Low transmission fluid level

100% THIS!! If they happily lie on the paperwork saying "work was done, levels checked" after
having never gone through the proper ATF check process.... believe nothing until you check
it yourself.

 

this is what I don't understand, why as a dealer service manager would I check the fluid level on an item that is factory sealed to verify that its properly filled?

the whole point of a factory sealed unit is to solve the very issue that as a consumer/manufacturer, that I don't have to deal with this at the dealer ship where they can screw it up or as corporate, I don't have to worry about warranty payouts.

 

I've thought the same but doing the math, realistically, we have to assume Toyota does not pay very much for the fluid to begin with since they buy it in extremely large volumes at below wholesale costs. So even if they paid $1 a quart for the fluid they only save 250K; $2 a quart 500K; $3 a quart 750K and so on.......chump change for a major corporation and certainly not worth the risk of the conspiracy being uncovered. If they were paying some ungodly amount per quart say $15 to $20; I could maybe see them trying to skimp here and there but even that is a stretch I think

 

Many BIG companies have a lot of bs quality issues. I think this issue sits there rather than malicious intent to short change tranny fills. It they wanted to save $$ they would have designed the tranny to take 1 less qt of fluid.

 

I find the folks at the call center quite pleasing and a pleasure to talk with. They are very informative and will address any issues you bring up with absolute resolve. The negativity in your post can be turned into positivity by offering solutions instead of complaining about problems.

 

No notice here...

 

“like many on this forum I was worried about low fluid so I took mine in last week and insisted that they check it.”

First off, why would you worry? You’re not the one risking going out of business from a damaged reputation if something goes wrong, YOU HAVE a warranty or recourse.
Second why would you listen to someone, anyone, on a forum who may or may not know his a$$ from a hole in the ground and has nothing to lose by making a statement that has no merit?
Let them first PROVE to YOU how many transmissions have failed from being low 1qt. on ATM fluid from Toyota on the 2nd gen, and 3rd gen.
Or on any gen or any manufacturer make/model? IDK OF ANY!
Does ANYONE?
If you do...Please enlighten me on this…..PLEASE!!!
And if no one can…Why would anyone worry?? LMAOO!!
Get a grip ppl the allegation has no merit.
The factory(s) puts in the required 10.5 qts the system NEEDS to work properly.
It’s not their fault if someone can’t figure it out, or prove that they do not, and YOU naively believe it.
Having said that, I will admit the level may seem low b/c of the added ATM capacity from the added cooler on some trim levels. I don’t for one minute believe that only .2 qts of ATM fit in the cooler pkg. It’s more like .5-.8 qt my guess.
And is only a guess, I’m not about to take it down and fill it to verify, b/c I know the system still only requires 10.5 qts no matter how much capacity I (or they) may have added. Period.

Have a good nite, go places, and for Pete's sake, have some FuN already!
Hehe!
Cheers!

 

Bought a 2016 a few weeks ago,,got concerned from this post so I brought it in for a check...1.5 quarts low.

 

So does that potentially mean the system holds up to 12 quarts and they put 10.5? I didn't get an answer as to how many quarts it had,"being low." If that's the case,is it overkill to run 12 quarts? Since they're a Toyota dealer,I'd expect they would know if it was being overfilled.

 

How are you guys getting the dealer ship to check it? I have tried twice and they tell me theres nothing they can do because they cant replicate the issues.

 

Said "my tranny has been engaging reverse and drive, and sometimes shifting roughly,I'd like to get the transmission fluid warranty checked because I read numerous cases of them being low." They said ok and took it in

 

I tried this too. I guess the dealership I go to sucks

 

@Hueston If you have the option to try another dealer, I recommend this route. If you call Toyota Corporate they may or may not help but opening a Case File with them, in theory, should bring more attention to your requests.

 

My SR 4 cyl auto transmission without a trailer pulling package was two quarts low.

Arlington Toyota in Jacksonville Fl test drove it and without any excuses checked the fluid level.

It would shudder when it shifted, but only sometimes.

I was expecting a song and dance, but was pleasantly surprised by their immediate attention to my request.

 

Redacted document. LOL.

Glad you got good service.

 

How many miles on your truck?

Any negative long term impact, running the trans 2 qt low for extended period of time?

 

Mine is the same 4-cylinder auto SR no towing and was 3 quarts low. It would shift hard from 3rd to 4th only first thing in the morning.

 

The truck has 4500 miles on it. As far as damage, time will tell. I really don't expect any as it didn't happen frequently. It mostly happened between 3rd and 4th during the first shifts of the day.

When it would happen, I would feel it and wonder.

I crawled under and I could see the scuff marks on the check and fill plugs as well as a few drops of fluid.

 

Out of curiosity. What's the build date?