PFB

I thought that it may be a good idea to have my local Independent Transmission shop drain and replace the transmission fluid on my 2001 ES300 (75,00Km). The Transmission was running fine and its still running fine. The shop is extremely reputable, so I trusted them fully.

However, it turned out that he used used Dexron III as the replacement (about 4 Liters). I later learned that the Lexus spec calls for T-IV ATF and not for Dexron III. So I went to a Lexus Dealer today, and told him what happened. He drained it for me, and replaced it with the proper Lexus T-IV ATF. However, now I still have an estimated mixture in there of Dexron III (about 30%) and T-IV (about 70%).

I know that a total flash is not a good idea, and can make things worse. So what should I do now? Am I OK with this mixture, or is that potential trouble?

Help!

Thanks

Phil

willhickey

iTrader: (1)

if the shop is reputable ask to see his manual and it may say it takes dex3 i have a 97 camry v6 same moter and tranny correct? it takes dex3 check the dipstick it should say what fluid and so should the owners manual

PFB

The specs for my car definitely calls for T-IV ATF fluid. After the incident, I had E-mailed the Company that supplied the Dexron III ATF Fluid, and told them what happened. Their support guy, e-mailed me right back saying that Dexron III should not have been used in my car, and that it should be removed. That's when I went to Lexus and had them drain and re-fill with the proper ATF fluid, but now I am stuck with that 30% Dexron III and 70% T-IV.

By the way, The dexron ATF fluid used was "MAG1 Premium ATF Fluid (for applications where Dexron III or Mercon is specified)".

Phil

willhickey

iTrader: (1)

dang sorry i just thought they had the same engine tranny i guess just the same engine? thanks

Lexucan

If it was my car I'd tell the transmission shop to do ANOTHER drain and fill after a day or two (at THEIR expense, of course) to further reduce the percentage of Dexron ATF in the tranny.

I have the opposite concern with my ES. It uses Dexron (being a 2nd generation ES) so I always make sure that a "USE DEXRON ATF" notation goes on the work-order when I take my car to the Toyota dealership for a tranny drain and fill. You never know when the tech just might absent-mindedly pour in T-IV fluid cuz that's what he uses 99% of the time.

Maybe the fact that the same generation Camry uses Dexron ATF instead of T-IV fluid led the technician to assume that the ES would use the same stuff.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

It's not going to hurt anything. The T-IV just has a different friction modifier in it to smooth out the shifts. The Dextron 3 slips less, so the shifts are quicker. I wouldn't sweat it too much if I were you. For example, the earlier runs of the same cars from toyota specified Dextron3, but later ones specified T-IV. Same exact engine and transmission, they just specified different fluid.

PFB

Hope you are right. Cause at this point, I am really not sure what to do.

Phil

GoodRevs

+1. Sorry to hear this happened to you Phil. I wouldn't risk any damage to the tranny, have them drain it several times to get the majority of it out. Flushing can cause further issue's, better wait for someone with more knowledge to weigh in on that point. Once a transmission starts slipping or causing problems, you're looking at major bucks to repair/rebuild/replace it. Also, many technicians won't even touch a tranny because of it's complexity, and even the folks that will often aren't as well versed as they ought to be when dealing with the nature of a transmission...i.e. not a situation you want to get yourself into.

97'ES

Yeah the ES went to T-IV in 1999 I believe when the tranny was redisgned slightly so the tranny is actually not exactly the same. I wouldn't worry about it, just do a few drain and fills you'll be all good.

97'ES

also if the fluid was a generic dex/merc its probably T-IV compatible anyway . I've been using valvolines maxlife for 50k and it works fine. Its compatable with both. just fyi.

PFB

Thanks guys for the suggestions and encouragements.

What I now plan on doing, is draining and re-filling twice more over the next 6 months using the T-IV Lexus Fluid. Hope all turns out OK.

I should have looked up the Lexus ATF requirements in the Owner's manual BEFORE having the fluid changed, and not after the fact.

That's an expensive lesson I just learned. ($100.00 Each Fluid change)

Phil

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

that sucks.

But 100$/change?

Dayum dude.

I bought 11 - 1L bottles of Toyota T-IV from toyota for ~60$ taxes in.

I am beginning to think this shop is trying to gouge you for more. Hell the gasket/filter is 25$ IIRC.

MikeLex

Attached is a TSB addressing ATF compatibility for all Toyota/Lexus models.

tomf

Hey I just looked in my 1999 ES300 user's manual. It says Dexron III. Looked on the dipstick and it said T-IV. What's up with that? Thanks

Slooooooow

iTrader: (1)

^this

Trust the Jeff.

I'm gonna guess that a Toyota service tech replaced your dipstick with another/newer dipstick during an oil change (or it was inserted on the assembly line) 1)intentionally due to a "quiet campaign" from Toyota corporate to encourage use of the T-IV or 2) accidentally.