ATF WS - Drain/Fill Question?

5K? Wow.

 

I recommend 30,000 miles, then 90,000 miles,then every 90,000 miles.

 

Sounds good to me. Good luck finding a dealer to do it at a reasonable cost. Hit and miss for me.

 

My dealer has done it for $90 twice and $110 once, not a bad cost.

 

I recently did this on my Gen2 and found it just as easy as an oil change. Total costs=$30. $28 for the Toyota fluid shipped via Amazon and $2 for some plastic tubing from the home store. Took about 3.8 qts.

 

That's about what I paid for at a reputable shop in SF.

 

If the company is going to be keeping the car for 100K and then selling it off, then I'd follow Toyota's recommendations for the transaxle fluid change periodicity. For the G3 it used to be N/A.
I'm usually a proponent of letting the people who designed and built the car setting the schedule of maintenance however (comma!!) Toyota is in the business of MANUFACTURING AND SELLING new cars, so they have a specific design life cycle for these cars in mind.
Probably somewhere in the 200-250K ballpark.
OCI's (oil change intervals) have also become somewhat politicized in the last 10 years, and if you've ever gone down the rabbit hole of internet wars waged by people (some would say like me!) who don't know as much as they think they do, then you'll probably agree that there really cannot be much of a difference in automotive longevity achieved by either camp.

So........
MY ADVICE (current street value: <$0.02)
Forget "break-in" periodicity with the ICE or the transaxle.

If the thought of chunks of metal cruising around in either component as a result of manufacturing processes is keeping you up nights, then you're using the wrong manufacturer.
Switch to Mazda, GM, etc...
If you KNOW that you're going to be keeping the car for more than about 150K, then consider a transaxle fluid change at 30K, and thence every 60 to 90.
Also...forget the "break-in" crankcase oil change, for the same reason.
I would and do however use a 5k OCI.

The biggest predictor for vehicle longevity is not Oil Change Interval, but Oil CHECK Interval.
Be honest with yourself.
Do you really check your oil level about every 1K?
Priuses have small oil sumps.
The reason that some Priuses "suddenly" start burning oil is the fact that they DON'T suddenly start using oil.

One last thought.....
This is your chance to be a Youtube Hero!!!
IIRC, the transaxle for the G4 is different than the one for the G3, but engineers are LAZY (they call it being "efficient")
Watch the videos for swapping the fluid for the G3s and see if some of the same steps apply for the G4.
RTFM.


Good Luck!

 

One of the few things we disagree on...partially. I look at the life of the vehicle, not short term possession. Early initial and more frequent fluid changes (a part of preventative maintenance) are far better than Toyota's recommended "minimums"...and the cost is minimal. Rabbit down.

 

That's OK....
We can still be agreeable, and I'll stipulate that early transaxle fluid replacements will not harm the vehicle if they are done correctly.

Oil is oil, and usually (though NOT always!!!!) dealership mechanics can be counted on to at least perform an oil change correctly.
OTOH.....having somebody else work on my car whose only motivation is getting the job done very quickly represents more downside risk than can be justified by the additional maintenance's upside benefit, to say nothing of the actual cost.

My only hesitation with a 5K transaxle fluid replacement (besides the cost) would be for some exquisitely trained mechanic to over or under torque the plugs.....or over-fill or under-fill the unit.....or (perhaps the least injurious of all) just laugh at the customer, do another job for an hour, and bill for a change not performed.....and thusly not screwed up.

Mostly?
It's a six versus half dozen argument with Priuses that are only going to be kept for 120,000 miles.

 

I think the word done correctly is a show stopper.
So no brake flushes or cooling system flushes for me. Seems too many steps top screw up for a mechanic and I do not have the proper tools.
That said, with the new 2016 cooling system, can you do a simple drain and fill without destroying the car?

 

C'mon, you could just as easily apply all those caveats to an oil change.

I've done two DIY transaxle fluid changes, it's as simple as dirt.

 

The good news is...any service "other than" the Express Lane items (oil/filter change, tire rotation/pressures, windshield wipers/fluids) is done by a Licensed Mechanic at the Dealerships. Dealership Service Departments make their money from those that either can't (due to lack of knowledge, skills or equipment), won't or both. Bottom line...take care of the vehicles that take care of you. How much did that car cost again?

 

I am interested in testing transaxle oil (my dime) but I need samples. Send me a private message via "Conversation" and we'll work out the details.

We need ~1 cup in a clean, DRY, water bottle. The small ones are perfect. Finish the water and leave the cap and bottle in a place not dusty to finish drying out. Make sure the service writer knows you need a cup of the old transaxle oil.

Bob Wilson

 

Concur. and @frodoz737 is completely correct about maintenance done early and often.
But.....for the most part I do my own maintenance when I can, and I have a trusted mechanic to do those items that I cannot do.
Transaxle flushes?
Yeah.
I can do those....and for a brand new car, I WOULD do those.
There's no way I would trust a dealership to perform a transaxle fluid change on a car that's only been available in the US for less than six months....especially when the maintenance schedule says that the fluid is good for six figures+.

I've read enough horror stories in JUST THIS ONE FORUM about simple oil changes gone bad on models that have been out for 10 years...

Now.....just think of the evil that went undiscovered....
How many oil filters out there have performed double duty?
How many plugs were torqued well beyond specs?
How many times did the oil change dude (or lady) throw 4 jugs of the Gucci synthetic stuff in the corner and put bulk oil in a customer's car?

This goes even beyond the normal level of crookery that happens in the back side of the car dealership where you have to endure the parade of horribles about what will happen if you ignore their "expert" advice to get your A/C unit flushed, or the Throttle Body cleaned.

 

Why do you think I chose to become a Mechanic by Profession. Was a do-it-yourself amature when growing up because in Dad's generation it was "required" as a right of passage for most male children...another bit of common sense this country has lost. My house is like Dad's...except...I included the females...yes the Wife too. I'd put here up against most here on a roadside tire change.

 

Yeah, I guess the issue here is asking a dealership with iffy quality control go off the well trodden path, and that's when mistakes are often made. And transaxle fluid change falls into that category: some dealerships are completely misinformed and bluff like crazy when asked about it.

Regarding general competence of the dealerships: there's several reports here from owners, doing their first DIY oil change, and either struggling with over-torqued filters and/or drain bolts, and one or two discovering an empty oil filter canister.

I'm lucky to have done all the basics myself. Always installed the drain bolt and filter canister to the specified torque, and never had a subsequent problem removing them.

One thing I'll say: the oil filter design is kinda bad, basically because it's possible to put it back together without a filter element. If they could design it so it just wouldn't screw back in without a filter in place, that would be brilliant.

And yeah, even though it's my car, I did catch myself, just about doing just that, once.

 

That was equally true of the canister oil filters of >60 years ago, before spin-on technology took over. Did it happen then? At least filters tended to be in more accessible locations then, so an empty filter housing without its lid would've been harder to overlook.

 

When it comes to the lack of knowledge and/or competence most referred to with Dealership Service Departments...the fault mostly lies with 1) Management 2) the Service Writers and 3) untrained personnel in the "express lane"...in that order. The real Mechanics in the back are the least of the problem.

 

Ditto, but old, fat, and retired. Without a lift I'm not going to do that anymore. Man Those shop lifts are nice.

Also the good thing about a dealer is if they screw it up it is their dime.