Preventative maintenance: when to replace AT fluid?

Isn’t it your nap time?

 

Is that a one time drain and refill or muliple drains and refills to get most of the fluid?

 

Is that after a drain and refill or a tranny flush?

 

I get a kick out of reading this stuff sometimes. I started working in my first Toyota parts department in 1985 and have been with my current Toyota dealer for the last 16+ years. I've been a parts manager for Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, and Chevrolet. My Chevys I've owned needed to be maintained more frequently than my Toyotas because they all had issues of some type. My Toyotas don't get anything more than the factory recommended intervals. I work with several certified Toyota Master Techs, and unless there are mitigating circumstances involved such as heavy and frequent towing or snow plowing (we're in Michigan), they often laugh at how anal some people are about certain maintenances. Bring your vehicle in and we'll be happy to take your money... if you insist. I see first hand the longevity of these vehicles. Not just the 5 or 6 Toyotas I've owned myself (my first Toyota was a 1982 SR5 "truck" that I drove for 13 years before selling) but 1000s of customer vehicles as well. Your local climate and driving habits may call for a slight modification of your maintenance intervals but for 95% of us the factory recommendations are designed to keep your vehicle running for many years and miles without need for adjustment. We constantly tell people that a Toyota with 100K on it is just getting broken in!
Bottom line: It's your money and time. If you personally feel better changing your ATF every 30K then please just do it. But unless you have some kind of actual PROOF that the factory recommendations aren't good enough, don't judge anyone else for sticking to the book.

Fish

 

Sold my 240K mile Camry in for this Taco. Did one tranny fluid exchange. It was still shifting smoothly and fluid clear at time of sale. Only fails were the Owl Gored cat, a wheel bearing, and a starter. Next vehicle is another Taco.

 

I did it to check the fluid condition. So a one and done. If you want to do a flush you need to break one of the lines.