2013 Tacoma Transmission Service Dilemma

My 2013 Tacoma has 80K miles on the odometer. I’m just beginning to use it to tow a small travel trailer. I have the V6 with tow package. I stopped by a local Toyota dealer and enquired about a transmission service. I was quoted $500 for the recommended transmission flush. I went to a second Toyota dealership yesterday and was quoted about $400 for just a drain and fill (single) which was their recommended service - they don’t recommend the transmission flush - but sure charge for abbreviated service. Not sure exactly what to do now.

 

If your mechanically inclined check out Tips and Mods, scroll down to "2nd gen How to's" then scroll down to "Draining AT". It's a good tutorial. It's that or just suck it up and get it done. You might check around at independent shops, this is not rocket science. Before I joined TW I had a full fluid replacement done at a stealership. Yeah it was a bite in the ass but I think it was good I had it done. If you do a search on this subject you'll find a great deal of opinions, drain and fill or drain and flush or just run it.

 

If you do the flush, you are good for 60K, per Toyota’s ATF maintenance schedule for severe service. If you do a drain/refill, you are good for 30K. So, the economics say to do the flush. I am surprised about the second dealer offering a drain/refill because Toyota does not recommend that service in their manuals (in modern models). It is an acceptable procedure among ATF mechanics, but it should be done every 30K.

 

Learn how to do the drain and fill. It's easy if you read the thread in here on how to do it. Doing a flush with your mileage might not be a good move as it can loosen up debris inside your tranny and cause issues. Personally I would do a drain and fill multiple times over the course of a weekend and monitor the colour of the oil you drain out,it should get lighter. A drain and fill is 3-4 litres.

 

The mileage is fine for a flush.

 

I did a complete flush and conversion to Valvoline MaxLife at 88,600 miles, which started with a pan drop and a strainer replacement. My truck now has 120,000+ miles on it and I just did a pan drop and strainer replacement, with no flush this time. My truck drives great! I also put in a bottle of Lubeguard Platinum, only for preventative measures. By doing the pan drop before performing the flush you don’t run the potential of recirculating pan trash and you get to inspect the magnets for excessive metal shavings, my magnets looked good. Just my two cents.

 

I had the transmission service listed on the invoice as BG 6600 for $349.99 at my local dealer yesterday. Not sure if there was a flash update or what, but it seems to drive better. Last year I was told that the 40k service this year would possibly recommend to change all fluids but they only recommended the transmission flush.

 

Drain and fill.

dealers are independent franchises not owned by the same person. They do different things and charge different prices.

 

...i had a guy from a reputable local transmission place quote me $72.00 for a drain and fill about 6 months ago.....

 

I have done a full flush and several drain and fills myself. It isn't difficult there are how to threads on here.

 

red flag

you get what you pay for.
Human tech labor solo is $50/hr min.
Shop labor is typically $100-200+hr.
Trans service is at least an hour.

That means best case scenario, if an individual person is doing it themselves at a rate of $50/hr, that leaves $22 on parts cost.
A full kit of parts for this is not $22.

 

...just sharing the call experience, and it is a top, local transmission shop. ...that having been said, 'you get what you pay for' is nonsense, as some of the estimates for the services mentioned above, clearly show.....