Quote:
Originally Posted by firebirdguy
the fluid is not lifetime, toyota recommends change at 100k miles or 60k if towed or abused, however, at 110k miles its should still be ok depending on its history.
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I wanted to double down on this. There's 75 mentions of the word "transmission" in the '08 4Runner owners manual (the earliest I had readily available, as far as I know, identical mechanical drivetrain in both V6 & V8, same transmission to both engines anyway).
There's no mention of the transmission being "sealed", lifetime, or non-serviceable.
The exact text is:
Quote:
465AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Fluid capacity, L (qt., Imp. qt.):
4.0LV6(1GR−FE) engine10.7 (11.3, 9.4)∗
4.7LV8(2UZ−FE) engine10.9 (11.5, 9.6)∗
∗: The fluid capacity is the quantity of ref-
erence. If replacement is necessary,contact
your Toyota dealer.
Fluid type:
Toyota Genuine ATF WS
Change automatic transmission fluid only
as necessary.
Generally, it is necessary to change
automatic transmission fluid only if your
vehicle is driven under one of the Special
Operating Conditions listed in your
“Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
“Owner’s Manual Supplement”. When
changing the automatic transmission fluid,
use only “Toyota Genuine ATF WS” (ATF
JWS3324 or NWS9638) to aid in assuring
optimum transmission performance.
Notice: Using automatic transmission
fluid other than “Toyota Genuine ATF
WS” may cause deterioration in shift
quality, locking up of your transmission
accompanied by vibration, and ultimate-
ly damage the automatic transmission
of your vehicle.
Please contact your Toyota dealer for fur-
ther details.
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We can agree that it is worded here to
imply it doesn't
need to be changed except under specific circumstances. However, it's not saying it never
needs to be changed and/or should not be changed. And as firebirdguy pointed out, there's a service interval listed for transmission fluid in the maintenance guide.
See:
Maintenance Schedule - Toyota Canada
I recall reading Toyota removed the dipstick because many vehicles were coming in for service due to overfilled transmissions. Having had a 3.4L 3rd gen with the 4sp, it was notoriously difficult to get the level exactly right while checking it with the dipstick. It's an understandable change to the fill/full port system on the A750x transmissions.
Anyway, almost every transmission thread talks about the sealed/non-serviceable fluid myth. I'd speculate to say the manual's terrible phrasing doesn't help to halt the myth... but it's certainly a service item that should not be ignored.
I'm sure someone's gonna roast this post by throwing down the TSRM's page about the transmission being sealed, haha. I don't have time to root around and find the page, but I'd like to know what the spec there is. It would be a terrible irony if the factory service manual said something that conflicts with Toyota's own service interval website.
