AAMCO Transmission Flush. Good or Bad?

Want to get the tranny fluid flushed in 2008 Tacoma v6. Dealer quotes a $300 fee, AAMCO states $99. Any thoughts on the difference. I had AAMCO rebuild a Ford Tranny many years ago, and everything ran smoothly. But, that is my only experience with them.

 

You need to run a specific type of tranny fluid, don't let them just flush with any old ATF or you'll have issues. That's part of the reason the dealership is more money.

 

Anything other than OEM tranny fluid is a bad idea in my opinion. I would never pay for a trans "flush". Have your dealer replace your fluid.

 

It would depend on what they are using for fluid and how clean their machine is. I had to have the entire internal wire harness in the transmission replaced in my last 05 tacoma and the shop that did it flushed it with a BG brand trans fluid (that is supposedly compatible with WS) afterwards. It was perfectly fine.

 

I personally have had my one and only experience with AAMCO go terribly....I despise the location and the dishonest people that I worked with at my specific location. That has turned me 100% away from AAMCO regardless of hey say from others.

Certain things go to the dealership or do it yourself.

 

If thats an actual FLUSH from the dealership and not a drain/fill, I would see if theres wiggle room, ask if they have any coupons laying around, if they have any specials coming up, ect.

Id def not go anywhere besides the dealership for this myself.

$4k trans vs $300 DEALERSHIP service........................

or

$4K trans vs $99 service from a place that makes money off of rebuilding a trans................................


I think u see where we are going

ask if the dealership will replace the screen/filter for that.

 

aamco...i would not. The autos take WS toyota fluid. I had my old 05 flushed at the dealer for 189$. I would stick with dealer on this one. There is also a few threads for doing it yourself if you have mechanical abilities.

 

Using a flush machine doesnt make any money for the shop . They waste too much new trans fluid while flushing the old stuff out .
When they offer deals on flushes , it gets you in the door hoping you have other issues .
When you have to force the original transmission fluid out using the transmission cooling lines , the shop uses far too much fluid to push out the old stuff . Its simply mixing old with new until the fluid is visibly red . Waste of new fluid and a loss for the shop unless they can find a way around such a waste of fluid . Most shops find a way around this by purchasing a flush machine that only flushes the transmission with the pan and filter removed . Afterall , would you flush a transmission without removing the pan to see whats in the bottom first ?
Find a shop who uses the flushing machine with with the pan and filter removed .
As far as WS fluid goes , I would love to see anything that can justify its better than the fluid thats available off the shelf .
Purchasing aftermarket fluid designed for todays ecm controlled transmissions isnt rocket science and its available off the shelf .

 

I wouldn't go to AAMCO. Especially at $99...For a full flush at (at least) $10/qt x 12-13 qts....you do the math....In fact I'm surprised since they would be setting themselves up for liability issues.

As for the above talking about wasting fluid....I've done a couple of poor man's trans flushes using the 'cooler line' method. Ok fine, you 'might' waste a quart or two. In the big picture, it's not enough to worry about considering the scope of work. And if a shop is doing it, they're going to calculate the extra waste into the price of the flush. In a perfect world....fine...find a shop with that extra special machine..but don't sweat if you can't find one.

 

You need to pin them both down about what they actually do when they flush as it can cause more harm than good. Sadly flush many times does not mean a full flush/W filter change. Here is an article covering some of this.
http://bigseanr.hubpages.com/hub/Consumer-Guide-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Flush-Service

 

Never ever ....

 

Like it was said above its probably not an actual flush, they are probably going to drop your drain pain and refill. I would steer clear, maybe call another dealer if one is nearby see what they quote, or fork over the $$. I would go with the dealer on this one some stuff is better to just take to the dealer and let them handle it.

 

AAMCO is BSing. Toyota WS fluid is $10 a qt. and you need 16 qt. to run full flush. That's $160 already just for fluid.

 

Nothing wrong with drain and fills it just takes special equipment and knowledge to refill unless you measure exactly how much you took out and put the same amount back in. Here is another option. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html

 

Aamco isnt making a penny on the flush .This is a ploy to get you in the door .
They do have buying power when purchasing fluid in bulk and i guarantee they do not use WS but it still will not cover the cost of 12 - 16 quarts of new fluid , the labor involved employing a guy to hook up the machine, remove and replace pan gasket / clean the filter , plus shop supplies and expenses .

http://aamcosocal.com/transmission-repair/transmission-flush.php