isn't that the truth

It's telling that you don't know much about and do your own mechanical work, first by you saying that you get the dealer to change your oil, one of the most simplest thing to do on these T4Rs, second is if you knew even a little bit about mechanics you would known that there's no such thing as "Lifetime Fluid", especially when it comes to lubricants, lubicants lose their viscosity, cleaning, cooling and lubrication properties after being used for long perioeds of time, e.g. mileage, a good expample is engine oil, transmission fluid is the same but does last much longer, but should be changed somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 miles, no matter what name Toyota calls it.

Just think about it, how long is the common warranty in 2006 on Toyotas, 36 months/36,000 miles, so this is telling me that Toyota says that's the life of most of the vehicle since thery're no longer willing to fix it after that time/mileage period, so lets just say that's the half-life giving Toyota the benefit of doubt, so that tells me around 72,000 miles is what Toyota at the most considers to be "Lifetime", that being said if you look in not the owner manual but in the "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" you will see that Toyota does recommend if you use yor T4R to tow that the transmission fluid should be changed at 60,000 miles, now this fact tells me that Toyota does know that the fluid will degrade and even faster if under more stress than normal driving conditions but it still degrades under normal driving conditions only a little slower.

Now we all know that Toyota vehciles last much, much longer than the warranty period and even many, many times that period... but I can tell you if you asked a Toyota engineer how long that "Lifetime Fluid" truely lasts and he answered honestly it would be around 100,000 miles or less, at that mileage is the fluid still oily and slippery(?), yes it is and it's still better than water but it has lost much of it's properties compared to new fluid, so now knowing all of this you tell me which would you rather have in your $3000 (not including labor) transmission??

I'm not trying to talk down to you for not knowing about mechanics and or doing your own maintenance because I know most people don't have the mechanical abilites and or the tools, but instead just trying to educate you a little bit on the true lifetime of mechanical devices and fluid properties

Valvoline MaxLife Multi-Vehicle ATF. Says right on the bottle that it works for Toyota/Lexus Type T, Type T-II, T-IV, and WS. $18 per gallon at WalMart.

You may want to find a new dealership or go to a Independent shop to get your transmission fluid flushed/changed. ItÂ’s odd that a dealership is refusing a customers money. DonÂ’t believe that lifetime fluid shit, nothing is lifetime when it comes automotive fluids.

What is the best way to check the Transmission Fluid level on the 2005 V8 sealed transmission?

Here's a PDF file that eplains how to do it, the begining starts with adding fluid after a flush, so go down to the part of checking the temperature in which you need a special tester...BUT all the tester does is connect the pins in the ODBII port shown in the directions so the FIY methold just uses a paper clip to do the pin connection(this PDF is for 2003, 2004, not sure if it works on the 2005 model and the pins needing connected are different on later models but I don't recall which year that changed, maybe for the 2006 model), that being said you can also just skip that part and use a infrared temperature gun on the pan until it's reads between 120 and 130 degrees, and then follow in the PDF for fluid level check.

Note: There are two plugs on the transmission pan the drain plug is flush with the bottom of the pan, the "overflow plug" A.K.A. fluid level check plug is the one recessed up into the pan.

Attached Images

trans fluid adjustment.pdf (38.4 KB, 420 views)

The OP has the 340 transmission from 04 which should have a dipstick. That's probably about the only benefit of having that transmission haha. I'm guessing most people here have the "sealed" 5 speed though.

No kidding this is great

Thanks for the PDF.

03 V8 with 323k. Was getting the rumble strip vibration from the torque converter. Fluid has only been changed once. Tow a boat in summer months that weighs about 4700 lbs. Needed to get something done. Bought 12 qts of Toyota Type IV. Drained 3.5 qts from pan and refilled that amount. Then began replacing one qt at a time all the way to a total of 11qts (8 more) by hooking a clear line to the external cooler in front of the radiator. Triple checked both cold and hot levels of fluid via dipstick.

Went for an extensive test drive and rumble vibration was not there at all (yet). The new fluid replacement seems to have taken care of it!

Thanks to all who contribute such valuable info in this forum.