3rd Gen Transmission

Watched the video. Holy shit. Talk about going round your elbow to get to your ass just to check tranny fluid.

 

And if I remember correctly from when I watched this like 6 months ago, my take away was no shop is going to have that specialty, expensive equipment. But hey, just like it was in 1959...

 

My transmission (and presumably yours) has two plugs on the bottom of the pan. One says "check", the other is what? The drain plug?

 

You don't need a drain plug...that's an empty and refill, anyway...A flush would consist of tapping in, oh say at the cooler and pumping fluid through the transmission until all the fluid has been recycled with new fluid...

 

Yes, but the work was done in Sterling, VA where I work...

 

No...I had it reset about 1.5 years ago...that did nothing other than cause me to re-teach the dam thing...This was strictly a fluid replacement...FYI...I have driven the truck over 150 miles now since yesterday and it is getting better as I drive it...all the weird clunking and shifting noises are gone...It works like my old 4Runner now...quite and smooth...

 

What a damn fiasco. Lets see.... a $1.00 dipstick, or $1000 worth of equipment to check the transmission fluid level. What a joke.

 

anyone taken it to the dealer and they refused to check tranny fluid?... I heard some ppl say they insist, and dealer says they will charge if not low, however if they find it low then they will fix. I mean dear god, how long until Toyota admits a transmission flaw on the 3rd gen

 

During the two plus years I've had mine, I've had it to the dealer 4 or 5 times...I asked them to check the trans-fluid level...they said they did it, but, low and behold it looks like they either lied or just didn't do it...now that it is full (by someone I have a lot of trust in)...all issues magically disappear...amazing...

 

wow, you sure are lucky it wasn't low until the very moment you took it to someone else lol. I need to just do the same. Thanks!

 

Not sure if serious lol. Now, I havent actually looked at the 3rd gen, but even if its trans pan was like the one in the video, that red plastic tube can actually taken off with an allen wrench to let the fluid drain past the fill line. Now, if the pan is actually like a 2nd gen, there would be a check plug and a drain plug. Lmao sealed transmission...sure.

 

Is there some reason the dealer should eat the labor if there's no problem with the fluid level?

 

nope. didnt imply that.

 

They shouldn't, but then there is a strong incentive to say the fluid is fine (now pay me $150).

 

Then find a dealer or shop you trust, you're not limited to the dealer you bought it from.

It's not a hard thing to do if you want to be sure of the level.

 

This is no longer possible on the third gens.

The only way to change the transmission fluid in ours is to drain and fill... which of course means you can't change the full 13 quarts at one time, so its no longer possible to "flush" the tranny.

I'm doing a drain and fill on mine every oil change for the next three to effectively change fluid but its not the same as the 2nd gen where you could straight flush the whole thing.

 

no one said its the dealer they bought it from. although all stealerships are about the same.

 

Not if they want to stay in business.

You guys need to put as much "research" into your dealerships as much as you do your truck purchases.

I haven't had any issues with my dealership including properly checking the fluid level manually while I observed (at the date of purchase, level was correct and I compensated the labor to do) or warranty work on a leaking diff that THEY pointed out at the 15k service.

Very few are "stealerships" if they want to stay in business in a competitive market.

 

thats crazy to think every single dealership isnt the same as the one you experienced, huh?... ^^also thats contradictory to what you said previously about them listening to customer complaints: "Until it affects sales, why would they? Sales numbers indicate they're crushing the competition since the 3rd gen debut."... you should work for CNN the way you flip flop and throw your .02 cents

 

Toyota Corporate decides on transmission operation, design and costs, not dealerships. They decide what they're going to put in the truck and as long as people continue to buy them they will not change the design until they either fail or are left sitting on the lots. If a majority of people complain then they MAY change the design but if it doesn't affect sales with the current design, it likely not worth the effort. If the complaints are from a small minority and sales continue to climb, why retool to please a small percentage of owners?

Toyota dealerships are not Toyota Corp, they are franchises and run day to day operations, particularly in the service dept so one may run different from another group. Many are good, some not as good as others so you need to sort the good from the bad. I did, no reason why others can't also.

Next time come better prepared to argue instead of trying to cherry pick and manipulate my statements to fit your limited narrative.