Thoughts for your thoughts - 55K Service

Howdy, wanted to share my experience with 55K mile service on my 2016 Taco by SunToyota in Holiday, FL.

The following was done:

• Brake fluid exchange, $170.08
• Rear drum clean/adjust, $66.35
• Tire rotation, $21.35
• Engine oil/filter, $75.97
• Transmission fluid exchange, $115.95 (I supplied the dealer 15qts of Valvoline MaxLife [total cost $208.38 with fluids])

Most of this is standard stuff to do at this mileage. The truck is parked outside and I live in the swamp that is Florida. Moisture is a big problem here, so I decided new brake fluid was in order.

As for the transmission fluid, there is much controversy on this subject. Two local dealerships I called highly discouraged new transmission fluid. This is lunacy! I believe in keeping fresh fluids in a vehicle at all times. Toyota of Tampa Bay quoted $450 using Toyota fluid. Sun Toyota was at $359.

The new transmission fluid only has 20 miles on it at the moment. The truck shifted great before and now, there is no perceptible difference. I chose Valvoline MaxLife because of it's convenience (available locally) and the price ($84.31 for 15qts).

Research led me to a PDF brochure published by Aisin, Toyota's transmission manufacturer. They recommend changing the fluid every 12,500 miles or 2 years. My assumption is that the interval is meant for a drain/fill procedure. Performing a full fluid exchange every 12.5k miles seems excessive, hence the deduction of drain/fill.

No, my transmission has not grenaded, yet! Some will swear that this transmission is sealed and contains a lifetime fluid. Others will say that you should wait until 100K to service transmission. Hogwash. This truck isn't a damn jalopy. It is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment I own and my intention is to keep it in the best condition possible.

Normally I do most maintenance myself. Three weeks ago I sustained second degree burns on my right arm and leg from a fire, so I'm unable to do any mechanic work through the end of the year. When I heal up I'll be doing a transmission drain, pan drop, magnet clean, and filter replacement (probably in December/January).

So far so good with this truck. No major issues. This is my second Tacoma and following my maintenance routine on the first one yielded excellent results. I'll report back to this thread with future services.

Thoughts for your thoughts?

 

i agree on the tranny fluid flush however some here will not.

 

Dude, tire rotation and brake INSPECTION are the only things due at 55k.

That's according to my 2016 SR5 manual.

What's with the brake fluid, oil change (every 10k), trans fluid, and brakes "clean and adjust" ???

Sounds like you got royally ripped. RTFM!!

G.

 

I requested that the dealership do these specific services.

 

I flush my brakes every 2-3 years. Been doing a yearly transmission drain and fill with MaxLife since 40K miles. Just did a power steering flush with MaxLife. I get MaxLife at Walmart online for ~$19 a gallon delivered.

I do my differentials and transfer case at 30k miles intervals. It takes about 5-6 quarts of Mobll1 75-90 you can pick it up for about $6 per qt.

Sorry about the injury.

 

@nikt

Would you mind posting a link to the Aisin PDF? I'd love to read it. Thanks.

 

@JNG

Here is the link to the PDF: http://www.aisinaftermarket.jp/en/products/atf/images/atf_a2_CFEx_AFW+.pdf

It is drafted for a different country, Japan I think.

Bottom left paragraph discusses vehicle manufacturer suggested intervals versus Aisins recommendation.

 

Terrific! Thank you.

Btw, I agree with you that it is not a 'lifetime' fluid and that it should be changed at regular intervals.

 

overkill, drums clean, and adjust? is that a joke? theyre self adjusting.. I really hope you didnt pay $170 for a brake flush.. the fluid is like $9 for a bottle that will do your entire truck.. and it takes maybe 30 minutes with a power flush tool to get it done.. even faster if they suck the fluid out the master cylinder with a turkey baster/vac tool.. tranny flush at 55k? nope.. not necessary..

I think you got ripped off on most of it.. brake fluid is easy to tell.. it should be done every 3 years or so.. but $170 is steep... more like $80.... tranny flush is ok if you are hauling heavy loads (towing a lot, or live in the mountains, but you dont..) you got ripped on a un-needed $200+ fluid change.. there is no adjustment on the rear brakes.. they are self adjusting.. and you could clean them for $4 in brake cleaner, and 10 minutes or less of time..

 

@Scott17818 I agree, the brake flush was overpriced.

The transmission fluid at 55K is a good thing, Toyota WS fluid is not synthetic and does not last. I tow, and frequent Georgia (hunt cabin) and western Virginia (the house on the hill). The truck has seen a good amount of use between towing and light off-roading. Transmissions are sensitive systems. The company that makes the transmission recommends a much more frequent interval than Toyota does. I'm inclined to side with the folks that manufacture the transmission.

Anyhow, the work could have been done cheaper at an independent shop. Or I could have done it and saved a lot more money. But as I stated, due to my injury I am unable to perform any work to the truck. I suppose I could go to harbor freight and buy a jumpsuit, but I'm avoiding excessive heat and sweating until the skin heals more.

I believe in the value for value model. If the value I'm going to receive for a service meets or exceeds the value of the cash I can exchange for it, I will buy. All the work was priced out in advance before it was done, so I knew what I was getting in to.

My last Tacoma was a 2005. I performed the following work to it: full front brake rebuild; brake fluid flush; 1 upper control arm; all new struts and shocks; rear differential fluid; spark plugs; starter; PCV valve; throttle body clean. I let my independent shop handle some fluid exchanges. Unfortunately the shop is closed to outside customers now, as they mainly serviced vehicles that were being sold at their used car lot.

I'm very much looking forward to being able to tool around on my truck again, but I have to wait. Lest I bathe my burns in carcinogenic fluids and debris.

 

Having been a mechanic for years, R&Rd hundreds of transmissions, rebuilt plenty, and being on something like my 10th truck, many of which have been well over 100,000 miles, two of which into the 300k range...change you fluid before it's too late. I don't care what the manufacturer says, at the end of the day clutches still slip and burn up on every vehicle. That's part of the design of the automatic transmission. Those clutches sliding against each other will obviously start to break them down, those deposits get mixed in the fluid. There's a lot of debate about when and how to change transmission fluid, but you'll notice, if you change transmission fluid on a truck with well over 100,000 miles that has never had the fluid exchanged before, some times it'll start shifting terribly. Some people believe that this is because the fluid is more gritty after it's been used that long and it allows the plates to continue to grab each other, while it also wears them down quicker. Seems to make sense to me, and I've seen it first hand, change fluid in an old truck, bam, transmission slipping issues. Just change your fluid while it's clean and not putting added wear on your clutch disks. I just rolled 55,000 miles today and I will be ordering my transmission fluid. I also beat the hell out of my truck. As in... Ripping through the dunes or mud bouncing off the rev-limiter in 4low at like 45mph lol I've also had the truck failsafe shut off on me ~6 times for "transmission over temp" so I'll definitely be changing my fluid and sending it to a lab to make sure it's all good.

 

Most of what you did, including the transmission fluid, just isn’t necessary at 50k miles. I mean it’s not gonna hurt anything, but people are still changing there oil at 3-5 thousand miles, so there is that

 

I listen to Scotty...
I'll be changing mine every 40-50k.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctpVCWjd8b4

 

This guy's videos have always annoyed me lol, no idea why, but he is very correct in every one I've seen, and does offer simple explanations that confirm what I've seen for years in the shop first hand. And it's also nice to see that he's confirming what I learned from so many vehicles and older master techs. Change your fluid while you still can is the philosophy to go with. It's relatively affordable, and easy to do, so why not?

 

Any

Any other person would find themselves confronting lawsuits from these manufacturers .. Scotty is like yea bring it .. he'll prove every point he makes.
Wish he was my neighbor LOL

 

hahaha!! That dude is entertaining for sure.

I understand what he is saying, but 50-60 is not necessary. I personally do mine at 100k miles and every one of my vehicles has had a minimum of 100k on them when I sell them. My M3 had 220k on it and had zero issues.

we’ve talked about it in another thread, but I have a older guy that I grew up with who doesn’t change his transmission fluid at all unless it has been rebuilt at some point. All of his cars are 200k miles +.

I’ve never had an issue with doing this, and my fluid has always come out still pretty darn red like it’s supposed to be.

I do the same with my diff fluid. Every 100k miles, I do a major front to back service and spend the day on my vehicles. It has always worked for me and I’ve never had any issue.

End of the day, it’s your vehicle. I can’t tell you what to do, but I have done a lot of reading on the subject, and I just keep it simple and do it all every 100k miles

 

100% your use case is extreme duty and I agree with the need for the transmission flush.

As soon as I upgraded to my 17' OR (bought with 55K miles) I did the following:
-Clean K&N Engine Air Filter (intake came with the truck, currently looking for an OEM intake, I hate how loud the K&N is and I'm not touching the exhaust, so what's the point? My M.O. is to be fast and quiet.)
-Rear differential drain/fill (self-service
-Transfer case drain/fill (self-service)
-Transmission fluid flush (dealer service)
-Front brake pads & rotor resurface (Ford dealership did this before sale)
-Oil change (Ford put dino oil it in...)
-New tires (stock Goodyear Wranglers, I should have put a bigger tire on it but I was in a rush and had to hit the road)

The ECU update was not done to this thing and I put 3000 highway miles on in the first two weeks of ownership. About 1,000 of those were driven close to 4,000 RPM. So next up is a spark plug change. I have front diff fluid, and will be doing that as well.

I know for sure my latest 17' was rode hard and put away wet. The tires on it were roasted. My 16' was in pretty good shape, but I changed the fluid anyway because I don't know how the previous owner drove that vehicle. Money for sure was wasted on slightly over-servicing my 16', as I ended up trading it in so I could have just not done those services. My current truck should be around for the next ten years. I'm done vehicle swapping, I finally have the one I really wanted.

Transmission service is a contentions subject. Take a look at AISIN's guidance that I posted a link to up above, they manufacture our transmissions, and I believe Toyota own's a piece of the company. They recommend what I understand to be a transmission drain and fill every 12,500 miles.

Forgot to mention the Clazzio's, they are delivered and I'll be installing them after I do the spark plug/diff service. Will post pics.

 

Yeah, my truck is most definitely run hard and beaten badly. In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if I blew this motor before 100,000 miles. This is my first Toyota truck and I know they're supposed to last forever, but I've already collapsed the motor mount and had the truck shut off multiple times for overheating the transmission. I do not go easy on trucks, and the truck that did me the best was my 95 F-150 with a 300 straight 6 and an e4od transmission. For those of you that know fords, that's the same transmission that came in the diesels. That truck started as an airport tug truck, and then ended up on a farm, and then me as a 16 year old got it and started beating the hell out of it. That trucks fluid lasted until I shredded the internals on the torque converter. At which point we did a full rebuild on the transmission and you could definitely tell the clutches were burning up. So on many of my vehicles, because I got them with well over 100,000 miles, I never changed the transmission fluid. So I definitely understand the philosophy of running until you need to rebuild, and I think I would continue to do that if I bought another old truck. It's just that this truck is so new I would rather go ahead and change it for the small cost and inconvenience of doing so just to be proactive. Especially with my truck being beaten so hard. But all honesty it absolutely will not destroy your transmission to change it every 100,000 miles. I just know how hard I beat mine.