120k mi on original transmission fluid - what now?

The reason why shops hate doing trans fluid changes is because most people wait until they have an issue and then go and try and change the fluid thinking it will solve issues . Instead of solving issues it causes more . But on the other hand if your tranny is in good shape , and you have 200 k miles do a drain and refill and you will be fine. Cleaning the gunk on the bottom of the pan is always a a good idea
Remember…. A trans does not produce any combustion residue . So the fluid ( unless you heat it up bad)
Should stay good for a long while . But you do get clutch material floating in the fluid which is why it’s not a bad idea to change it

 

Mine was at 150k with a drain and refill done at 70k. I had a dealer do a full flush, costed me a pretty penny but shifts so much better now. No problems whatsoever.

 

Toyota/Lexus recommends an ATF flush in their non-hybrid automatics every 60K if your driving qualifys you for special operating conditions, aka severe duty driving - towing, off-roading, commercial use, etc … ATF accumulates moisture and other contaminants. The idea behind a flush or drain/refill is to eliminate such contaminated fluid as the source of transmission failure. It is cheap insurance. The only time you dont want to replace dirty fluid it is when it is contaminated with clutch material to such an extent that removing that dirty fluid will cause the transmission to slip. This can happen in high mileage transmissions. So, it is a good idea to drop the pan to look for metal pieces on the magnets. You can also get the ATF fluid analyzed.

 

I tried talking to my local dealership to do it and told me no, I was at 60k miles

 

Now that it's been about 4 days, the transmission maybe seems to shift a little smoother, but unless it's placebo the improvement is marginal. I still notice some infrequent "shuttering" between gears (happened maybe 2 times in the last 4 days) but that might just be due to my driving style? If anything, it doesn't feel any worse than it was, which is good. I'll continue to pay attention to how she shifts and I'm aiming to do a drain and fill in about 24k mi (at 150k mi). I think some Lubeguard Platinum may also be good to add unless it's not recommended for any reason?

 

I would leave it alone for a little while now . These transmissions are very stout. The programming may be weird but the mechanical stuff is good ( vey old design ) but good.

 

I need to get around to doing this too. I’m at 145k and I’m pretty sure the fluid was done at some point in the past by the last owner. My truck isn’t driven hard so hopefully I’m good

 

Last time I let dealer change transmission fluid they shorted me 3 quarts, & that’s even after taking it back once for shifting problems. I’ll use local transmission guru from now on.

 

Yikes, sounds like your dealership needs better employees. My post wasn’t advocating for the stealership it was simply to say I had mine flushed and it improved shifting.

 

I was told they fired that employee.

 

I’ve had this question for a while, I have a used 2012 taco. Looking on carfax care I don’t see any history of a tranny flush or fluid change. She is at 230K miles, my question is do I keep riding it or get it drained even though it could potentially be its first time being drained?

 

Did a full 12qt maxlife flush w/ new AT filter and gasket at 190k miles on a 2015 Tundra that didn't have any prior AT service according to a very detailed Carfax (Tundra was serviced every 5k miles for it's 9 yrs prior to my taking the keys). AT shifts great w/ solid up and down shifts at the proper shift points. I wouldn't do a pressure flush, but a regular flush through the cooling lines w/ a gravity fill is easy and shouldn't create loose debris that a pressure flush could.

 

You would do a drain and fill or a complete flush?

 

At the minimum I'd do a pan drop & clean, new filter/gasket (WIX is a good one at rockauto.com) and a drain & fill, then do drain & fills ever 30k thereafter if you don't want to flush the full amount at once.

 

lol, what special way was I referring to? Nothing complicated or special here, about as simple as it gets IMO.