Should I get new transmission fluid ?

[kacper]

2004 v8

hi !
here in edmonton temperature drops to -26C today .
When I was going to work my car won't shift to 5th gear for about 10 kilometers . When the temperature is about -5 i have to drive about 5 km to get on 5th gear . When car gets warm there is no issues .

should I got new fluid ? car has 130000km

 

[black4vcobra]

I forget, do the 04's have the "lifetime transmission fluid" in them? I know the earlier V8 4Runners had a dipstick to check/fill fluid, my 06 does not.

Even still, at 95,000 miles, I just drained out 4 quarts and put back in 3.5 qts of new Toyota WS ATF and 1/2 qt Lucas transmission conditioner. It was shifting fine but I find it hard to believe a fluid should go past 100k, much less lifetime so I will probably repeat that swap once every 2 years just to keep the fluid somewhat fresh.

As far your truck, it could just be that the engine isn't warm yet and the computer doesn't want to lug the motor by putting it in OD. 130k km is like 80k miles? I don't think that your fluid would be burned out yet unless you've been especially hard on your truck.

 

[telum01]

Changing the fluid is an easy way to find out if that's your problem, plus getting some new fluid in there can only help in general.

A few manufacturers have gone back on their "lifetime" fluids and recommended changing at 100k miles, and I don't trust any fluid lasting a lifetime anyway.

 

[CookieRoe]

2004 v8

hi !
here in edmonton temperature drops to -26C today .
When I was going to work my car won't shift to 5th gear for about 10 kilometers . When the temperature is about -5 i have to drive about 5 km to get on 5th gear . When car gets warm there is no issues .

should I got new fluid ? car has 130000km

Yes, you should. "Lifetime Transmission Fluid" is misleading. Toyota recommends it should be changed first 100,000 miles. I've read somewhere after that, every 50K. That's the schedule I'm going to do. My dealer does a "flush" (not the so-called dangerous way which involves chemicals, etc). Point is: All of the fluid is changed out.

As far as your tranny not shifting into high gear, [MENTION=102425]black4vcobra[/MENTION] is right, you're not at operating temp YET. When it' warm (op temp), then you experience no problems. Seems perfect to me.

-26C????? Dear god................... :faint2:

I forget, do the 04's have the "lifetime transmission fluid" in them? I know the earlier V8 4Runners had a dipstick to check/fill fluid, my 06 does not.

Even still, at 95,000 miles, I just drained out 4 quarts and put back in 3.5 qts of new Toyota WS ATF and 1/2 qt Lucas transmission conditioner. It was shifting fine but I find it hard to believe a fluid should go past 100k, much less lifetime so I will probably repeat that swap once every 2 years just to keep the fluid somewhat fresh.

As far your truck, it could just be that the engine isn't warm yet and the computer doesn't want to lug the motor by putting it in OD. 130k km is like 80k miles? I don't think that your fluid would be burned out yet unless you've been especially hard on your truck.

Yep, '03-'04s have the dipstick and '05-'09 do not. Still, maintanence is the same.

I agree on the rest of your statement :thumb:

I love your avatar :naughty:

 

[MandAtaco]

My 04 v8 does NOT have a Trans dip stick. Not sure about the v6's. FYI..

 

[wadle5]

I forget, do the 04's have the "lifetime transmission fluid" in them? I know the earlier V8 4Runners had a dipstick to check/fill fluid, my 06 does not.

Even still, at 95,000 miles, I just drained out 4 quarts and put back in 3.5 qts of new Toyota WS ATF and 1/2 qt Lucas transmission conditioner. It was shifting fine but I find it hard to believe a fluid should go past 100k, much less lifetime so I will probably repeat that swap once every 2 years just to keep the fluid somewhat fresh.

As far your truck, it could just be that the engine isn't warm yet and the computer doesn't want to lug the motor by putting it in OD. 130k km is like 80k miles? I don't think that your fluid would be burned out yet unless you've been especially hard on your truck.

I have read every post on here about drain and fills and such, but am still scared to actually do this. How inept can you really be and still do this correctly? Bought mine with 72k and now has 107k. I know I should just nervous about it all. Which method did you do?

 

[having fun]

Doesn't hurt to do a drain and fill at all. All fluid looses it's viscosity.

My neighbor, yesterday, came down and hit me up about doing fluid changes as he knows I do mine on a regular basis. His Tacoma has 60k on it and has the new WS trans.
I showed him the post on Tacoma World on how to do it yourself. his had the brownish tint to it already.
[MENTION=84680]wadle5[/MENTION], Go ahead and give it a try without actually draining your system. I was hesitant on doing this also. Piece of cake. I've done 2 drain and fills already and have
107k on the clock. Fluid looks so much like fresh fluid, besides, it's cheaper than replacing or repairing a trans.

 

[CookieRoe]

My 04 v8 does NOT have a Trans dip stick. Not sure about the v6's. FYI..

Toyota 4Runner History 2004

I stand corrected. The dipstick was eliminated for 2004 model year.

 

[black4vcobra]

Yes, you should. "Lifetime Transmission Fluid" is misleading. Toyota recommends it should be changed first 100,000 miles. I've read somewhere after that, every 50K. That's the schedule I'm going to do. My dealer does a "flush" (not the so-called dangerous way which involves chemicals, etc). Point is: All of the fluid is changed out.

As far as your tranny not shifting into high gear, [MENTION=102425]black4vcobra[/MENTION] is right, you're not at operating temp YET. When it' warm (op temp), then you experience no problems. Seems perfect to me.

-26C????? Dear god................... :faint2:



Yep, '03-'04s have the dipstick and '05-'09 do not. Still, maintanence is the same.

I agree on the rest of your statement :thumb:

I love your avatar :naughty:

Yup, the transmissions are bulletproof but they still need to be taken care of a little. I bought my 4Runner with 85k on it so I don't know if the fluid was ever changed. A little preventative maintenance to keep things happy is a good thing.

Thanks, ex-gf there, turned 21 and became a cheating whore but damn was the ride nice while it lasted, lol.

I have read every post on here about drain and fills and such, but am still scared to actually do this. How inept can you really be and still do this correctly? Bought mine with 72k and now has 107k. I know I should just nervous about it all. Which method did you do?

Pretty simple for me. Got 4 quarts of Toyota WS ATF and Lucas conditioner, got the truck on the drive on lift, removed the fill plug and removed the drain plug. I measured what came out of the drain plug and it was like 3 quarts. I rocked the truck back and forth a bunch of times to get another quart. I replaced the drain plug and used a fluid pump to put the ATF and Lucas back in.

Simple drain, measure and fill procedure. Hard to screw up if you know which plugs you are pulling out.