I want to do a full flush on my 2009 4runner 4x4 V6 this weekend. Bought 13 quarts of WS fluid from the Toyota dealer a few days ago I wanted to practice the transmission temperature check mode before I tackled the job.

I have tried the procedure like 6-8 times already and the AT TEMP light won't blink at all.

I followed this procedure to the exact letter. Read it many times too.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...nsmission.html

Is there a trick to this? Has anyone done this to a late model 4runner??

I forgot to mention that I tried the procedure after driving the vehicle 6 or so miles tonight? Maybe the transmission was to hot so it did not want to enter the temp mode? Its very cold outside and it sat for 10-15 minutes.

Not sure what it is. Will try again tomorrow morning when engine is completely cold.

Any help appreciated!

Anyone ever do this? Seems like it's mandatory when changing your fluid. No one does this?

I have no experience with the manual transmission fluid check mode. Usually you can either utilize a scantool capable of pulling trans temp on a datastream or an infrared thermometer on the trans pan. I also believe that for the 4Runner the temperature is more like 97*F -115*F or at least it was something like that when I did my V8 4Runner.

Wish I could help.

Well I changed the fluid today.

Tranny fluid was dirty at only 50k miles. I highly recommed people to fully flush their transmissions as these can go 200k miles easily when maintained well.

I even dropped the pan. Pan is very easy to remove so I cleaned up all the magnets on the bottom inside the pan. You can see the little magnets in the pics. They collect tiny metal debris. Magnets had a very small film on them. This means transmission is healthy.

I used a IR gun to get the temp. I drove for 10 miles and took the pan temperature before changing the fluid. It was 42C. After changing the fluid I let it idle for 20 minutes and temp reached 41.8c and I called that good.

I measured the old fluid precisely and put in the same amount of new fluid back in.

I'm anal so I might buy a the scan guage just to read the transmission temps and check the level again.

Thanks for posting the pics. I enjoyed getting a look at the pan and innards.

Not a bad idea to be proactive on it if that's what suits you. It seems this synthetic fluid really is very long lasting and that calling it lifetime is not a complete exaggeration. Many transmissions are getting some pretty high mileages without even so much as a drain and fill.

Drains and fills seem to be the most popular way to service these. That's what I'm most comfortable with. This is a very robust transmission and fluid combo.

I am going to have a drain and fill done at Toyota this week. When I went in for a price quote, I wanted to clarify that the transmission service was a drain and fill and not a flush. I was told, "We do not flush them here." Good enough for me! But OP, I think flushing it with only 50k on it makes sense. I heard that flushing the transmission is actually very bad for it unless you have low mileage (something to do with the metal particle/debris build-up, and forcing fluid through the transmission from an external force (flushing) puts those particles where they can cause some potential problems).

Toyota and most Transmission Flush Machine manufacturers do NOT want you flushing a Sealed Transmission. This was made very clear to use by the MOC rep who explained the process on our machine. You're right that on higher mileage vehicles with a machine flush it can cause sediment or deposits to break loose and clog or damage the internal components.

Keep in mind that some people (myself included) will refer to "flushing a transmission" as filling it up and draining multiple times to "flush" as much of the old fluid out, versus a simple drain and refill where you do this only once.

Hello gsrthomas

Thank you for the pics! I will attempt this for the first time myself soon.
Question: Did you use any rtv sealant with the gasket? Did you get the scan tool capable of pulling trans temp? If yes, what brand, where to get it?

Thanks

Recently changed the tranny fluid in our '06 V6. We've had it for 5 years and got it with less than 20K miles on it. I never changed the tranny fluid until now. The vehicle had almost 160K miles. Honestly, my old tranny fluid didn't look any worse than yours did at 50K. I followed the same instructions for "flushing" the transmission that you did and it worked perfectly. I changed out 12 quarts. A few days after changing the fluid out, we headed out on spring break and 3,000 miles of pulling a camper trailer through Utah, Nevada and Arizona. The transmission shifted beautifully. Needless to say, I waited far too long to change the fluid, but the WS fluid held up incredibly well. I highly recommend the method of changing the tranny fluid used here. I bought the WS fluid from a local Toyota dealer for just under $10 a quart. The same dealer was going to charge $180 for a 3 quart "fluid change". It took my wife and me a couple of hours to flush the old fluid out and it was well worth it.

Did you use any sealant in addition to the gasket?