Toyota Prius 2010-2015 Transmission drain and refill

Went ahead and changed the fluid on my 2004 with 183,000 miles. The fluid had never been changed. There was very little on the drain plug magnet and I mean very little. Fluid was darker than the new fluid but it wasn't bad at all.

 

Thanks for the observation about the magnet's lack of particles. Maybe Toyota knows what they're doing, eliminating the magnet on 3rd gen: the transaxle is different than a typical automatic.

 

Right. After I changed mine at 48,429 miles, I stirred the oil in the drain pan thoroughly with a magnet, expecting to pick up some ferrous wear particles. I wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or pleased that the magnet found none, not even one particle large enough to see. Likewise, nothing showed up in the bottom of the drain pan after I slowly poured off the used WS---which looked more like black ink than anything I ever drained out of a transmission before.

 

"Oh by the way I had to remove the whole panel to get to the two plugs, there was no way of accessing it through the oil change door."

Yes way. 18" extension and a 10mm socket on the end of the extension and a long handle ratchet wrench. It will be tight if this is the 1st time the plugs are removed. A little fluid gets on the panel. Wipe it up with a handful of paper towels and Bob's your uncle.

 

I just changed ours on our newly acquired 2010 Prius with 58,000 miles.

By the way, thanks for the video - it really helped. However, I did two things differently :

• I used the "four ramp" method that was discussed in another thread. I put the front wheels up on ramps, jacked up the back end with a garage jack enough to get clearance, put my second set of ramps under the rear wheels, and then let the back end down on them. I also used four jack stands for safety/paranoia.

• To fill, I used 5/8" vinyl tubing with a funnel attached. This allowed for a gravity fill from the top of the engine compartment. This just seemed easier to do than the 'pump' method documented in the video. However, it did take a bit of work to get the tubing down through the engine compartment.

It was a pain to get the engine splash cover off. However, I'm glad I did it because i noticed that the oil fill door is missing! Does anyone have any tips on where to get a new one? I see some inexpensive aftermarket ones out there on the internet. However, there seem to be comments stating that the plastic is 'too thin', etc....

 

That undercover is one piece, so your only option is to replace the whole cover. Well, or cobble something together to replace just that flap.

There are some cheap knock-off covers, JUST the plastic, and maybe a few rough edges, for well under $100. The kosher cover is something around $300.

If you're doing all the maintenance, if you never bend back that flap, take the WHOLE cover off at every oil change or whatever, it'll last forever. It affords you a much better view too, for checking the CV joints, engine block and transmission drips, etcetera.

 

After poking around the site for a bit, I ended up ordering this one from partsgeek :

2010-2015 Toyota Prius Undercar Shield - Body Mechanical & Trim - Action Crash 10-15 Prius Undercar Shield - 30440-04120783 - PartsGeek

I also ordered some clips because some of the ones on the car now are partially broken, etc...

 

Your existing shield's acoustic panels (or whatever they are) can maybe be can transferred over. Maybe with pop rivets? Whenever you remove the plastic push-in fasteners, rinse them out with soapy water. It'll float grit out of them, help them to last.

 

Here's a video I made showing how I used a funnel w/ extension tube to fill from the top:

The pw for the video is "prius"

Also I have a 2013 Prius TWO & I have a OEM magnet attached to the drain plug which has collected a small amount of grey/black residue that wipes off with a paper towel.

I have observed this at my 30K & 60K drain & fills.

 

What is the OD of the 7/16" tubing?

 

I bought it here:
McMaster-Carr

It appears to be the 5/8" variety.

 

Anyone using this? I ordered it from Amazon. I like Redline products.


Red Line Synthetic Oil - Gear Oil for Manual Transmissions - D6 ATF

 

Considering that the Owners Manual says to use only Toyota ATF-WS..., sorry: what was the question?

Seriously, I'd recycle it and get the kosher stuff.

I mean, it MIGHT be ok, but why use your car as a Guinea Pig?

 

Plus the Toyota fluid is less expensive.

 

I used it. No problem found. Why not use a high quality 'known' synthetic instead of the no name house brand that they put in everything?
It has a viscosity very similar to the house brand.

 

I do not know Bill, because of this?



When you traded in your Prius, did you let the new owner know what you'd put in there?

 

Thanks Bill for the response, I will definitely use it, full synthetic is better than the OEM WS fluid. My goal is once the Redline in it and that's it I will not change it until I trade in the car in the next 3 years.

 

This is why I never buy used.

 

The OEM ATF 'WS' is absolutely required..and Redline is certainly not better for the Prius. I can't stress this enough. This is true because the Prius transaxle is different from a 'normal' car in that it has electrical windings in it, etc... Therefore, it needs a special fluid that will not damage the electrical aspects of the transmission.

There have been MANY discussions on this topic over the years. Have a look over here :

WS ATF Question | PriusChat

Frankly, you are nuts to use anything other than OEM...

 

Even if Redline is ok: WHY ignore toyota's guidance on this?

Bill evangelized about alternate fluid for the transaxle, maybe 3 years back. Then traded to a Volt, and said "I'm outa here". But can't resist stirring the pot. This is his pet subject. One of mine too.