Sealed Transmission Fluid Change 04.....Anyone?

natevans65

natevans65

New member
Went to the stealership yesterday and did have a rather pleasant experience with them as they changed out the WS fluid in the transmission. I paid $165 to have the service done and actual spoke to the tech that did the service because I had to bring it BACK in due to the VSC lights on the dash. He had to reset them again and all was well. I have 146K miles on mine and he said on a scale of 1-10 1 being a nice clean pink/red color and 10 being a dark red that mine was like a 4/5. Said it looked good but it was good to have it replaced due to the amount of miles/years on the truck.

Anyone else done a full 11+ quart flush themselves on the sealed transmissions?
 
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ridefast said:
Consider not putting anything other than ws toyota fluid in your transmission as it states in the owners manual.
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I changed out the fluid with Amsoil fluid just after I bought the truck earlier this year. Amsoil have a special fluid that is a direct replacement.
I'll be doing it every 30K or so from now on.
 
ridefast said:
Consider not putting anything other than ws toyota fluid in your transmission as it states in the owners manual.
Click to expand...


ALL manufacturers state something like that.

You can use other Tranny fluid as long as it meets Toyota's WS standard. Not too many do though.
 
I hear what you are all saying.....and for that very reason/s I went back to the dealership to have them put in the WS fluid. I have Amsoil in everything else except the Radiator, but was hesitant to put it in the transmission due primarily due to complexity and the desire to keep my drive way clean and not RED !!
 
I called a dealer today about changing it in my '05 with 75K (light towing) and they said it was a fluid replacement--no "flush" or filter change. At only $100 however, I may let them do it.
 
Interesting topic. I went to the dealer the other day to get a flush. They said they wont do it! I explained that I had "heard" it required a dealer computer to open up all the oil galleries to do a true flush. The guy agreed and said they dont do them because
a) Its not in the service manual
b) They have seen more problems when they have done it, to not do it any more

Went and saw a trans specialist and he said thye can do it but only by dropping the whole pan and changing the filter. He had not heard about opening the galleries.

I have heard several people HIGHLY recommend ONLY using Toyota fluid for THIS service. I have Royal Purple in all other locations, but the tranny I only want Toyota WS.

Any more experiences?
 
Overland Warehouse said:
Interesting topic. I went to the dealer the other day to get a flush. They said they wont do it! I explained that I had "heard" it required a dealer computer to open up all the oil galleries to do a true flush. The guy agreed and said they dont do them because
a) Its not in the service manual
b) They have seen more problems when they have done it, to not do it any more

Went and saw a trans specialist and he said thye can do it but only by dropping the whole pan and changing the filter. He had not heard about opening the galleries.

I have heard several people HIGHLY recommend ONLY using Toyota fluid for THIS service. I have Royal Purple in all other locations, but the tranny I only want Toyota WS.

Any more experiences?
Click to expand...

What in the hell is that dealership smoking? The procedure for doing our sealed transmissions is rather complicated vs the tried and true method of; pull drain plug, fill-up, test drive, top-off. But it is no where near complicated enough that they should be having problems doing it... The WS fluid is supposed to last roughly 100k according to Toyota and it IS meant to be changed, it is not listed in the owner's manual because in that section it describes what the Owner should be checking themselves, since it is a sealed transmission, it is not something the owner can check.

The basic need for the TIS Techstream is actually to monitor the transmission fluid temperature (haven't tried with a generic OBDII Scanner to see if you can view the trans temp, lemme know if you can), as Toyota wants you to have the transmission reach a specific temperature range (forget what it is off the top of my head) then pull the inspection port and watch the fluid, it should dribble slowly with the transmission running. You probably could actuate the valves and so on in the transmission, but the truth of the matter is you should already be putting the transmission through all of its gears before and after you fill the transmission up.

In regards to using any other fluid than the Toyota WS Transmission Fluid, I would recommend that you get a hold of a Toyota rep. As far as I know, Toyota will void your Drivetrain warranty if you use anything other than their approved list of fluids (that goes for Engine Oil too! We test it when an engine fails under warranty!), now whether or not Toyota has approved Royal Purple's WS alternative I do not know. I would assume Royal Purple to be a good company that could easily make a fluid that is as good, if not better than Toyota's WS, but the problem is whether or not Toyota has officially approved it.
 
As far as I know, Toyota will void your Drivetrain warranty if you use anything other than their approved list of fluids (that goes for Engine Oil too! We test it when an engine fails under warranty!), now whether or not Toyota has approved Royal Purple's WS alternative I do not know. I would assume Royal Purple to be a good company that could easily make a fluid that is as good, if not better than Toyota's WS, but the problem is whether or not Toyota has officially approved it.
Click to expand...

Toyota doesn't have to approve it. By LAW Toyota has to publish their specifications..then all a company has to do is meet those requirements. As long as they meet those specifications then it's fine. The ONLY way Toyota could void the warranty is if they offered that service for FREE (like BMW).

There are some companies that make the WS Toyota fluid (Amsoil is one). Toyota does NOT make transmission fluid. The WS is a full synthetic oil also. It's made for them by one of the oil companies. Same with engine oil. Pretty much ALL engine oils meet or exceed Toyota's specifications. Even WallMart labeled oil. Have to be sure it's the correct viscosity though.

I have 173k miles on my 05 4runner. I've had the tranny fluid changed 3 times...I take it to a local transmission specialist. He buys the fluid from Toyota. He can get the WS fluid from one of his distributors, but it's the same price as if he bought it from Toyota (with his 15% discount). I'd do it myself..but a royal pain without a lift...And this guy only charges $60...so it's well worth it.
 
I have been following this "Sealed Transmission" baloney for years over on the BMW X5 boards. The arguments presented by the dealership above are just the same as the BMW $tealers and they are quite happy to quote a $6000 repair when the transmissions (Both GM and ZF makes.) crap out at any mileage from around 60K. Yes some have gone on for 150K miles without problems but many, many others have faced the "joy" of having to pay the "Ultimate" price for their "Ultimate Driving Machine"!
Until somebody other than a $tealership or the manufacturer behind them, who have a fiscal interest in selling labor and parts, can provide clear scientific evidence to the contrary I'll be changing out the fluids ay regular intervals.
 
Do you all recommend changing the filter or just do the fluid exchange? I have a Wix filter and was planning on changing it, but am having second thoughts on dropping the pan and might just do a complete fluid exchange.
 
My understanding is that our metal mesh transmission filters last a long time. Granted though, we also said that our fluid should last 100k (I've gotta get around to changing mine, close to 90k now, god knows what color it is!) But I haven't heard too many things about the filters clogging up, so I assume that is true.

I believe another member had an issue with running non-Toyota Labeled WS in his transmission and the dealership voided his warranty. Amsoil makes our WS fluid iirc.
I remember there being a little nasty spat about the fact that unless the company pays for essentially royalties to the manufactuerer, then their fluid, though it meets specifications, is not considered applicable for that manufactuerer's warranty. Its mostly stupid beuracratic crap and makes things harder for the customer and technician in my opinion. Personally I hope I am just plain wrong, would love to use high end stuff in my 4Runner, but I have an extended warranty and I want to use every last drop of it...
 
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