Mechanic says they NEVER change transaxle fluid?

Yes.

While he may “work” on Prii that does not mean he knows anything about what he is working on .

Might be time to find another mechanic .

 

This has been discussed in many threads on PriusChat. Quite a few Prius enthusiasts feel that it is important to change the fluid or at least that it is worthwhile inexpensive preventive maintenance. Others, myself included, see no objective evidence of need to change it. Toyota calls it lifetime fluid. Search the forum for more comments. No need to re-ignite the debate.

 

For an hour's labour and about $40 for the Toyota ATF WS fluid and two washers, yeah I'd say it's "short-sighted". Up to you: these threads, and there's been many, the usual participants should all be along shortly: will drag on much longer than the time and effort to do the the chore.

 

Find a new Mechanic. I recently discussed lifetime fluid with a tech at a dealership, and I was advises that changing it out is smart! You have to remember lifetime for most manufactures is around 150,000 miles. So is the fliud lifetime, sure, but do you hope to have your car past 150,000 miles?

 

If it works, it ain't stupid.
Are there any reports of Prii needing to be scrapped because the transaxle failed due to not changing the fluid?

 

I can't see any problem with changing the fluid, with the proper spec'd fluid, once or twice through the car's life. There are stories of the original fluid coming out very thick and dark, which cannot be good.

The one danger, DIY'rs think they can do better than the spec'd fluid, try alternates. Maybe they're even right, but this is not something I'd want to risk.

 

Just because the fryer keeps frying the fries doesn't make it ok to not change the fluid. Do you want it to work well or just work.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

That reminds me...

 

To me, that's the bottom line:

Evidence based:
Clogged EGR cooler? Yup
Head Gasket Failure? Yup
Oil level dropping? Yup
Hybrid battery eventually failing? Eventually Yup
Transaxle failure? Where are the reports? Rare if at all!

So, If it gives you peace of mind and feel that it's worth it, fine. But don't say or imply that others are negligent if they don't do it.

I love the respectful conversations on PriusChat but we need something new to disagree on. I really hoped that my earlier reply, which I thought was even handed, would stop us from debating this all over again.

Oh well.

 

There is no such thing as a reply that stops a debate, especially on the net, unless tidelands reply is the padlock.