accidently drained 2.5 quarts of tranny fluid

[stratomaster01]

I have a 2008 t4r with 100k and i accidently drained 2.5 quarts of tranny fluid and had to drive the car..(long story)...I called an advanced auto and they said as long as I took it slow it was ok......I was near the dealership so I drove about 3-4 miles going around 25 miles an hour with hazards on.......was this ok....fluid looked nasty so I told the dealership to give me a complete fluid flush which is where it is now...I did not hear or feel anything wrong....did I make a huge mistake driving it...it seemed fine

 

[WXman]

Since it's in a Toyota dealership's hands you are OK. They have the proper fluid and equipment to get it to proper level again. But it ain't gonna' be cheap....

 

[Gatafly]

Probably be ok, but I would have had it towed before driving it with the fluid that low. Its a lot cheaper than a new tranny.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

How do you accidentally drain the transmission oil? where you trying to drain the engine oil?

 

[chmura]

This seems to happen once a month now.

No one knows what damage (if any) has been done.

Just refill it and see what happens. Nothing else you can do.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

2.5 quarts is nothing to worry about. i think your transmission holds 14 quarts or so. its nothing like running around 2.5 quarts low on motor oil.

 

[zopperman]

[MENTION=70201]t0nnn[/MENTION] ...

 

[RCs4Runner]

2.5 quarts is nothing to worry about. i think your transmission holds 14 quarts or so.

You thought wrong....

 

[stratomaster01]

thanks everyone

costly mistake.........just hope it will be ok ..it wasn't slipping or anything but in hindsight I should have towed it..........I feel like an idiot... but they sure made it easy to do...since it is a closed system like that you would figure they would have made it harder to do..........

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Well there's two seperate pans, and one is attached to the transmision while the other is attached to the engine; your transmission is usually under the driver's seat area vs. the engine being in the engine bay. I mean I guess Toyota could have put giant red signs under the car?

I understand its a common mistake, a lot of people do it (At least once a month a Tundra or other truck/SUV gets towed in for this)... I just don't quite understand how you can mix it up really.


As for any damage? Probably very little damage has been incurred in terms of premature death of the transmission if you limped it only a couple of miles. That being said, running anything in a modern vehicle while low on fluid has the potentional to ruin said component fairly quickly, but you should be okay in this instance since you also are getting a full flush done.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

You thought wrong....

Dang, I knew it was less than a third gen at 16 quarts, how much less?

 

[boondoggle]

Bummer.

According to my owner's manual these are the fluid capacities:

Auto Trans (5 speed)
3.0L, 3.2Qts

Transfer Case:
1.4L, 1.5Qts

Differential (2UZ-FE Engine)
2WD; 3.05L, 3.2Qts
4WD; front 1.4L, 1.5Qts, rear 3.05L, 3.2Qts.

Unless I'm misreading something. It sounds like most of it was drained.

If it drove ok you'll probably be alright though since you didn't go very far.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Wow, I truly have never heard of an auto tranny using so little fluid....no wonder 3rd gens last so long:becky:

 

[nevada]

Bummer.

According to my owner's manual these are the fluid capacities:

Auto Trans (5 speed)
3.0L, 3.2Qts

Transfer Case:
1.4L, 1.5Qts

Differential (2UZ-FE Engine)
2WD; 3.05L, 3.2Qts
4WD; front 1.4L, 1.5Qts, rear 3.05L, 3.2Qts.

Unless I'm misreading something. It sounds like most of it was drained.

If it drove ok you'll probably be alright though since you didn't go very far.

this is what my system shows..


Automatic Transmission Fluid
TOYOTA Genuine Automatic Transmission Fluid Type WS 10.90 qt

 

[Gatafly]

Bummer.

According to my owner's manual these are the fluid capacities:

Auto Trans (5 speed)
3.0L, 3.2Qts

Transfer Case:
1.4L, 1.5Qts

Differential (2UZ-FE Engine)
2WD; 3.05L, 3.2Qts
4WD; front 1.4L, 1.5Qts, rear 3.05L, 3.2Qts.

Unless I'm misreading something. It sounds like most of it was drained.

If it drove ok you'll probably be alright though since you didn't go very far.

Thats 3.2 qts in the pan. The system holds 12 qts I believe.

 

[zimdba]

I did it too, what a PITA it was to recover from that. I only drove 2 miles with it that way thankfully.

It was about 50K miles ago - no problems with my transmission since.

 

[boondoggle]

Thats 3.2 qts in the pan. The system holds 12 qts I believe.

3.2 seems incrdibly low to me too. Wonder why the Manual lists it that way? Glad to hear it's more robust. I looked through the 2003 FSM I downloaded but it's broken down into 2,284 items so it's a real PITA to search.

 

[twosummits]

Hmm... my manual (2008) says that the automatic transmission capacity is 11.3qt for the V6 and 11.5qt for the V8.

There are definitely more than 3qt of fluid in the system. I changed the fluid in mine a couple weeks ago and drained almost 3qt from the pan alone. After draining/refilling the pan, I bled about 7qt of fluid from the transmission cooler before I started to see fresh bright red fluid.

 

[DC runner]

If 3.2qt seems low it is because a majority of the fluid is held in the torque converter where it is needed. The remaining fluid from the pan is used as circulating bonus for heat diffusion and for the various gearing movements.

 

[boondoggle]

Here's a screenshot of the manual. Strange phrasing. They appear to list this as the drain and refill quantity.