Automatic Transmission Fluid Service.....To do, or NOT to do?

I flushed mine at 150k miles, no issues 15k miles later and I abuse mine. The trickiest part is getting it filled properly after as low transmission oil will cause issues. A trans temp OBD2 scanner helps immensely. I think some people are too quick to blame a transmission flush as the cause before doing a thorough diagnosis of the problem. A flush at 60k miles is probably safer than a flush after 100k miles. I actually read somewhere where Toyota's recommended interval for a flush was 100k miles for trucks that tow or haul a lot but later changed it to 60k miles. I called a couple dealers about a flush and the first thing they asked is if I use my truck for lots of work. So it was like they knew about the longevity issues of Tacoma A/T's when being used for work and would perform a flush on it if used for that purpose.

 

I had Toyota do a Flush and Fill at 15,000 miles with AMSOIL SS ATF ,done right! Had it done again at 45,000 ,underfilled by 2 qts, fucked up, Drain and Fill 3.2 Qts. always with AMSOIL Blue Cap ATF Signature series.I do My drain and fills only and never dropped the pan ever at every 30,000 miles with AMSOIL SS ATF in Blue cap and Bottles,3.2 Qts every time! Always runs fine! No Gauges,just old School! Change all those Old and dirty fluids every Old School ways,I do Synthetic in Engine every 10,000 miles with premium filters,I do steering fluids every 20,000,rears with synthetic

$30 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 every 20,000,brake fluid with DOT3 Synthetic every 30,000,Coolant Pink Long Life every 30,000,Clean K&N Air Filter every 20-30,000,Spark plugs every 60,000 with Irridium NGK Top Tier Plugs ! Take care of our $30-40,000 trucks and they will last a Million Miles! Mine is a 2013 PreRunner SR5 V6 5 speed AT,Tow Pkg and LS Rears. I started changing over to ALL Synthetics at 5-10,000 miles and now have 75,000 and runs still as if NEW !May be Over done,BUT! Thats my choice,never had to even do Brakes yet,will doo next week Frts and Rears and stiill in Excellent shape and little wear !New Shocks too at this time with Ranchos! Florida PreRunner!

 

I'm all for preventative maintenance but with a hit or miss service like the A/T flush, why take the chance of your truck never running the same again afterwards? I know a few contractors who frequently tow/haul with their 1st gen tacoma's with 200K+ miles on them and never once did a flush. Now I wouldn't exactly go that route, but I do tow/haul my fair share and wouldn't perform a flush every 60K because of it. To each their own I suppose.

 

Are there members on this forum that have gone 200k+ without ever changing atf?

 

Yes. Read this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-at-102-000-miles.132495/page-2#post-13968633