Dealer says do not change ATF until 150k

How many miles on your Prius now?

Do you have the ability to do this yourself?

I waited until 140 k miles on our 2010 and wished I didn’t.

So when we bought our 2017 RX450h, I got the trans axle fluids changed done at 6800 miles.

Go ahead and change the fluid .

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

I would take one zero off that number, make it 15,000 miles. Then maybe after another 30K, then 60K thereafter. In my experience the first change was the darkest, with a mere 15K kms, then subsequent changes were cleaner and cleaner.

What's that song: the first cut is the deepest?

 

Ask them how many turd gen have reported moisture in atf after change? In here- 0.

 

How often do Gen3 transaxles fail? Rarely - or at least not often enough for us to hear commentary about it.

If the intent of scheduled maintenance is to reduce operating costs, why are we performing extra maintenance when the lifetime fill recommendation is clearly “adequate” for most vehicles?

This is just food for thought. I still change mine....but it is probably unnecessary.

 

Still, not a big investment in $'s and effort: DIY transaxle fluid change is about the time and complexity of an oil change, and costs about $40, for four quarts/liters of ATF WS fluid plus the 2 washers.

 

I want to understand the at the end of certain comments? Care to elaborate please & thank you?

 

Do the change early.

Or if not done early, do the drain and fill at a convenient time.

Hope that helps.

 

We do them at 100k .. the fluid looks decent. My first that hit 200 looked decent as well. We do them with an oil change at 100k and the 200k we do the coolant as well. It takes almost as much time to check as it does to replace -- so I want to have a service check why not add the 4 quarts of fluid.

 

Yeah I don't see the point to level check, it never budges; maybe just sub "change" for "check" in the schedule.

 

Pry the fasteners out carefully, and rinse them in hot/soapy water before reinstalling: its grit that jams/breaks them.

 

Amazon .

 

At certain miles checking is in order -- with so little fluid any leak would drop and it's been my experience that small leaks are not all that noticeable. I'm not going to pay someone to remove the cover -- the marginal cost of doing the whole service is so small.

 

I typically toss stuff like this into the cart when I buy other items from an online dealer -- that way I don't pay for shipping a small cheap parts and I get the correct one. Some of these small parts are strange and the generics don't hold up. That's not saying the ones from amazon are not correct. I find the OE Toyota filters to be reasonably priced when sourced form online dealers -- something cheaper than aftermarket and I always get the OE inserts. I just got OE coolant for $21 delivered ?

 

Personally, and that's with the abysmal online shopping situation up here, and also to make sure I don't get cheap knock-offs, I just head for the dealership. Still, I can't recall the last time I needed to replace any. It's been about 8 years, and I believe I did replace one or two for broken jaws, but it's so long ago. I have one or two spares in a bag in the glove box, so I musta, lol.

The part numbers are shown in the attachment. It's basically two larger ones (with grey heads) at the back, at the oil change access flap (which I never use). They are part number:

Item 5, p/n 90467-09227 Thicker Metal & Plastic Clips

And the rest, the majority, eleven I believe (count in the attachment):

Item 3, p/n 90467-07201 Thin Metal & Plastic Clips

There's also a couple of "internal" clips, that connect the side edge of the oil change flap to the main portion. You can see them in the attachment. If you're always removing the whole underpanel you don't deal with those.

Then at the front there's six bolts, all the same, item 2, no p/n indicated. They're fairly durable, and shouldn't get lost. The two ways I can think of to lose them:

1. You leave them loose while pushing in the plastic fasteners, then forget to torque them, and they subsequently rattle lose and fall off. Yes, I've done this, found some similar bolts from my Honda collection.

2. You oil them up and tighten them down good, snapping the heads off. Be careful with them, they're small bolts, shoulder bolts IIRC, meant to torque against the car body, and have the "shoulder" gently hold the plastic panel.

FWIW, I've had the engine cover off close to twenty times now (15~16 times for oil changes and/or transaxle fluid changes, and other times for access), and I can't remember the last time I needed to replace a plastic push-in fastener. What helps is careful/patience removal, and always washing them out. I used an improvised tool, actually a paint can opener, the most:



It's 90 degree hook blade is very effective for gently prying/levering the fastener caps up. A slim blade screwdriver sometimes is more effective, and I'll also use this, especially if the cap is up but it's still not popping out:


And again, again, again: always wash the grit out before reinstalling. I would stick with the correct fasteners: they have the correct diameter and "reach".

 

Priuschat...the only place I know where nobody trusts or believes Dealership Mechanics...until they tell then not to maintain their vehicles.

 

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