Transmission fluid change

This is not necessary if the car is IG-OFF, where no dashboard lights are on and the MFD is dark.

 

Yes Redline does make good stuff and have been running there Full Synthetic D6 in my 07 for 4000 miles now. I changed it over at 5K. It runs really good. Its the best GL4 product on the market imho. :target: See here:

http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/3.pdf

 

this is long weekend and I did not have time to replace the transmission fluid until today. well, anyway, I change my spark plug today (the old plugs are not too bad but to make the car run better, I do not mind spending about $35 more). and I will replace the pcv tomorrow (I did not have the right socket until I get it today from Sears).

So I have a question. According to this

Spring maintenance

there are three plugs. One to drain, one to fill (which is in front of the car right after the radiator) and one is to check level or to fill according to toyota (which is the one right in front of the firewall.) So I saw that people usually use the front plug to fill the fluid and I did not see a lot of people mention about the plug that is used to check the fluid level. So which one should I use to fill?? Can I still fill the fluid with the plug that is used to check the level??? I wonder why nobody mention anything about it.

 

Good luck replacing the PCV valve, I am interested to hear whether you have any trouble gaining sufficient access. Do you plan to remove the cowl first?

The correct plug to use, both to check the transaxle fluid level and to refill the fluid is the front filler plug that faces the radiator. Look at Hobbit's webpage that you cited above and see the drawing that comes from the Toyota repair manual. Note that the "filler plug" is the plug used to determine correct fluid level, since the oil level is supposed to be within 5 mm from the bottom of the filler hole.

Please remove the filler plug before you remove the drain plug because this will allow the drained fluid to escape in a more orderly fashion, and because this ensures you won't have trouble adding new fluid. I hope that you have a funnel with a 3-foot-long tail to make it easy to add the new fluid.

When you remove the drain plug, pls ensure that you are removing the correct drain plug, which requires a 10 mm hex key socket to remove.

 

I do not plan to remove the cowl. I tried today and I believe I can access the pcv with the right wrench. Just unscrew the three bolts for the cowl and disconnected the wires connected to the spark plug coil. Then remove around the cowl to create enough space for you to remove the pcv value. that is all. I will try to change the fluid tomorrow. it is late for me today already. tx for your info

 

sorry, I mean "move around the cowl", not "remove". it was typo

 

Synthetic Fuel Efficient Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATL) amsoil sells it look for ATL transmission fluid it is the same as toyota Toyota ATF WS

 

Really? Does Amsoil warranty that it won't slowly dissolve the Prius' electric motor windings?

 

Heh. And at $9.75 a quart it's a bit more $$ than Toyota's. I'm a fan of Amsoil motor oil but I'll stick with the car makers' ATF for both my Prius and Odyssey.

- D

 

Just had my 2008 done @ Valvoline Instant Oil Change for $39.99 + tax.

They used Valvoline Max Life transmission oil... Took 10 min.

 

I dont think the amsoil ATF is compatible with our CVTs.

 

You are running blind unless you do periodic lab testing of this ATF. We KNOW that Amsoil ATF leaches copper from somewhere in our Prius Trannies (probably from the motor-generator windings which are exposed to the ATF). Please report the results of any testing performed so we can make an informed judgment about alternative ATF (other than Type WS Toyota which we have tested in several cars over a lot of miles).

JeffD

 

Even Valvoline says that oil shouldn't be used in a Toyota hybrid transmisssion.

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/Maxlife_ATF.pdf

It's not a good idea to take the recommendations of an Iffy Lube type operation without seeing their recommendations backed up in writing from a reliable source. They owe you a free transmission fluid change with a proper fluid.

There is no need to listen to those clowns when you can read it for yourself. Most manufacturers have websites with data sheets for their products

Even if Valvoline had recommended it, Valvoline is not such a hot source of lubricants.

 

+ 1 E+06

Sad, but true. Sad, but f'ing true.

 

For like the 2000th time the windings are not in any way shape or form exposed to the trans fluid. They are completely sealed & covered in a very hard conformal coating which is practically bulletproof. Please stop spreading this ridiculous uninformed Prius Chat rumor that the motor windings are an issue with anything but the WS fluid. Its just not true.

Toyota is not the least bit concerned about trans fluid in any condition of wear affecting the winding's coating which is why they specify life time interval on the stock WS fluid which btw is used in many different Toyota models also ostensibly Tundra trucks.

The only way a prius motor winding can be compromised is by drawing to much current through that winding by overuse of the MG causing a winding blow out which is common on an abused electric motor. Very rare on a Prius but has happened.
And has nothing to do with the fluid except maybe running it dry of trans fluid and continue to drive it till the motor overheats and pulls max current.

Can you imagine if our car could only use a very special type trans fluid or the windings would be affected? That would mean that special fluid would have to be kept fresh and clean so that magical ingredient that protects the windings was not diluted by bearing wear. Instead we see post after post after post of 100,000 mile plus first time cvt fluid changes and there reports of black trans fluid. Black fluid is fluid with huge dilution of gear wear metal in solution. Highly conductive and the last thing you would want in a trans with sub par motor windings insulation.

Not to mention the money the dealer service center could make on changing out this magical fluid every 30,000 miles and since its so special its $25 a quart. There'd be a TSB for sure. And alot of windings blow out becasue very few people other than us guys on this forum give a rat's nice person about the trans fluid. If there taking it to the dealer for maint. they'll never ever get the trans fluid replaced. Period. Thats how concerned the factory is about that.

Also Bob W found high copper content in a UOA of a new trans fluid install of Amsoil a long time ago. It alarmed him and he quickly replaced it. I did some research and found that model Amsoil trans fluid tends to attack copper. Copper can be found on Gen 1 bearing races. Gen 2 bearing races are sealed.

He would have had no such copper leaching if he had used Redline.
I'm approaching 30,000 miles on my Redline D6 with no issues.

Many posters here have used many different brands of fluid in there CVT's. I remember one poster used a house brand Walmart fluid trans fluid cause it was cheap and said right on the bottle it was a WS equivalent. Bold but I see no issue other than its probably a poor GL5 lubricant.

Want a magic bullet to protect your windings? Keep the mg's as cool as possible. Keep the Sun gears and chain well lubricated with the best GL5 product you can buy and don't beat the sh*t out of the car. Keep fresh fluid in it. Thats it.

 

Have you done a UOA on Redline D6? If so, please post it. I would like to see how it compares to WS. I have a 30k sample of WS that I will submit for UOA in the next few weeks.

 

Ed, your post makes sense, although I don't understand this sentence I copied from your post. I *thought* you were saying "look after the transaxle, and look after the MGs, but realize they are separate chores."

btw, how *does* one look after the MG ? I didn't think I had much say in how much current draw happens in the Prius. And as for cooling, is it the engine or inverter coolant that services the MG ?

 

Your "say" is communicated by how hard you depress the accelerator pedal, and the extent to which you drive on flat ground vs. mountainous terrain.

The inverter coolant loop includes the transaxle.

 

^^ Understood, but even here the car decides how much of the power draw will be ICE and how much battery. Which MG tends to fail, 1 or 2 ?

 

Let the count down begin....you are brave for even letting them touch your car in the first place.