edvinas

Hi everyone,

Just got an '06 GX with 140k miles and wanted to do transmission fluid change because I have no idea when (if ever) it was done last. I saw other threads about this but couldn't find the answer I was looking for - what is the approximate amount on the final fill? Mine required more than the initial drain. Here's what I did (the vehicle was on level ground):

Initial drain -- 2.5 qt (was brown so I drained/refilled a 5 times)
Refill with overflow tube open -- 2 qt
Drain #1-5 -- 1.8 qt
Fill #1-5 --1.8 qt

After fill #5, I warmed up the transmission oil to 114-117 F (I used Autel scanner for live data and it had 2 readings for trans oil so that's why the range; had to idle for ~40 minutes because it was 30 F in my garage), opened the overflow tube, no drip. Turned off the car, added 0.4 qt more, started it up, waited about a minute (had to go through the menus on the scanner again to see the oil temp), opened the overflow, still nothing. Added 0.4 qt two more times until it finally started running out of the overflow (about 0.3 qt drained), waited for it to slow to a trickle, and then closed it up. So in total, on the final fill, I added about 2.7 qts (1.8 qt on fill + 1.2 qt additional - 0.3 qt draining out of overfill). So my question is - does that sound about right for the final fill? With fluid being warm (thus expanding), I would have thought it would be dripping out of overflow tube on the first check, but instead I had to add 0.4 qts x 3 times to get it going which seems odd. The only thing I can think of is that when you do the final check, it's with the car running, so maybe less fluid is in the pan vs. when the engine is turned off like on the initial drain?

Any feedback from those of you who have done it would be great. Also, I'm attaching the PDF for the job I followed (it's from Chilton's but I think it's a Toyota/Lexus reprint).

LoneHiker

You should only ever check or drain fluid from the overflow tube with the engine running. If you drain it with the engine turned off, you will drain way too much fluid. It might not be good for the transmission to be warmed up with such a low fluid level, hopefully you didn't hurt anything.

So the answer to your question is that yes there is less fluid in the pan when the engine is running, and that's the only time the overflow plug should be removed for checking the level.

edvinas

Yes, when I checked fluid level via overflow tube, the engine was running; when I drained the fluid, I did it via the drain plug and the engine was off. Am I missing something? But my main concerns with my change are these:

1. some people say add exact amount of fluid that you drain, but you drain fluid when it's cool/cold and engine is off so you won't be able to add the same amount when you do the final fill and level with the engine running and fluid being up to temp (in my case, I had to add more as 2.5 qts that I initially drained was too low for final fill) - I think your answer addresses this part
2. it's a bit strange that I had to add 0.4 qts three times to get it flowing out of overflow tube after the final fill with the fluid up to temp and engine running - if this is common (and that's the key question) then why isn't the manual saying to add 1 or 1.2 qts from the get go if no fluid comes out after the final fill?

I did look in the owner's manual and it says "ATF fluid capacity drain and refill - up to 3.0L (3.2 qt)" so I think I'm good since I didn't go over it, but I was interested to see what amount other people added on their final fill/level check and how much they drained initially.

NTH

From what you've described, you are fine. Everything has an acceptable range. If you had a dipstick, there's an upper and lower range. No fluid in any car that I've seen has to be exactly perfect or it'll fail. Just drive and observe over the next several days.

edvinas

Alright, will do. Thanks NTH

yackowski

That sounds about right to me. I didn't get more than a few ounces out of the overflow when I used the OBDII method and went into temp check mode. I swapped out the fluid 1:1 in various quantities cold thru the transmission cooler line. 12 new in all. I got exactly 1 gallon out on the initial drain.

Cole