Toyota tech said my tran fluid is fine at 102,000 miles

I am sure glad my dealer believes in following the Toyota schedule... even likes that I have the oil changed well BEFORE 5,000 miles. The 100,000 mile tranny flush on second gen tacos is a must! That is far too important to just grin it off... and I would report that service manager to corporate.

 

As far as the 2001 tranny goes, There are 3 of them used that year so it's VIN specific. 2 of them use the WS synthetic and one, like mine use the Dextron III/Mercon. Best find our from the dealer what tranny you have before doing anything. the wrong fluid can really mess you up.

 

I have 290,000 and have never changed nor flushed my tranny fluid.

 

Recommended service interval is 55K miles IIRC. When I was at 100K miles, (10K before next service interval for the tranny), it was slipping pretty bad on uphill accelerations. Got a flush ($140), slipping went away, and gained 1-2 mpg's as well.

 

I had 230k on my gen 1 tacoma and towed thousands of miles a year and it shifted fine when I sold it. Original transmission fluid. It was a 2.7L too and I towed a heavy, 2 place enclosed snowmobile trailer through the mountains all winter long. And a boat in the summer.

 

So true about instincts. I don't know what it is but where I grew up when people didn't know something they said, "I don't know". They didn't lie. Where I'm at now people iterally just make stuff up if they don't know. They don't care about being called a liar. Oh, wait a minute, then don't like being called a liar, they just don't mind being known as a liar.

I've been screwed both ways. By believing someone who doesn't know. And by not believing someone who does.

If the subject matter is too complex or you don't have time to figure it out, then I guess you go in to it with prior knowledge of the *person* you are talking to. If you know them and they are honest and have a good reputation for being excellent at what they do, then go with their advice. If you don't know them then go with your instincts. If it's important that you know them, like a doctor, then do some research on them before talking to them or before seeing them in the first place.

Don't beat yourself up. It happens to me and I'm a genius.

 

There are some members at TW who cook their fluid before the recommended service interval and there are others who baby their trucks . This is an owner operator decision based on how you treat your truck.
For you guys that dont know how your truck was treated before you bought the truck, ,i suggest changing the fluid.

 

No Way, I flush my tranny and diffs at every 30k

 

I thoroughly agree with SOSHeloPilot.

Servicing these no-dipstick transmissions requires more skill and the people dealers have doing this kind of work are not always the sharpest knives in the drawer.

They figure the avg. Joe will trade in his car every 100k, maybe a little sooner; maybe a little later. If you are one of those, you can forget about ever doing a transmission fluid change.

In my opinion this 100K tranny/coolant thing is nothing more than a marketing ploy on the part of mfgs. to make the total cost of ownership more attractive. People hate maintaining their cars and the vast majority are in a newer one at the mileage mentioned in the previous paragraph.

If you are a guy who puts 300K/400K(me) on a vehicle, I'd ignore Toyota's maint plan and change ALL fluids well before the intervals provided in the owners manual.

My 2 cents.

 

Change fluids or change parts is what I was taught. Seems to ring true so far, I've seen it/done it both ways.

 

The dealer either doesn't know how to change it.
Or they don't want to take the time to do it RIGHT.

You need to have the fluid up to a certain temperature to do it RIGHT.
You don't just pour a certain amount in and call it good.
These transmissions don't tolerate too full or too low very well.
You will get get problems if it's not in the specific range.
And I'm betting the dealer knows this and has had more than a few brought back with this complaint after doing drain and fills. So they just don't do it id they don't have to.

You have to do it right.

 

Fluid is cheaper than metal

 

If you are not comfortable doing the cooler line exchange following the process here in a DIY, park your truck on a level surface, drain from the drain plug, reservice with the same amount drained + about 1/4 to 1/3 qt. Run your truck and shift through the gears until your trans temp approaches 115 deg. F using an OBD2 analyzer (mine shows trans fluid temp) and remove the fluid level plug and let it drain until a small stream is dribbling out. Install the plug, torque everything up and test drive. I did the cooler line exchange by myself, took a little while to pump fluid in 3 times but got as close to 100% clean as I could. My trans fluid was about 3/4 qt low from the factory...or it sheared and evaporated away. Mine works like a champ! When I do it again, I have 12 qts. of Amsoil Signature Series ATL ready to go...I'm out of warranty now so no worries, I will put the rest of my leftover Toyota WS fluid in my sisters Rav4, she'll like that.

 

You have some balls my friend

 

I bought my 2wd prerunner with 70k it. I don't know if was ever done. Now I'm at 120k and there is some hesitation in 2nd and 3rd at 1800 Rpms. Thinking of doing a full flush. Think that would be ok, or should I just do a drain and fill?

 

The owners manual on my 2007 says never change it. I'm at 175,000 and it has never been changed. Last spring before I went on a 4700 mile road trip I took mine in to a trusted independent mechanic and told him to do anything needed. He says my AT fluid is fine and not to touch it. My dad worked in sales. He drove cars well over 200,000 miles in just a few years. He never changed AT fluid in a single car he ever owned and never had an issue.

Lots of guys with 200,000-300,000 miles on factory fluid in all manner of vehicles. Unless you tow a lot in hot weather and/or in mountains I've come to the conclusion that changing the fluid isn't economically justifiable. If you change every 30,000 miles you'll spend well over $1000 in AT services to get to 300,000. At best you'll get an extra 50,000 miles out of the transmission vs never changing the fluid. Either way you'll need a new transmission at about the same time.

The exception is if you let the fluid get hot. As long as the fluid stays at or near 200* the rest of the truck will probably fall apart before the AT fluid wears out. The more time you spend above 200*, especially if you start getting above 230*, the more often you need to change the fluid. That will only happen if you are towing heavy loads in mountains.

 

Don't know what manual says not to change it??? My 2005 and 2010 are 100,000 mile atf change with flush. My 2010 was pump drained fully and changed at 88,000 and shifted much smoother after.

 

Over a million Tacoma's on the road here in the U.S. Only a small % of those owners read the shit here on TW. Tacoma owners, that don't have a clue about TW (should I or shouldn't I service my transmission) just drive them. I'll bet, even fewer actually follow the mfr's recommended service intervals. They just get "driven", then they get wrecked, sold or traded. So, change the fluid or not........... flip a coin, seek spiritual advice, or read your owners manual, then be assured that your Tacoma will probably run longer than you want to own it, by just following the the basic PM regimen as listed in the owners manual. Or, you can keep throwing your benjamins at "preventive" preventative maintenance, resting comfortably, knowing that you prevented a problem that might never have been a problem anyway.

 

I know this post is over 2 years old, but this is great. Aside from knowledge sharing, the beauty of TW is the differing of opinions on full display

 

dam!!