ZVW30 Transmission Oil Analysis

Every time I see one of these old posts show up I think Bob is back... but no.

I guess I am getting close to doing the change myself (25K).

 

Bob is active here:
Hybrid Car Forums
and I go visit once in a while.

 

Bob can be found at Hybrid Car Forums

JeffD

 

I'm thinking to change ours at the 12 month interval, coming up in a month or two (km's will be around 15~16K). From there on I'll likely do every other year. Thinking the first change is most crucial. Based a lot on what I've read in this thread. :thumb:

Just checked: our local dealership has the ATF-WS in stock, for $9.36CAN per liter.

 

Just had mine done at 30k km (~18k mi). Cost $158 at the dealer (incl taxes). I didn't save any for analysis, but the old oil was discoloured, and the tech agreed that it's not a bad idea to change it after break-in.

 

I have contacted 2 Toyota service departments and both of them basically told me they don't reccomend changing the WS fluid in our gen 3's until after 100,000 miles, and one of them said it was "a sealed unit" and he doesn't reccomend doing it at all. They both said they hadn't done any tranny flushes on ANY Priuses, and nor they had they seen any transmission failures either. I told them i wanted a quote anyways cause I didnt buy it and i like to be proactive, one said NO! the other said 350! I said I have researched how to do it myself and would take care of it on my own and he said it would cause all sorts of badness to happen if i didnt do it at a specific temperature ?!? In fact, i went by a week later and just tried to buy the correct amount of ATF-WS at the parts department and when i told him what car it was for he WOULDNT SELL IT TO ME!

What the hell is wrong with these guys? I have looked at the walkthroughs people have posted and it doesnt look like a barrel of laughs, but its hardly anything to be spooked about. I really want to take care of this car and be proactive about maintaining my 8000$ transmission cause i plan on keeping this car for a long time.

 

If your local service departments are staffed by douchebags, you can always buy it online or go further afield to find a competent dealership.

Or, since dealerships are a truth optional zone, you can tell them that it's highly recommended for your Allis Chalmers tractor hydraulic system.

Instead of being disappointed that your dealership folk aren't competent or helpful, be grateful that they have shown you their level of competence and ethics before you need to depend on a dealer for serious work.

 

Check out another dealership, if possible. I had absolutely no problems buying the stuff, (or the drain/fill plugs on the "sealed unit") at our place. Hopefully that's not going to change: it sounds like some sort of edict from Toyota if they're so deadset.

 

Results for viscosity at 18600miles since new (i.e. break-in oil):

40ºC - 22.36Cst
100ºC - 4.99Cst

 

Thanks for sharing! Doesn't look too far off from where they should be. Which lab did the analysis?

 

It was done in a oil refinery lab, acc ASTM methods.
One thing interesting is that, although following previous trends as expected, the deviation is 10% from new, a bit less than other sample shown here.
Should that be pointed to a driver's behaviour, profile (daily commute), outside temp/storage?

 

I think I'll be doing a transaxle fluid service with my 120k plugs and coolant... What's the hurt of doing it every 60k, at worst, it's included in my service history, and at best prolongs or even saves my transaxle (which I'd probably be unaware of any issue anyway!).

Thank for all the posts guy!

 

What is the ZVW30? I have a new 2013 Prius IV. Do I have that transmission or whatever it is? Sorry for my ignorance. Thanks.

 

ZVW30 is the Toyota designation for the Generation 3 Prius (2010 to 20xx)) such as you and I have. Yes, we do have the transaxle unit discussed in this thread.

The designation for the Generation 2 Prius (2004 to 2009) is NWH20, it has a different transaxle which is similar to ours.

 

ZVW30 is easier to understand than Gen3.....

 

This reminds me of tales from another car we own, a 2000 Citroen Xantia. This has the AL4 Auto, one of the first with fuzzy logic electronic control. It was used in Peugeots and Renaults and is built by Siemens. It has a very poor reputation especial in the C5 with the HDi motor. As far as the factory is concerned it is sealed for life, luckily I deal with a switched on dealer and he was very supportive when I said I wanted the ATF changed after we bought the car with 60k on the clock. He actually showed my how to do it, like the Prius, not difficult but the fill plug is buried and hard to find. Our Xantia has now clocked over 210k and it is still going strong, the fluid that comes out resembles the fluid you put back in, transparent and a little darker yellow than the new. I do it every 20k. I have seen several AL4s that have had the first transmission change at 120k and what comes out is grey. Many have failed before that. You don't need to have the ATF tested, it is obvious that regular fluid changes are very good for the transmission.

What a gearbox or engine needs is cool, clean oil

I plan to get the transaxle fluid changed at the next service which will be 20,000km or 1 year old which ever comes first. I hope the Toyota dealer is as good as the Citroen dealer. Interestingly Toyota in Australia require the car to be service every 10,000km or 6 months, whichever comes first or the warranty is voided. A lot of european cars here are double that so maybe they will look favourably at my request. They only list inspections every 2 years or 40k in the maintenance handbook though.

 

It has been fascinating to read this thread. I make a habit of draining 3 qts of ATF out of my Jag transmission at every oil change, thereby assuring a steady level of fresh fluid and effectively flushing the tranny every 10-15k miles or so. But, it's probably a tad easier to do in that car than my Prius 5. I think the lesson I'm taking away from this discussion is to have it flushed at about 15k on the prius, and then every 30k thereafter. I welcome any observations on those intervals.

 

no flashing required you can just drain and refill (flushing is tricky if the dealer is not doing it right or their equipment has OTHER stuff left in ...plus they charge for it a whole lot of money totally unnecessary )

 

As mentioned by Szgabor flushing the Prius transaxle is unnecessary. It is not a conventional automatic transmission or CVT. It's just a box with some gears and a couple of motor/generators. When you remove the drain plug virtually all of the fluid comes out.

 

After reading this thread.....I am planning on doing a change shortly! I have 132K on my 2010 Prius.....mostly highway miles since I commute 160 miles to work. Wish I had done it earlier but .... oh well! Should be an interesting comparison to see what happens if you don't! Will send off to Blackstone and post results!

Many thanks for ALL the valuable info!