210000 miles), I have no prior record of when it had work done. I called Goodyear a local place that has helped me out with some car maintenance, and I asked how much a transmission fluid change was; they said that they didn't provide a change, just a flush. Then he asked when the last time my fluid was changed, I had no idea. He asked if the fluid was dark red/pink that I could possibly do a flush but that is was risky and if it was black/dark brown that I shouldn't do it because it could ruin my transmission. Also said that the fluid had to be changed every 60000 miles.

My dilemma: my ATF is brown, I have no record of when it was last changed/flushed. I was told by Goodyear to not flush it if was brown. Is to correct, or is that just for flushes; do I need to go ahead and change it(filter, oil pan, etc.)?

crwys

There is a lot of debate on transmission fluid change for these cars.

I would change the filter if you don't know when its been changed.

Then do a drain and refill every 4k miles or so.

jenga

I did a drain and fill. Use Valvoline Max life 4 qt jug. I think I used about 3.75 quarts

samsonn25

Its hogwash when they say not to change the fluid if it is dirty or worn (the non red/pink) color.

The reason it is this color is because the fluid is dirty/worn/lost its lubricating capacity.

However changing it or adding additives may loosen some of the grime inside and cause a blockage of the passage ways, this is what they are concerned about.

Grime can loosen up over time with more regular changes but more important is to have a good clean filter that can trap the particles. If there is a magnet in the pan that should be cleaned of the attracted metal also.

If the car is shifting fine you are not in trouble yet.

dsigala

The ATF is very watery and brown. And I'm having trouble reading the dipstick. As far as the shifting goes it's doing well, no slips or hard shifts.

Should I go ahead and drain it/change the filter? This car has 210000 miles and m not aware when the last ATF change/flush was.

Chocolate

I would do the drain and fill. Did mine for the very first time at ~105K - the fluid was dark brown and heavily contaminated. I also changed the transmission filter - however the filter is so small that you don't really need to do this. The replacement T-IV is cherry red, fresh, and will perform better and ultimately help keep the car in order longer.

funcrusher

I have heard of pei

funcrusher

I have heard of people NEVER touching it in cars that are up there in mileage. I dont know, its like theres no concrete answer for that fluid. Mechanics all say diff things.

ES300NZ

The fluids in a car are what is called a 'consumable', so are brake pads btw, it is very difficult to understand a situation where replacing fluids would ever be considered a bad thing,

the view that a transmission will fail if the fluid is changed due to some speculation about unknown conditions inside of it is tantamount to writing off that transmission, and in an older high mileage car, the car as well should be uneconomical to repair.

BDSL

Do a drain and fill. And if you are still concern, do another drain and fill after xxxxx miles.
This topic has been discussed many many times.
Make sure you sure the correct fluid as specified in your owner's manual...should be Toyota IV or Dexron.

dsigala

Do you guys know how many qts I'll need to put back if I drain it. The reason I ask is because when I look at the dipstick am unable to get an accurate level(at one point it seems like my ATF is overfilled..).

LeX2K

The same amount you took out.

A drain is about 2.5 liters maybe a bit less depending on how long you wait. If you just filled the tranny with fluid there will be ATF all over the dipstick tube making it impossible to get a reading you'll need to wait a few hours then try again.

cephas

Not sure I would do a flush since I believe it involves forcing the fluid out and not changing the filter (I could be wrong).

I'm @ 238k miles and have been experiencing harder downshifts and really long delays to shift into 4th on a "cold" start. Some delay is normal, but these were getting to be 10 minutes of highway driving with a hard upshift into 4th at the end.

Took it to a trans shop, they dropped the pan, changed all the fluid and changed the filter. They noted some sludge which seemed normal for the mileage, but no excessive metal shavings (thankfully).

With the new filter and fluids, the car is back to shifting like a Lexus. You could do a drain and fill, I tend to do them about once every 1.5 years, but after all these miles, I feel better having dropped the pan and changed the filter. I think it was long overdue in my case.

After this, I plan to go back to a drain and fill every 1.5 years or so.

LeX2K

The term flush means the transmission is hooked to a machine and fluid is forced through. Some have claimed this will somehow damage the transmission, either by dislodging built up gunk or damaging the seals, or both. I don't know if this is true or not but I've never read about anyone that had a tranny damaged from a flush just 2nd hand stories of such.

The simplest way to do a fluid exchange is to remove the return line from the radiator and run the engine, this quickly pumps out all the fluid. The critique of this method is you do run the tranny out of oil but it is only for a few seconds and there will still be oil coating the parts the internals don't suddenly go completely dry. I have never had an issue using this method myself.

Chocolate

I'll also add that when I did my drain and fill, I used an entire case of T-IV (12 quarts) from a Toyota dealer on eBay. It was around 53 dollars.

I did several drain and fills to make sure that most of the fluid will be fresh.