Anyone done this yet on a 2019? Was wondering what technology you used to measure ATF temperature. Also, on another thread, someone said you must depress a sensor (or something like that) to get an accurate level. This is unlike other Toyota sealed transmissions. Can anyone shed light on this odd requirement? Thanks.

PS. Not sure why I am even interested in this because I will probably be too old and feeble to do a drain/fill on my 2020 ES when it will be due, lol.

 

My guess is nobody is near the mileage yet where it would make sense to do a trans fluid swap. I'm at roughly 24K and I suspect that one of the higher ones so far. I won't even consider doing it before 50K or maybe longer.

 

Or maybe never...

 

I've heard some folks say that. Not sure what the answer is but I rarely keep a car beyond 100K miles so I will likely not change it.

 

we would use a Lexus computer called a tech stream to monitor atf temp levels, but yeah no one has reached that mileage 90k- ( 120k) is when we normally suggest to have it drained and fill sealed system. In the owners manual, it says just to check but i would get it replaced when you get closer to the 6 figures.

 

I had 160,000 driving it like I stole it miles on my previous 2010 ES and the 6 speed shifted and worked like new, all with the original transmission fluid.

 

I hear this often which makes me question the value of trans fluid changes.

 

Lots of anecdotal evidence on both sides. Reminds me of the ubiquitous timing belt debates. I drove my Camry hard for 225k miles and never changed the timing belt or the timing belt in my Avalon was 15 years old and I could still see some of the writing on it. Without actual test data you are flying blind. What is the true expected transmission life when WS is never changed vs maintained at essentially factory fill conditions? There will be a range of course. At some point you will hit the heel of the curve and probability of failure increases exponentially. In addition to catastrophic failure, you have to consider performance. I would guess deterioration in performance occurs slowly, maybe imperceptively over time. You may not realize how bad it is until you refresh the fluid. If you will only drive the car 6-7 years it probably does not matter. If you plan to drive it 21 years like I did with my Avalon, you will probably want to keep the WS refreshed.

 

Makes total sense - I rarely keep cars beyond 100K miles or five years so probably not an issue for me.

 

A great read for someone interested in lifetime fluids.

http://bavarianmachine.com/lifetime-isnt-long-think/

 

To correctly set the fluid level on the ES350 8 speed after draining and refilling: With engine idling about 4 minutes after cold engine startup on a 60-75 degree morning, shift from Park to R to D to R to Park then get under car and shine infared temp gun at the perimeter edges of the transmission case drain plug. When gun indicates 95 degrees F remove drain plug and let fluid drain to a trickle then reinstall drain plug. Fluid level is now correct.

 

Fluid is already brownish-red at 30,000 miles on the 8 speeds

 

After considerable research, I conclude the IR gun is not a reliable way to measure ATF temperature inside the pan. Now, you could calibrate an IR gun by making sure you measured the exact same spot on a perfectly clean pan surface and correlated that to actual ATF temperature using ScangageII, TechStream (or equivalent) but why bother if you already have the equipment to measure actual temperature?

 

Multiple youtube tutorials - some by actual dealership techs - show the IR gun reads the same or only 1-2 degrees cooler than the Scangauge II and Techstream. So if the factory manual says to check the fluid level when the Techstream reads 95 degrees F you could start checking it it at 93 or 94 degrees when using an IR gun.

 

Good luck. A little dirt or oil can change emissivity by 100x. Again, if the pan is perfectly clean and you measure at the exact right spot you could be close enough. Most average DIY’ers don't have a clue how an IR gun works. Knowing the actual fluid temperature is too important to leave to chance. The very fact that sometimes the numbers are close and sometimes they are not close enough tells you all should need to know.