New 2010 4Runner Owner - Transmission question

Hello,

I just bought my first 4 Runner. It's a 2010 SR5 4WD with 135K miles. I took it to a mechanic for an inspection and he said the transmission fluid is very dirty. He's assuming it hasn't ever been changed. I was going to change the filter along with doing a flush so that there isn't any old fluid left. But looking online to see how I would do this, I'm seeing several people saying it isn't necessary.

Would you recommend I replace the filter? Do you have any advice with the process?

Thank you

 

Touch nothing. If you wait 'till the odo has hit 100k miles or miles and the tranny has had a hard life, an oil change will cause slippage. The only exception to this is if you're having tranny issues. In this case, it's a $300 expense to try to resolve the issue with an oil change.
The above was confirmed to me by a high-up from Aamco.

 

The first 5 years it was in southern California and it averaged about 7000 miles a year. The second owner used as a commuter car and was located in northern California. She took it to a speedy oil change place regularly so it looks like all highway miles. It's in very good condition and I didn't notice any problems with the transmission. Are you saying if I change the fluid it's going to cause it to start slipping?

 

BS!

 

Maybe do some searching on FJ or 4runner forums and I would bet there are many who have did maintenance on their transmission at over 100k miles and never had a problem. There isn't many problems with these transmissions, most of the problem is that they shutter once in a while, usually doing a pan drain/fill or a full flush will get rid of this problem. My old 08 FJ which I sold still is going strong at over 200k miles. I do pan drain and fill on my 4runner every year, about every 15k miles, just cheap insurance and I only use Toyota WS transmission oil.

 

I would highly advise against a flush, reason being there is a lot of small lines that the oil runs through and if there’s any gunk you risk clogging them and creating a big issue. Drain the oil, drop the oil pain, change the filter, put new oil in and call it a day.

 

I'll change the filter and replace the fluid that is in the pan. And I will definitely change the transmission fluid routinely. Thank you for the replies.

 

At you mileage, changing only part of the tranny oil is definitely safer than flushing the transmission.Post back with your results. And good luck!

 

The argument against an oil flush isn't because of dislodging gunk. The issue is that the clutch packs become glazed over time. Replacing the original oil (on a high-mileage tranny) with fresh, highly lubricious oil, usually causes clutch pack slippage.
There are those who'll call BS, and then there are those, myself included, who've experienced it personally

 

Changed the fluid today. It was dirty but the viscosity felt similar to clean fluid. The filter didn't even look dirty. The transmission is working fine so far. I'll be keeping up the preventative maintenance for now on. Thank you for all the information.

 

I had the dealer change my tranny fluid at 100,000 miles - as that is what Toyota tells you to do with a new 4 runner. I bought my 2005 4runnr from that same dealer. They drained and filled 5 quarts (on the invoice) and changed the filter. They use the Toyota brand ATF.

I'll do another D/F at 75,000 miles, but apparently the TF can go over 100,000 miles on its tranny fluid without issues.

Some posters on these Toyota forums don't know what they are talking about 1/2 the time. Change it every 20,000 miles and be a big idiot/hero.

 

Drain and Fill is all you are supposed to do with Toyota WS transmission oil only. I had the Toyota dealer that sold me my 2005 SR5 D/F and filter at 100,000. Tranny still shifts without issues and I'm now at 150,000 miles

I will D/R 5 quarts at 190,000 miles (no filter).

Toyota WS transmission oil is synthetic.

A 2005 SR5 transmission holds 13 quarts, so I'm changing 40% of the Toyota WS transmission oil on a D/F.

That what the dealers do.. a 5 quart D/F with filter.

A complete 13-quart oil change (Flush) by machine or otherwise is not recommended by Toyota.

 

...............Meaning that you didn't do a complete oil change, right? *grin*

 

^This

except I would change “usually causes” to “can cause”

 

Most can say that the transmission fluid is lifetime on these transmission and doing general maintenance like a pan drain and fill is a waste of money. So this is my $.02. I will do a drain and fill on my transmission every year at a cost of approximate $50, I usually keep them for about 10 year and 200k miles, so the overall maintenance is $500. If you don't do any maintenance to the tranmission and if it fails within the 10 year or 200k miles, replacement cost is around $4k to $5k! So I will take the chance to do the maintenance on the transmission. Yes I do know it can fail even if I do the maintenance, but it's a lowers percentage that if will fail with the maintenance.

 

So 71, you do your D/F every year. I like your thinking. Do you bother to check the tranny temp, or do you just D and F?
Also. How difficult is for you to fill your tranny? I have a non-serviceable (no dip stick). The fill plug is on the side and hard to get to. Going to watch Fay do her Toyotas on YouTube again, I guess.

 

With owning my 08 FJ for over 10 years, I did check the fluid multiple times with the correct transmission temperature process, after using the following drain fill process. BTW sold my 08 FJ with 200k miles in 4 days. What I did was drain the transmission fluid pan cold, filling it in an empty container and marking the container amount, then using the same container filling it with new Toyota WS transmission fluid to same marked line. Putting the fluid back into the transmission using a clear plastic hose and funnel from the engine compartment into the fill plug, I never had a problem since doing this multiple times. I am now doing the same with my 09 4runner every year.

 

I did a full transmission flush at around 194000 and it absolutely fix a rumble it had. Took my chance and so far so good.

 

A full tranny flush is a "last-resort" remedy if you're having tranny issues. $300 versus $3-4k. No brainer.

 

I concede, oil changes on high-mileage trannies "can" cause slippage. More often than not, but not cast in stone!

 

This is a timely thread. I actually just called my local dealer yesterday to see what a transmission fluid change on my 2013 would cost. The service guy told me that it's a lifetime fluid, so changing it is not necessary. Mine just rolled 104k, I feel like now would be a good time to put fresh fluid in there.

"Lifetime" fluid seems like BS to me.

Anyone plan on just never changing their fluid? I plan on keeping this thing for at least 10 years, and I do 20K a year, so I need it to last to 300K.

 

As I stated, I do a transmission pan drain and fill every year, approximate 3.25 quarts. Here is my old 08 FJ with off-road package, sold it in 4 days in 2009 with 200k miles on it. BTW I got 55% of my money back from my purchase price.

 

It’s true that Toyota designed it to be a lifetime fluid under normal driving conditions. I’m sure that’s not comforting for most of us who are use to fluid changes at certain intervals. As such, there will be a lot of different opinions on the matter.

That being said, I think it’s reasonable to do 100k trans fluid changes. It’s probably what I’ll do. I won’t be doing it any less often unless a good reason pops up.

 

My 2010 Corolla supposedly also has the lifetime oil but Toyota came out with a flush for it after complaints and requests for a procedure to flush it. I went ahead and had it flushed at 92K miles since I had a 10% off coupon at the time. Cost $180. Tranny performs flawlessly at this point a year later.

 

You sure don’t hear of a lot of Corollas and 4runners going through trannies though.

I think a lot of this is just about people feeling better about it, which is fine.