tranny mileage - no transmission fluid change

[Gecko123]

who has the highest transmission mileage without any fluid change (ie original fluid from factory). Again this is nothing done to the transmission. As the Toyota manual says or somewhere from Toyota says the transmission is sealed and does not need to be touched.

So again who has the highest mileage original tranny (no work done on it) and no transmission oil change EVER.

 

[wvuviv30]

I'm at 150k... but I bought the 4R with 118k and I am not sure if the previous owner did anything.

 

[cloh09]

172k. I never tow anything. I bought it with 72k so I don't know if the previous owner ever changed it, but I doubt they did. I've always wondered the same thing. How long do they last if never touched? I do suffer from the occasional torque converter vibration, but I avoid it by being in 4th or excelerating/decelerating to miss the low rpm rumble.
How long can you go? At this point, I don't see why I would. It's perfectly fine.

 

[blackmax]

You're prob fine so long as you're not towing, and it remains pink. Probably good for 1 million miles. BUT.......I would still drain and add 3 qts or so every 50,000 miles. Why not? It's good insurance.

Since there's no combustion in the transmission, short of heat from towing, I'd say oxidation and acidification is your only concern.

I went 100,000 before even dumping what in the pan and replacing with fresh (did it 2-3 times). I have 155k now. Never even a hint of an issue. NEVER towed anything though...and driven like a baby.

 

[hades]

122k. Then solenoid started going bad.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

You're prob fine so long as you're not towing, and it remains pink. Probably good for 1 million miles. BUT.......I would still drain and add 3 qts or so every 50,000 miles. Why not? It's good insurance.

Since there's no combustion in the transmission, short of heat from towing, I'd say oxidation and acidification is your only concern.

I went 100,000 before even dumping what in the pan and replacing with fresh (did it 2-3 times). I have 155k now. Never even a hint of an issue. NEVER towed anything though...and driven like a baby.

The fluid turns blackish by about 60k, you can see this on Corollas that have dipsticks but use WS Fluid.

The problem here is that you're going to have subtle problems over time i.e. slipping, shuddering, ect as the fluid breaks down and can't do its job. At which point the fluid because a potential hazard and the transmission may or may not spontaneously fail (i.e. clutches slip too much, solenoid burns out because the fluid is now partially conductive from suspended particles, ect ect.)

I wish we could test the fluid properly to see how it wears and get a real scientific study on how true Toyota's BS line about "Lifetime Fluid" is, but I doubt we've made significant leaps in chemical engineering to really justify the lofty label of "Lifetime Fluid."

Here's my fluid at 100k on a truck whose days were spent on the freeway and city before I got her at about 86k the other 14k was spent also on the streets with one or two mild excursions off-road. The smaller inset picture is brand new WS ATF.

But this is an interesting thread none the less.

 

[nevada]

105k here. not too many. I have no proof of it being changed before i bought it. no issues, it drives and shifts perfectly.

I plan to drain and refill in the next few months.

 

[blackmax]

The fluid turns blackish by about 60k, you can see this on Corollas that have dipsticks but use WS Fluid.


Here's my fluid at 100k on a truck whose days were spent on the freeway and city before I got her at about 86k the other 14k was spent also on the streets with one or two mild excursions off-road. The smaller inset picture is brand new WS ATF.

But this is an interesting thread none the less.

That's your TRANSMISSION fluid???:scared::scared: Have you been towing a Sherman tank, uphill every day, in Death Valley, for years??

 

[BlackWorksInc]

LOL, nope no tank towing. That's just how it looks at that mileage. By about 60k it gets sort of this dark purple brown. From what I learned about transmission fluid, it's designed to turn very dark as it wears (not sure how you design that, but that is a different topic) as particles build up in the fluid and it loses its effectiveness. Though just like engine oil a chemical analysis is these best way to determine how bad it is. Problem is WS ATF is proprietary and Toyota hasn't released the formula so testing it is difficult.

 

[97hb]

I have 282k on my original trans but have done about 5 dump and refills. Shifts like butter! I tow my fair share also.

 

[blackmax]

I did my first dump and fill at about 100,000 miles. It came out clean, red and clear.

 

[V8Limited4wd]

At 121k miles, mostly highway no towing. I'll probably do a drain and fill later this year.

 

[superman3043]

180k+

 

[wadle5]

Had this same dilemma as I am only 2500 miles away from 100k with no history or record of previous owner doing thus before. Have searched And have heard both nay sayers and others in favor. Talked with both service managers at the dealerships I work at and they both said don't out of fear but they aren't familiar with Toyotas as they are Ford, dodge, and jeep service guys. So should I just do a,dump and refill or pump from the hose out front? Heard they are finnicky system's, how when you did a dump and fill did you ensure you had,the proper amount?

 

[blackmax]

Had this same dilemma as I am only 2500 miles away from 100k with no history or record of previous owner doing thus before. Have searched And have heard both nay sayers and others in favor. Talked with both service managers at the dealerships I work at and they both said don't out of fear but they aren't familiar with Toyotas as they are Ford, dodge, and jeep service guys. So should I just do a,dump and refill or pump from the hose out front? Heard they are finnicky system's, how when you did a dump and fill did you ensure you had,the proper amount?

I just measured (as close as I could) what I drained, and refilled with that amount. Better to go slightly low I guess, and add to get it up to full. I did the drain and re-fill twice as I recall. A little wasteful, but what are you gonna do. As long as the fluid is nice and red and clean, I just don't see much need to do anything other than "freshening up" the fluid. If you REALLY want to know the condition of your fluid, send what you take out to an oil lab like Blackstone or Schafer. $20 or less and you'll know exactly how you oil is.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I just measured (as close as I could) what I drained, and refilled with that amount. Better to go slightly low I guess, and add to get it up to full. I did the drain and re-fill twice as I recall. A little wasteful, but what are you gonna do. As long as the fluid is nice and red and clean, I just don't see much need to do anything other than "freshening up" the fluid. If you REALLY want to know the condition of your fluid, send what you take out to an oil lab like Blackstone or Schafer. $20 or less and you'll know exactly how you oil is.

How are they testing the WS ATF? I guess they could do a comparison against fresh fluid, but how are they translating their comparison into longevity if they aren't sure why Toyota has their particular formulation? I'm not putting you down, but I'm really interested in this information as currently I am unaware of any way to properly test WS fluid like you do Engine Oil where you can get a detailed analysis.

Second, these WS systems can be finicky about being under/over even as much as quarter of a quart, its a bit silly really. :/ But for the most part as long as you're taking into account the length of tubing and the volume of the fluid pump you're using to pump the WS fluid back into the transmission you might be close enough that it doesn't matter.

 

[4RunnerFan]

who has the highest transmission mileage without any fluid change (ie original fluid from factory). Again this is nothing done to the transmission. As the Toyota manual says or somewhere from Toyota says the transmission is sealed and does not need to be touched.

So again who has the highest mileage original tranny (no work done on it) and no transmission oil change EVER.

I imagine the OP has high mileage on his T4R and is wondering how safe it is to continue driving it without servicing the tranny. Thing is, there are lots of variables, including if the vehicle is used for towing, driving habits, environment (i.e. lots of very hot weather), etc.

So, someone who doesn't tow, drives sensibly and lets the tranny warm up a little before starting out when the temp is 0F outside can probably expect to go a long, long way before having to change out the WS fluid. Someone who tows, drives aggressively from stoplights OR shifts into gear as soon as the engine is started on a very cold day, well, no so much.

 

[blackmax]

How are they testing the WS ATF? I guess they could do a comparison against fresh fluid, but how are they translating their comparison into longevity if they aren't sure why Toyota has their particular formulation? I'm not putting you down, but I'm really interested in this information as currently I am unaware of any way to properly test WS fluid like you do Engine Oil where you can get a detailed analysis.

Of course you can do an analysis of Auto Trans oil. Blackstone and Schaeffer (and others) do them all the time for hundreds of different applications, not just auto transmissions. Test for metal contamination, other contaminants, oxidation, acidity, viscosity,etc. So yea...it's a good idea to test your "lifetime" transmission fluid, especially if it's up there above 100k miles; and you're wondering if you should keep it or change it. If it's good, it's good. Industrial applications with million $ gear boxes test their oils.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Of course you can do an analysis of Auto Trans oil. Blackstone and Schaeffer (and others) do them all the time for hundreds of different applications, not just auto transmissions. Test for metal contamination, other contaminants, oxidation, acidity, viscosity,etc. So yea...it's a good idea to test your "lifetime" transmission fluid, especially if it's up there above 100k miles; and you're wondering if you should keep it or change it. If it's good, it's good. Industrial applications with million $ gear boxes test their oils.

Okay, but how are they testing it?

ATF isn't as standardized as oil. WS is NOT Dexron VI, nor is Type IV. So how are they quantifying the results in a way that reflects how the fluid is designed to wear? You see what I am getting at?

 

[JB.]

180k+

It's great to have this data point on a one owner vehicle.