3rd Gen Transmission Fluid level Check

Awesome, I'm gonna take this to my dealership and show them this. I also called Toyota Corpoate and opened a case about the delay from reverse to drive. I urge others to call Toyota and do the same.

 

Check your Trans fluid level yourself. I added a quart when it was cold and lubed the drive lines while I was under it. Did the jumper trick and let it warm up. While it was idling, I pulled the jumper. Once it hit 95 and the "D" came on, I pulled the "Check" plug and let the excess run out (2-4 oz). Tightened everything up and took it for a spin. First thing I noticed was that it no longer was hunting for gears. Following morning I still had the R-N-D pause, so when I took it to the dealer a week later for the 10k service, I told the dealer that I was still having problems with the pause and let them enter it into the system, had them reset the transmission computer mapping. No more R-N-D pause.

Sure I did most of the work, but at least I'm not dealing with it any more and if it does become a problem its still in the system showing that I had been having issues.

 

^^^^ so you could've just reset it with the battery? Your method seems like how I wanna do it.

 

Bump

 

so this morning I tried something different. I drove to work in the ECT power mode.
The truck drives so much better and I actually got better MPG in that mode then I did in regular. Not alot maybe .4mpg better but it drove ALOT better

 

yep feels much different with ECT, need to make that thing stay on!

 

yea i am probably going to drive it with ECT on at all times now. So far i dont see any negatives. Truck drives night and day better and i am getting better MPG out of it in that mode thats supposed to give you worse. Makes me feel like even more they really butchered up that programming in the normal mode

 

I use it now and then, never on the highway though as I see no change
and read mpg's take a big hit but yours is pretty good?

 

yea normally when I drive to work I get about a reading of 17mpg for my trip when i park. today i believe it was 17.5mpg when i parked and the traffic was a little worse this morning then past few days of work.
I probably wouldnt use it on the highway but my commute has zero highway and actually very small areas that i can even get up to 60mph at all

 

Just took a seat in the waiting room of my local toyota service department. Fingers crossed they can find a reason to check the fluid, truck has been driving mostly symptom free since I called to make the appointment.

 

Dealer couldn't reproduce the issue, but told me they would let the truck cool down and check the fluid anyways. Score.

 

When I use the ETC around town, 35-45mph, my mpg is about the same as long as I keep my foot out of it. When I hit the highway though, 60-65, it will be a little worse because it likes to stay in 5th longer. If I have ETC off it'll jump right to 6th as it should and I'll get better mpg. I like the ETC though. It drives better. I wish the normal mode was about halfway between what it is now and with ETC enabled.

 

after 6 hours in the toyota waiting room.. tranny fluid was determined to be at the correct level, u-bolts were in spec, and my u-joints were greased properly. Although no fixes were necessary at least I have the peace of mind knowing my truck came out of the factory as it should have.

 

Mm, they told me the same until I checked it all myself and found otherwise.

 

same here, that would be perfect. in the mean time, someone needs
to figure out a ECT ALWAYS ON mod.

 

Until YOU check it, you'll have no real peace of mind. They check it with tech stream if they
check it at all and that doesn't show the proper level. I was told u bolts were in spec to... @ 110 ft lbs.
same with the joints, "all greased, good to go!" lol Until I get under there, I don't believe anything they
said, oh yeah, the vibe many of us feel, "yeah, that's normal, no real issue."

I did it for 1 reason - so it's documented with Toyota.

 

I don't think they actually checked the tranny fluid..

Do it yourself and be sure..!!

 

Just make sure your tranny is full... Then see if you really want the "ECT" button all the time... I bet not.... The tranny actually works well "if" it's full to proper level... try it..!!

 

I plan on checking it soon, I haven't rushed under there as I've had/have ZERO
issues with anything other than the weird steering wheel vibe.

 

And the saga continues. ..

Today I obtained a copy of the pre-delivery service check sheet and a Diagnostic Report, from the selling dealership,for my truck supposedly performed the day prior to me picking it up. Of great interest is box 1 in the UNDER HOOD section, of the pre-delivery check sheet. Box 1 states the engine oil and ATM fluid levels are "OK."

Yesterday I took my truck to a different dealership and told them to check the ATM fluid level, and advised them if the level was ok that I would pay for it out of pocket, but if it was low then it had better be covered by warranty.

Shocker! The level was "about a ½ quart low." The level was brought up to specifications and I have not noticed the shifting problems that precipitated my visits to the initial dealership's service center.

I called Toyota National to speak with the case manager for the case open on this issue, but he was "busy" and could/would not accept my call. I was advised to leave a message. I then requested to be elevated to the next, higher person. The advisor rudely advised me there were procedures and that I would need to leave a message if I wanted to speak with anyone from Toyota.

This pretty much ticked me off so I called the initial dealership to speak to a service manager to ascertain why I was lied to about the ATM fluid level. Both service managers there were "busy" also. Toyota must have the hardest workers in the WORLD.

I know what action I would like to take, but I am open to suggestions on how to deal with Toyota's lying about a new vehicle.