ATF replacement

So I have had my 2010 V6 2W Drive for 10 years. It's almost reaching 180K miles. I have never done an ATF flush. I was about to do it, got the gasket, transmission filter, and OEM ATF. I recently got discourage from changing the oil. Not sure if anyone here follows The Car Care Nut, but he was stating that if i haven't changed the AFT after 100k then it is best to leave it alone. That at this point I will accelerate damage to the transmission. I would like to know what is your guy's feedback.

 

If your trans is shifting well with no issues you will be doing it a good service by what you describe (dropping pan, cleaning magnets, replacing filter screen then a full and proper ~11-12 quarts of new fluid).

 

There's a difference between changing the fluid and flushing the transmission.

 

Change it every 60-100 K from now on after this one

 

I wouldn't touch it. You have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. Chances are good you'll get another 100,000-200,000 miles out of the transmission if you just drive it and leave it alone. Changing it won't make it last any longer and could lead to it dying sooner.

If your clutches in the transmission are still in good shape changing the fluid won't hurt anything. If they are worn past a certain point the new fluid is too slippery and the transmission will start to slip and fail within days of changing the fluid. Keeping the old fluid in there buys you time. Maybe a few more years. Since there is no way to know how your transmission looks inside it is best left alone.

There are 2 types of guys. Those who change the fluid religiously, and those like me who never change it. I've been at this for a while and I've never seen any difference in how long the transmission lasts. I've seen them die at 40,000 miles. And I've seen them go 400,000 miles. Some had the fluid changed regularly, some never, but there was no difference in longevity.

Transmissions die early for 3 reasons.

The primary reason is that they are poorly designed. The Tacoma transmission isn't one of those but some vehicles and model years are known to have issues. Some are going to die at around 150,000 miles no matter what you do. Some of the better ones are going to last 400,000 unless they are abused, or the owner just got unlucky and got a rare lemon.

Aggressive driving and/or operating the transmission when it is too hot. Both of those are operator error.

 

For some reason japanese transmissions are cool with high mileage trans services. Accord with 200k and a TC shudder? Trans service fixes it every time. Wouldnt hesitate to service a japanese trans that is dirty.

Source?: I work on japanese cars for a living.

 

Changing the transmission fluid CORRECTLY will not cause a problem.
If a problem shows up afterwards, you already had a problem. You just didn’t know.

I say, drain it, drop it, clean it, and fill it.

 

I disagree. I don't think your take lines up withwhat we know about modern transmissions and ATF. See my response to your post in the other recent ATF change thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/transmission-fluid.796788/page-2#post-28599409

To the OP, Toyota recommends changing it every 60k IIRC. Go ahead and drop the pan, clean the magnets, change the filter, and replace the fluid. I wouldn't really call it a "flush", but there is a good thread here on TW on how to change all ~13qt of fluid. It's not too hard of a job and you can easily do it in your driveway.

 

Okay I'm convinced and would like to check condition of recently purchased 2007 4.0 with 205k and no record of trans service. I'd like to drop pan, change filter and refill. Any recommendations on the filter? Let the filter wars begin!

 

I have Wix ATF filters in most of my transmissions.

For high mileage ATF fluid, replace the filter. Replace the fluid if all you see in the pan is gooey black mush. Don't replace it if you see metallic particles and clutch material. At that point, the metal particles in the fluid is what is keeping your transmission from slipping. Look up the ATF video by ChrisFix.

 

I use Wix filters or NAPA Gold which is same in all my vehicles. I saw a thread where it was mentioned that the Wix filter pick up was ~1" shorter than the Toyota filter. The thread stated it was by design. I can not see where a design change would/should be implemented by a filter company willy nilly, without a lot of engineering review and consulting with Toyota engineers. So I guess the question is is the WIX filter PU indeed 1" shorter?

 

@911monty I didn't notice that when I replaced mine. They looked the same side-by-side but I never measured the installed height difference. The filter body bolts up the same. If anything is shorter it would be the pick up opening. I have almost 100K on mine and have no issues.

 

The transmission filter is just a metal mesh—some here on TW just recommend cleaning the stock filter. That being said, I decided to avoid the hassle and bought this one based off others reviews here on TW and elsewhere:

$20 PG Automatic Transmission Filter PT9931 | Fits 2023-03 Toyota 4Runner, 2016-05 Tacoma, 2014-05 Tundra, 2014-07 FJ Cruiser, 2008-05 Sequoia, 2007-03 Land Cruiser, 2009-03 Lexus GX470, 2007-03 LX470

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M6WH9JR/

Quality was decent and it appeared to be exactly the same as the stock filter; it's been on the truck for ~1.5y and no complaints so far (but given that it's inside the pan, I wouldn't really be able to tell if there was an issue; that being said I'm not expecting any).

 

Thanks! I will put that in the Amazon to do file.

 

I have no idea if the WIX filter pick up is 1" shorter or not, but I will say that you shouldn't assume there was "a lot of engineering review" and/or "consulting with Toyota engineers". As an engineer myself, I've seen plenty of instances, even from big name brand companies, where due diligence hasn't been done when it comes to designing products to interface with OEM equipment. I've never had a problem with WIX and have run their filters before, so it's more just general advice—I trust Toyota QA, but even engineers (and their bosses) screw up from time to time.

 

Exactly the point I was making! I would definitely need to see documentation of extensive testing.

 

use OEM please, tow package makes for easy fluid exchange

 

Not to high Jack the thread. But my truck has 202,000 miles on it and the previous owner never changed the fluid in his time with it. And he has no idea if the first owner did. I checked the fluid and it looks like a cloudy red color and is at the full “hot” mark when it’s cold. It drives fine and shows no signs of an issue. I was gonna do a drain and fill but did not want it to cause any problems. Please advise. Thanks

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/

this has everything and more. I’m 240k no fluid changes. Thinking about it this summer.

 

I saw this post before. But mine is 1998 and was not sure it was the same procedure as this. I saw a video on YouTube for an older Tacoma and it was basically draining it and it then refilling it though the dipstick tube.