Transmission question...

2010 Tacoma TRD SR5 owner here. I’ve read some general transmission stuff on the forum, but didn’t really find the answer to my question.

I’ve got 105000 miles on it and have never done anything to my transmission. What is typical to a “transmission service”? Is it just a fluid change, is there a flush involved? Are those two different services?
Thanks!

 

I do a DYI drain and fill. I drain what’s in the pan (~3 quarts) and fill. I have been doing this since 40k miles, once a year.

There is a more involved service which exchanges all ~11 quarts of fluid in the trans.

There is also a fluid filter or screen in the transmission. Some clean the screen, some replace it, some do nothing.

There are also magnets in the transmission. If you open it up, clean the magnets.

Good luck.

 

My experience (and you'll hear many here) talking to Toyota guys (who work at local dealerships) has been that IF you're going to touch it, do a drain and fill, as mentioned above.

A forceful flush of the entire transmission fluid has oftentimes caused problems with dislodging crud and blocking passages.

I, for one, am 132K into the original fluid and have no plans to touch it.

 

This is what you need to read.


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

 

This..... no need to open the system up if there are no leaks

OR you can perform a HALP!! And get it done that way.

 

Drain and Fill. Wipe off the plugs, use new gaskets on the plugs and fill it while the transmission is at the right temperature. Download the service manual PDF from this site. I do mine every 60k along with rear diff, transfer case. It doesn't hurt a thing to start doing drain/fills at any point in your vehicles life.

 

A lot of the responders seem to have assumed you have an automatic, I always thought the SR5 was the manual transmission. In any case, I can speak to a manual. The only thing you can really do is drain and replace the fluid. I think doing that at least every 60k is a good idea as @DayTripper85 typed. I found my fluid started to go bad after only 15k though. I replaced it just recently and was kind of astounded at how much smoother it shifted.

Ditto on diffs and transfer case.

 

Thanks for everyone’s replies. I like doing my own maintenance as it satisfies my OCD, but I’m gonna let the dealer do this. Sounds easy enough for a drain and fill, but now that I passed the 100K point I want it all flushed and replaced. Zero issues now. Hopefully zero after tomorrow morning. I hope they let me watch and make sure they do it right!

 

It’s not too late to cancel. 5 years ago I bought my 2012 and only had oil change experience. My first projects were changing the differential fluids, installed speed bleeders, then I moved onto the spark plugs, other electrical mods, the transmission flush, radiator flush, and just completed swapping a 3rd gens suspension into mine. Next is the CV axle and a new seal because my boot was broken when I did the suspension.

Point being the transmission really doesn’t require any fancy tool. A torque wrench would be extremely smart but not a must have. All the DIY info is here and we will help you as we can along the way. If you post your location I’m sure a member who is close by would come guide you through it also.

Plus your new, trust me you need to save you “labor” cost for mods.

 

A full fluid exchange cost me $200 at the dealer. I like doing my own work but the cost of 12 litres of WS and the time required made it worth it to me to just have them do it.

Notice I said exchange not flush. The transmissions own pump is what pumps old fluid out and new fluid is sucked in. There's no forceful flushing to "knock debris loose" and fuck up your tranny.

 

I've done a few drain and fills, one diy full flush at about 130k miles where I dropped the pan and replaced the trans filter. All good still now at 176k miles.

 

I would drop the pan, replace the filter/clean the magnets, and do a full +12 quart flush.

 

Hahaha the dealer huh?

On my 2008 PreRunner I threw the dealer a bone and paid them to drain/fill my truck because I was running out of time in preparation for a trip. Well when I got the truck home I noticed the dealer had stripped the fill plug, and installed two washers to "seal" it. So to further inspect it I got the trans temp up to the required temp, opened the over fill plug and a half quart of oil poured out. The dealer not only stripped the pan, they overfilled it.

I took it back, and they replaced the pan for free, and over filled it again.

So no, beyond checking my alignment, or replacing the long block, Fuck a dealer.

Just replaced the head gaskets in my truck, and she is purring like a kitten. No leaks, no stripped bolts, and everything is torqued within specs. You can bet your ass it wouldn't be so if I payed someone to do it. They are just tryin to get the vehicles out the door. I was trying to do my very best, so there's a big difference in execution style, and results.

(Oh wait, it gets better. Took my Taco into Arlington Toyota in Jacksonville to have an alignment. They didn't touch the right side, and fucked up the left so bad that by the time I made it home it fried my left wheel bearing. Yeah, fuck the dealer. don't trust any shop that I can't see into. I like to watch them wrench on my vehicles.).

 

My 07 has 198,000 on the original fluid and I have no plans to replace mine. The transmissions will wear out at about the same time regardless which will be somewhere beyond 400,000 miles unless you overheat the fluid. If you are towing and let the fluid get over about 250 degrees then it is fried and should be replaced regardless of how many miles on it. Otherwise the money spent on changing the fluid every 50,000 miles will pay for 1/2 of the new transmission at 500,000 miles.

 

I'm in the same ball park mileage now - all I am planning to do is a simple drain/refill with Valvoline ATF which has the Toyota WS certification. My transmission otherwise is totally fine and only has a weird downshift behavior (like a shift thud from 4 to 3) in cold temperatures, which only happens maybe once per month if that.

 

I can't add much to the actual work being done....but the "hope they LET me watch" is a problem for me. Don't ask....TELL them if they're going to do the work, and hence make the $200 for a half hour, you ARE going to watch...end of story. Then bring a lawn chair with you. (not joking)

 

if your trans fluid is black don't risk a flush , most of the time just changing what is in the pan seems to be ok , better if you never let the fluid get dark colored , then you can have it flushed if you wanted to but if you keep it changed regularly shouldnt be a need to ever flush it , the only advantage to a flush is that it gets all the fluid out of the converter , otherwise there is no way to drain the converter, older vehicals had converter drains but they have eliminated that option and some of the newer vehicals don't even have a filler tube so check that before you drain the fluid out , or you could end up with a tow to shop to have the fluid put back in with a pressure system.