someone may notice that Toyota vehicles all over the word: Asia, Africa, Middle East, etc. - in all poor countries you find Toyotas, working hard, with low maintenance, poor lubricants, unskilled mechanics - but it works! Kudos to Japanese ingenuity! Good we have a choice. For now.

Check out The Car Care Nut channel on YouTube.He's a Toyota Master Technician has a great video about when and if you should change your transmission fluid.

I do realize this is an old thread but, did want to give my real world experience with Tranny fluid changes. I purchased my 05 Runner in 2014 at 89K and drove way beyond the recommended mileage, as in 133K. Mind you tranny was never serviced prior to. Like most folks, I scoured the internet for sage advice and found both the oem and aftermarket camps were very stongly opinionated. So... I decided to use the Maxlife and do a drain/fill. I then repeated at 150K. I can say 100% percent there has been no shifting issues what so ever. I would think that after 20K miles and 3 years something would occur that I had caused by not using oem fluid? I am by no means a technician, just a middle aged dude that prefers to do his own maintenance to ensure quality is performed and I am also a cheap bastard as well. Hope this helps the undecided camp in the future

Same here. Bought ‘12 Limited with 75k miles, light towing of a 10’ Haulmark a few times a year.

One day while doing an oil change I accidentally drained ATF. Oops. So I did an unplanned ATF change at around 110k miles. Most fun part was not knowing how much fluid I drained. Took a few days due to exceptionally hot Oct North Tx Temps in 100s.

Car ran as fine after the change as before. Used Toyota brand fluid from dealership, they matched an online price.

Hello Bassman,

While it's true that regular maintenance, including changing the transmission oil, is essential for the longevity of your vehicle, there isn't a hard and fast rule about never changing the oil past a certain mileage without having done so earlier. The 60k recommendation is a general guideline suggested by manufacturers to ensure optimal performance and longevity of the transmission. However, if you've missed that interval, it's still advisable to change the transmission oil to prevent potential damage and maintain the health of your vehicle.

Changing the transmission oil at 90k miles would still be beneficial and shouldn't cause additional harm to your vehicle. In fact, neglecting to change the oil could potentially lead to more significant issues down the line. It's always best to consult with a trusted mechanic or refer to your vehicle's owner's manual for specific maintenance recommendations tailored to your make and model.

I did mine around 100'000 miles, used valvoline. my research led me to believe the transmission fluid needs a bit of the ultra-fine impurities for proper shifting, so i opted to essentially, change the filter and dilute the ATF since a lot of the fluid stay in the gearbox not the tray. A flush seemed more likely to cause issues.

Further down the road ~120'000 miles i installed a tranny fluid cooler so again drained the pan and added new after the cooler was in so again diluted it.

It’s a wive’s tale that the transmission needs wear material for proper shifting, otherwise they would not shift properly from the dealership.

In most cases where people experience transmission failure shortly after flushing the fluid, the damage was already done before the flush. Just had a friend who had this happen. 225K on a Highlander, never changed the fluid. Transmission started having issues, so he took it to a dealer for a power flush and it started stuttering at highway speed shortly afterwards. It’s done and 225K is good amount of mileage for never changing the fluid. Say hello to a $5K to $6K transmission change.

Hello guys,

Please if i can have the members insight and views. My 4runner/hilux surf A/T temperature oil light came on yesterday.

Drain the transmission oil, changed the filter, cleaned the pan and replaced the transmission oil. the old one was not cooked or in a rough shape but perhaps needed an early change.

The problem is that the light doesn't seem to go away. Ran the scanner and no error codes. the A/T temperature after some running and idling is normal and within range.

What could be the problem ? Any suggestions or advises please.

Thank you

Edit: It's a 2004 with a 3000cc Diesel

First thing I would check is the cooling stack for cleanliness. Is the radiator clean? Not sure if this model has an external transmission cooler, but if it does is that clean? Depending on where you live, these can get chocked full of bugs and lose their cooling efficiency.

You say the light does not seem to go away. Is it on from start up?

You state that the A/T temperature after some running and idling is normal and within range. How was that temperature taken? Was the light on when this temp was taken?

Trying to figure out if you have an issue with the sender with these questions.

The only thing I would add to what others have said is to try and measure what you drain out. That would benefit from the "warm up and open the vent line" method. I wish I would have done that and put exactly what I took out versus the fill, warm up, and vent through the standpipe.