Your new 2010 - 2015 truck -Auto transmission could be low on fluid directly from factory

I bought my 09' about 9 months ago. It was a certified vehicle and came with a 1 yr. new car warranty and a 5 yr. 100 k powertrain warranty. I'm also making sure I get the most of it. I've had my truck at the dealer once or twice a month to fix any little thing I find ( so far its only been small things and have had no problem with getting things replaced : ). The dealer is only three miles from my home and a free dealer loaner for any repairs is nice. No deductible is the best part. We pay a lot for our trucks, so we should make sure we get what we pay for.

 

this problem is only for automatics? I was wanting to drain my manual transmission oil and put the red line mt90 in it, but I was talking to my dad about it and he said it would void my warranty.

 

Yeah that could be an issue. If somebody opens level check plug with out truck running, or having correct temperature, that would drain fluid more than it should be. I still doubt it comes from factory like that since it filled by machine. Unless somebody in factory did like their job and stopped filling process. It's possible some trucks came like that from NUMMI after they find out their factory is closing. I doubt any are coming like that from Texas factory. Most likely it's pre-delivery that causes low oil level. Later it could be tech unscrewing wrong bolt for oil change.

 

My 09' transmission was never opened and didn't have any leaks. The dealer found it to be a quart and a half low. They also said they are seeing a lot of the 2013 Tacoma's are coming in a quart to two quarts low. There is definitely a problem somewhere. I think Tacoma owners need to address this issue and have their trucks checked by the dealers.

 

I know the poll i made doesnt show many results in comparison to the amout of people on this site alone who know their transmissions were low .
Another thought ...Can we eliminate certain factories as to the probable cause or all they all involved with the fill issue ?

 

Stupid, how could you not account for while designing the truck to put a trans dip stick in.

So do I go to the dealer and ask them to check the fluid everytime I want to check it. How do I know even if they checked it.

 

My guess is they plucked the dipstick from production to save a few bucks plus the added bonus that " NOBODY " is going to check the fluid anymore thus generating cash flow throughout their dealerships when the trans breaks down from being run low on fluid for 70K .

 

You kid, I hope. Nobody in their right mind would design it to break for a money generator. They will lose more in lost purchases and respectability.

Leaving the dipstick out is not saving a lot of money perspective either. Most manufacturers are going this route Ford, GM, VW, Audi, Toyota, Nissan and etc...

As we have seen the newer automatics are a good deal more sensitive to low levels of fluid. I think the reasoning is to prevent the owners from tinkering with the fluid levels causing increased failures. That being said they need to actually get a grip on the levels leaving the factory and verify the level at the dealer PDI.

Did I say Damn I'm glad mine has a dipstick! neiner neiner neiner!

 

Hey Jimmy . I wish I was kidding .
Have seen it far too often back in the late 90,s .
Parts or procedures designed to fail directly from the manufacturer and two fold when it comes to transmission maintenance as well as design .
All OEM manufacturers have been at the game long enough that they can build an indestructible vehicle yet they continue to ship out inferior products .
Ford used an alluminum forward clutch piston in the Taurus . If you ever owned one , you will understand . The alluminum was designed paper thin and cracked causing the transmission to loose forward movement . They released a TSB to update to a steel forward clutch piston yet when the customer had his transmission repaired at the dealership , they replaced the broken alluminum forward clutch piston with a new alluminum forward clutch piston .
Just one example
Transmissions are expensive to fix , labour intensive and finciky to repair .
Doesnt look like Toyota technicians are actually digging into the transmissions like they use to , just remove and replace with new ...generates some great revenue for the dealership
OEM plants time bombs !!!

If all the manufacturers are getting away from the filler tube , I beleive it has to be a cost saving for them or they would still be using it .

 

sub'd

 

I'm sure there are cost savings, but is it enough for it to be the sole reasoning behind it?

 

I will do some digging to find out why they went the way of the plug

 

I have searched online and all I find are Opinions.

 

Unknown what the level was from the factory. I did the "drain and fill" procedure a couple of times at 60,000 miles just for piece of mind. I didn't check where it was before I did the drain and fill so I only know that I left the fluid in the proper level.

 

I have a manual transmission in my truck. I drained the transmission and diff at 2000k to put synthetic in. Both of them were about a quart low when I measured what came out. I removed the fill plugs first and could not even touch the oil with my finger in the hole.

 

The reason for no dipstick is that the car builders want you to believe that you don’t need to check or maintain the fluid. Many of them actually say that the fluid they use is good for the life of the vehicle.This ofcourse is simply not true
They say the overflow plug is a more accurate way to check for proper level .


Page 18 of this PDF explains this http://www.toyotatundraforum.com/pdf/A750E.pdf

 

I doubt the dealer or Toyota technician would make the effort sending away a fluid sample to a lab should you need warranty work . Go ahead and change out the oil in my opinion .

At least this will give you an opportunity to find out wether your trans is low on fluid .
Strange that the dealership does a PDI on a manual but not on the auto .
Call me " PARANOID " but I want to know if my trans is low

 

Finally did a drain and fill today. A little over 3 quarts came out, I put three quarts back in and drained a little bit out the overflow during the level check. Looks like they had it just about right more or less, but mine has been drain/filled 2x at the dealership before I bought it.

 

Has anyone seen a 2014 where the level is low or is it only 13s?

Thanks.

 

Not just the 13,s
This post covers all 2nd generation 2005 -2014
Until someone can prove otherwise , they are all considered low on fluid directly from factory .
Understand this sounds absurd , but from what members are gathering so far , they are all low on transmission fluid .
Call me paranoid , but dont you think the dealer should check the fluid when they sell you the truck ?

Here is a little tip for you

Trans fluid is made to give 100,000 miles of service before oxidation occurs at such a rate that change will be required at normal temperatures.

Normal fluid temperature in transmission to be 175 deg. F.

Rate of oxidation to double for each temperature increase of 20 deg F above normal (175 deg F). As oxidation rate doubles, useful life of fluid is cut in half.

At 175 deg F life is 100,000 miles
At 195 deg F (20 deg above 175) life is 50k miles
At 215 life is 25k miles
At 235 life is 12k
At 255 life is 6,250
At 275 life is 3,000
At 295 life is 1500
At 315 life is 750

At temperatures much above 300 deg F the metals in the transmission will tend to warp, twist etc. high temperatures causes the formation of varnish deposits which impair or pre vent transmission operation.

At a fluid temperature of 415 deg F fluid life is 30 minutes!

Source: Empire Lubricants Inc.

Now if you use the above example and subtract give or take a couple of quarts , you are going to create issues within the trans from the get-go . The issues may not be too noticeable when the truck is new but they are going to creep up on you while you put some mileage on the truck