No "AT TEMP" light for Temperature Check mode (Refilling Transmission Fluid) PLEASE HELP!

Hello y'all, this is my first post although I have been a reader for about three years now.

I did an oil change yesterday and noticed that my occasionally dripping output shaft seal appeared to have gotten worse since my last oil change. So, I decided after having seen an excellent instructional on here, I would go ahead and change the seal myself. After getting the seal and tools together I was able the get it changed out with little-to-no trouble.

Feeling confident and proactive after the success, I decided I would do a drain/refill on the ATF, which to my knowledge had been done by the dealer just before I bought my truck, 30k miles ago. So, I found this excellently written instructional and felt confident that I'd have it done in no time.

Here's a link to that:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/

Now keep in mind, since my output shaft seal has been leaking for a while we can assume the ATF was somewhat low.

As instructed, after measuring the fluid that drained from the pan, I replaced the same amount (I marked fluid level on the side of clear plastic tub with a marker then refilled with the same amount plus about half a quart extra - I'm guessing around 3.5 +/- quarts in total).

Now, I erred on the side of overfilling rather than underfilling because I was about to start the truck, jump the #4 & #13 pins on my obd-II plug and put the truck into "Temperature Check Mode" and remove the overflow plug to allow the exces to drain out.

I performed the procedure EXACTLY as specified... 4 times... and never saw any AT TEMP light flash at all...

At this point I decided to read the comments section below the instructional thread....

Eventually, there seemed to be a few people saying that the PreRunners (or specific years) do not have an AT TEMP light!!!

I can confirm, my truck (2009 Tacoma PreTunner V6 Automatic) DOES NOT HAVE AN "AT TEMP" LIGHT....

So, I can not check the ATF level on my truck and I am afraid to drive it at all...

I really hope someone can help me come up with a game plan... I don't have a clue what to do now.

 

I think that i would pay attention to the instructions on the how to. I would let it burp out the extra fluid seal it up and take it somewhere where they can read it. May be nothing more than a "hey dude your tranny temp is perfect have a great day" and you pay them $50 for their time and you go home peacefully. Worst case is that you have it severely overfilled and blow something up. But if you do everything else on the tutorial correctly you should be fine!

 

Maybe I wasn't very clear here... Let me re-iterate...

I have come to find out that my truck does not have any "AT TEMP" light.... It's not a matter of following the "how to" instructions... My specific model does not have and such light. I'm 99% sure that it is overfilled... I overfilled it on purpose believing that the next step of the process was to drain excess....

The how to instructions given are great...... Apparently if it's a 4x4 they have this "AT TEMP" light to check fluid level....

 

If 3 quarts came out and you put 3.5 quarts in, from what I've read you have about .5 quarts too much. Also your leak likely didn't amount to any real measurable volume. Drain a 1/2 quart out and take it to our dealer to hook it up to the machine and do it right since you don't have the trans temp light. Easy peezy

" in my case it turned out to be 2.9 liters (3.0 quarts). I had purchased 5 liters from the dealer just in case as I was unsure of the required volume"

 

maybe i wasnt very clear in how i got my point across. I am a bit delirious and drinking coffee entirely past my bed time. But i would let the excess drain and just go get it checked

 

Ok. So nobody has a clue how to get this truck into some sort of a temperature diagnostic mode?

...If so, thats a little unsettling because in my experience, there are much more knowledgeable folks on this website than at my local Toyota dealer......

 

There should be a temp sensor, and you should be able to access it with a good scan tool. When it reaches its operating temp, pull the overflow plug.

I've never put a truck into temp diagnostic mode, but reading tempreatures and deciding when it's at temp is something you can do through observation.

 

Two things 1. an OBD reader that read trans temp might help. 2.
I have a chart at work that has the specific range the temp needs to be to set the correct level.
I'll post it up tomorrow.
If no obd reader maybe a thermometer of some sort will
Work.

 

You get it into the temp diagnostic mode using the method described in the DIY and WATCH the YOUTUBE VIDEO!

I had issues getting mine into mode and had to watch the Youtube video to figure out what I was doing wrong. You HAVE to do the shifts from Drive to Neutral pretty fast for it to work, too slow = no go.

Otherwise, I'd buy a Scanguage or Ultraguage MX to check your temps. I'm buying one anyways to check temps while towing.

 

This wouldn't be very scientific, but if it's cold I would start it shift thru all the gears with a few second pause in each gear leave it running in park and pull the plug from the overflow let it drain down. At this point you might still be slightly overfilled but not miles off and I would think you would be safe driving it to the dealer. My wifes 2010 Tacoma sitting in the garage at 65*F doesn't run very long before it's in the right temperature check range.

 

The first three time I attempted the procedure I did it correctly but assumed (since it didn't work) that I had done it incorrectly. I watch the video and followed along another 4 times precisely as it was demonstrated... No "AT TEMP" light ever flashed and after further investigation I found several people claiming that specifically the 2WD Automatics do not have this feature at all..... I really find it hard to believe myself, but at this point I guess I've given up. I am going to get a buddy over who has a scan tool.

I just can't imagine why on Earth Toyota put an "AT TEMP" light on every single 09 Tacoma but mine.... Frustrated!

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm hesitant to do this because the dealer is like a 30 min freeway drive away and a new transmission is $8k.

In the tutorial video the guy says it takes quite a while for it to get up to temp if it's at ambiant garage temp. Truck been in cool insulated garage for 24 hours and it's about 50degrees at night in there so I guess it may take in excess of 10-20 minutes of running to get it up to temp.

 

Take the money you would spend at a shop and put it towards a scangauge or ultragauge. Wam, bam, done.

 

My buddy has a OBD-II scan tool and says it has brand new software that covers my truck. He's bringing it back tomorrow. Any pointers on maybe a tutorial of how to use that thing to check fluid temp?

 

According to my owners manual only 4wd models have the temp light.

With both my Taco and Tundra I drained 3.25 quarts (104oz), so that's what I put back in. I'm calling it good.

 

Don't know what tool he has, and what readings it's already set up to output. The ECU does have a trans temp output. Mine actually has 2.

Anyway, it should be a matter of connecting it to the OBDII port, finding the reading for that sensor and running the truck until the temp level reaches the amount you're suppose to be at to check the level.

Same idea what folks were suggesting with using a ScanGauge II.

 

Top page is for my truck. May not be exactly for yours.

 

Its 3.2 Qts for Drain and refill on AT !

 

Well from what everyone says after doing theirs it's 3-3.2. You'd be safe at either until you get to dealership

 

My truck is a 2009 Tacoma Prerunner 2WD V6 Automatic I think it's a 5 spd....
I sure wish I had a photo of the tech manual ATF section for my truck... Got one? Anyone?