What did my dealer do?

Back in March 2018 I was changing my oil in mu 2016 Tacoma and I accidentally pulled the tranny plug.

I had my Tacoma towed to the dealer. Did they flush my transmission or just replace the lost fluid? They charged me 200 dollars.

anyway, I have 114,000 miles on the odometer now and that’s the last time the tranny fluid was flushed or topped up or whatever the dealer did back in 2018.

since I’ve been so long without changing the transmission fluid, should I flush completely or replace 4 quarts like most people are doing?

I’m kinda worried to do anything at all because I saw this video today. He’s saying you should change it regularly, but if you wait too long to do it it’s best to not do it at all.

Also, my transmission has zero issues.

thanks !!

https://youtu.be/yUfOdsZLoCs?si=a9nKHGPYbkWycRzt

 

do you have a copy of the service record? they should have it on file if you do not have a copy.

my guess is they just filled it and did not flush it.

 

I’ll call and ask.
200 dollars though? Just to fill it ?

 

200 dollars isn't that much. Probably around 1 hour's labor and some qts of fluid

Don't listen to scotty, he's a dinosaur

 

hahahaha

 

I think the change interval is 60-100k so you’re not even much past that, the dealer is pretty expensive $200 isn’t out of line

 

oh ok. I’ll just drain 4 quarts and refill every other oil change or something.

 

There is no change interval. Transmission fluid is "lifetime".

 

Unknown. Some people can't sleep at night unless they treat all customers equitably, others can't pay the bills unless they upcharge the ignorant.


Honestly transmissions are a non concern item. It's a rare day that they break just because of dirty fluid. And if you're heating it enough to cook the fluid, you're probably cooking other parts too.

I'd just do a drain and fill, and then put it back on the regular maintenance schedule.

 

Considering it’s a “sealed” unit and your past history, if you’re planning to exchange the fluid, I would pay them again to do it

 

60k if you tow. 100k if you're light duty. This is one of the very few passenger vehicles that do actually list trans and diff intervals in the owners book.

But as I said before, it's debatable.

 

I did the same thing about 7 or 8 years ago (because I wasnt used to crawling under from the side) and had it towed to a local shop and the mechanic charged me about $140 just to fill it.

 

lol yeah my excuse is that I was very drunk. I even made a thread about it asking for help.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/drained-transmission-fluid-by-accident.572624/

 

many techs and “lifetime” owners strongly disagree with that. 60k seems fair

not much to debate, some are filled low from factory. You don’t know what the level is, what it looks like , unless you change it right?

 

I think Toyota and other manufacturers think lifetime is 100,000, then you buy a new truck.

 

yes, misleading.

 

are you drunk or acting drunk right now ? ok if your not drunk please change it asap

 

"Lifetime" is marketing BS. It typically means the average time someone owns that vehicle. Oils will always need changed if you want something to last. 60k or 100k intervals for this truck depending on use.

 

how am I acting drunk?

 

thanks for the info. How often should I do a drain and fill? Every oil change or every other?