2007 Tranny - Flush vs. Change

Hey all...looking for input. I have a 2007 Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off-Road with the 5-speed automatic. It has 115,000 miles and has never had the fluid changed...mostly because my service manual doesn't say anything about it. Everyone I talk to says it is a sealed system and is maintenance free for life...I say bologna.

My wife and I are getting ready to buy an RV and will be towing it 3-5 times a year and for whatever reason it made me think about getting the tranny fluid replaced. When I called the local shop that I use, they said they did not recommend flushing any vehicle with more than 100,000 miles. Plus if they did it, I had to use their stuff (they use the BG kit and fluid-I'm an AMSOIL guy). This seemed odd to me, so I called Toyota and the first dealership said it was supposed to be done every 60,000 miles and they would do it for $289. I read my service manual again and it says nothing about changing fluid at 60,000 UNLESS it was under severe service, which definitely isn't me...yet. I called a second dealership and they recommended it be done at 100,000 miles and explained the flush machine they used ran under power generated by the truck so as to not over-pressurize anything. They wanted $240 to do it. Having received three different stories, I called the local Aamco shop for fun and they advised against a flush also and recommended I just drop the pan, change the filter, and replace the 3-4qts found there. They said with a vehicle having more than 100,000 miles, it is not worth the risk of forcing fluid through the tranny and possibly dislodging something in the torque converter and risking the equivalent of a "stroke" for the transmission. This made sense to me, but I still wonder why I would get 3 stories from 4 service departments.

Any thoughts or ideas? Right now, I'm leaning toward dropping the pan, changing the filter, and replacing the fluid. I figure after a few changes, I"ll have exchanged all the fluid anyway.

 

Drain and refill will be fine. There are youtube videos and write ups. About 3 quarts drain out, pump in 3 till it barely starts running out the fill hole and then button it up. Then I would change every 30-35k after that.

 

Don't flush with mileage like that unless you know the history. Toyota use to say flush at 100k on these autos and use Toyota type WS fluid only. I think the flush has since Changed to 60k from Toyota. Me personally, a drain and refill every 30k is what I would do if I owned an auto. I have the 6spd manual and I change my oil every 30k. On my 2005 dclb I used to own, I took to Toyota dealer at 100k and they did a flush, but it was $180. and I always felt my transmission felt different afterwards. Never broke down though.

 

Got some info here http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...hift-kit-shift-recalibration-kit-2nd-gen.html

 

I talked to a tech at the dealership and he said 100,000

 

I did the full flush at 80k, have 121k now and haven't had any problems
took 14qts to do