Is 135k too late to do a transmission flush?

exactly what my dealer and the trans shop said. Always a slight risk when doing a flush, even on lower mile vehicles. I think I paid 180 for the full service.

 

for the full service with the drain and filter change/clean? Or the flush?

def think I may just do the drain, clean:filter change.

 

As a former Toyota dealership tech, I will second this. Don't use aggressive flush machines, a drain and fill is the best option. Unfortunately, at the dealership, most techs (not me!!) usually only will do ONE drain and fill. That's 4 qts max. I give my customers the option of 3, 4, or even 5 flushes, depending on their pocket book (or how much they love their truck haha!) My labor is $150/hr and the fluid (genuine WS only!!!) isn't cheap. My rate for a full flush (no pan drop) is $250 for the minimum.

For $180 it sounds like you're getting only one drain and fill. That's fine to start if you have a vehicle with higher miles and unknown history and you want to introduce some new fluid to see how it reacts. But this isn't a "full service" unfortunately. I like to exchange a mim of 12 quarts, and give plenty of time to circulate the fluid.

60k I do a fluid exchange, 120 fluid and filter, and every 60 after that fluid and filter.

The theory behind not changing the fluid after a certain time (which isn't a theory - it's a real thing I've witnessed multiple times) is that the build up of the gunk and burnt fluid can actually act as a seal. Our transmissions are known for several issues, one of the worst being soft valve bodies, in which the bore sizes increase over time allowing fluid to move when it shouldn't. The debris can actually build up inside the valve body, and other places, acting to patch or even line the surfaces and (while not a permanent solution) keep the transmission shifting relatively smoothly. An aggressive fluid flush with brand new fluid -- fresh additive package full of detergents -- will dislodge that debris, which can open up leaks that hadn't existed yet, and can even plug other small passage with chunks of debris causing major problems. This is not a rare case. If I see one of these transmissions that is over 180k, I definitely recommend a 4-quart exchange to start, see how it handles it, then re-visit another drain and fill a few weeks later.

Sorry for the long response, I think this has been covered elsewhere but just wanted to reply - especially since my video was mentioned) (thanks for that, by the way!!)

Thanks for the share!! I really appreciate it!

 

To OP, don't guess about whether to do a flush. Drop the pan and see how it looks. Inside you will/should find magnets with black sludge. This is normal. If you find metal shavings or black’ish material, don't proceed with a flush. Maybe not even continue with drain/refill; return the old ATF back in the pan because removing that material from the fluid will likely lead to slipping. Do replace the ATF filter and clean the pan regardless, especially if there are metal shavings in there.
If you will proceed with a flush, see the DIY thread on how to tap into the return line to flush the ATF. And I recommend the gravity, see post # 741:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-full-flush-for-automatic-transmission.68462/

 

I bought my 09 with 180k on the odo and have the same "shudder" issue at the same speed as you. Drained the fluid (and it was BLACK!), dropped the pan, cleaned it up, put in a new filter and did two more drain/fill with Valvoline MaxLife. Transmission felt smoother overall but I still have that shudder. Figure the transmission just doesn't like light acceleration at that speed while in top gear. Bumping down to 4th? No problems. So, I just do that when needed.