Nevermind, I jacked up the car and took a peek! No special tool needed.

 

I recently changed my transmission oil for the first time @ 17,000km on me 2004 toyota harrier (RX330)
But I used Castrol ATF+4 in it.
Is this oil good?

 

If a oil meets API standards plus is Toyota approved it is OK. Toyota has to state what API standards they allow & if the lube meets those standards it is OK.No matter what brand!

 

All ATF fluids that are being sold must meet certain quality criteria. As such, it doesn't really matter whether it is Toyota ATF, NAPA ATF, etc.. Teh only difference in fluids would be their longitivity.

From my experience, I would suggest Mobil 1 ATF Synthetic, which will last longer that Toyota ATF while costing about the same.

 

Wow! I could not disagree MORE with this statement. Each transmission manufacturer builds a transmission and specifies what type of ATF goes in there. They are as different as night and day, imo. That is why you have Dextron (types 1, 2, & 3), Mercon, type F and type IV. If all of them are the same and perform the same, then the manufacturer would say to use ATF without any specifcation.

Imo, use the type that your manufacturer requires to ensure that your trans last long and performs as expected. I understand that some ATF manufacturers are now making Type IV available that aren't Toyota products. The back or side of the container will tell you what they are compatible with.

 

Grumpa72,

Thank you, thank you for the heads up. My RX330 really suggests that you do not have to change the ATF fluid, ever. I have 38K miles and, like you, after reading all the comments about transmission problems, decided to change out the fluid. WOW! There should definitely be something in the maintenance procedure about changing this fluid every 30K -- or even sooner. Like you, I intend to do a couple of flushes on this since the fluid is so discolored. And, as you pointed out should not be discolored since it is only transmission fluid and not subject to products of combustion. Just the change in responsiveness and smoothness in the shifting is enough for me to know that I will do this swap about every 20K miles until I see that there is no more discoloration; at which point I will probably back down to a 30K regimen.

A word of warning to those who chose to do this. You should probably get a replacement washer for the drain plug. Mine was on so tight that there were pressure marks on it and it would not reseal correctly. I had to drain the transmission a second time, sand off the ridges on the washer and put the drain plug back in . I will certainly get a new washer the next time I do this.

Other than that, this is a very quick thing to do and well worth the effort. For those who quibble with the $5.35 a quart charge for the Toyota ATF fluid, this is only about $20 bucks a change and not worth the hassle of putting in the wrong fluid.

Bob

 

Drain and fill every 15,000 miles, what I do!

 

ATF+4?? Im weary about that one.

 

RX350: dealer wanted $330 to change the ATF fluid! Said something about having to heat it up and reverse drain....blah blah blah. Is he hosing me or does it really need to be this big complicated event? Said the fluid alone is $22 per quart.

 

I am guessing you have the Toyota World Standard lifetime fluid vice Toyota Type-IV; it is expensive.

I go to an independent that specializes in Toyota/Lexus and when they did a fluid exchange on our 2004 RX330, they used a total of 14 quarts. Total cost was $129, but again, that was using Type-IV not WS.

 

$22 per quart! Wow. Hosing you? No. He is screwing you, imo, on the ATF alone. I went to the Toyota dealer and spent less than $5 per quart for the correct stuff. Did he quote you the container that was 14 carat gold? Holy Cow!

The problem with the method that most of use is that you never really get all of the old ATF out. I drain my pan, add the requisite 4.2 quarts, or whatever, drive the car for 30 miles or so and then drain again. I do this three times, or so, and then call it quits. As you can see, you get most of the old fluid out but not all. It is my understanding that most transmission shops that do a power flush will do this for a fee that is about 1/3 what your dealer is charging. That assumes that you bring the Type IV ATF in. Check around your area for a tranmission shop, ask them if they will/can do it, and the cost. Then ask them what they charge if you provide the ATF.

 

Grumpa72,

Since the OP has the RX350, it might not be Type-IV, it might the newer WS fluid ... it is expensive.

 

Slightly off topic ...

The WS high cost may be the way for Lexus to recover the loss due to few transmissions it replaced.

Salim

 

Ok, then I will reserve my opinion when the OP posts what type of ATF is required. However, $22 per quart means it should be made of "unobtanium".

 

Whatsa OP?