DIY Transmission Fluid Change?

^ There a few alarm bells for me in the above too.

1. He put the whole 4 qts in but nothing coming back out.

2. His "levelling job".

3. Fluid leaking out of fill hole? Maybe the tubing had a curl upwards, and stuff was trickling back down, and out?

 

Assuming the right plug was used, simply park the car on a known level area, remove the fill plug and allow the overage to drain. Re-install and be on your way.

 

I went through this thread trying to find a picture of the drain and fill hole. Did I miss it? I noticed a lot of the pictures' links are dead. Can someone post? Also, I'm guessing the PiP should be identical? Thanks!

 

lol

DIY Transmission Fluid Change? | Page 10 | PriusChat

First picture.

 

Thanks for this thread. I've just changed my transmission fluid for the first time at 140 000 km. Bought the 4L of ATF WS from dealer & $70.
My car now feels & sounds soooo smooth as it shift into/out of electric/petrol mode.
Before I was averaging 4.6L per 100km per tank. Now I'm averaging 4.1L per 100km per tank.
Thanks priuschat

 

Rainking,
Here is a pic of my 2011. I removed the belly pan to get better access.

 

When changing oil in a gearbox that has a drain plug and a fill plug, it's always a good idea to remove the fill plug first. If you drain the transmission first then find out you can't get the fill plug out it will be a major inconvenience.

 

Plus it drains faster and without chugging and splashing.

 

Good thing I had no luck with the driver-side Allen bolts!

But the lifts were down and I had to do everything on my back and various Jack stands. More about the oil change shortly.

Bob Wilson

 

Excellent Point! ....

 

Yes, I leveled as best I could, given the limit of my jack. It looked pretty close to me.

The waste fluid was a very dark maroon color. It's a nice feeling to have it out of there.


As far as the fluid leaking out when pouring it in, it seemed to be more the result of some kind of fluid dynamics related to the tubing. I'm sure there's some simple explanation for the mystery. Nevertheless, even angling the end of the tubing as steeply as possible going in to the fill hole didn't help. Obviously, I could have used the in-person help of someone who knows what they're doing, but I seem to have done a passable job of it. My mileage is the same or better, and it does seem to be a little smoother. Maybe someone can comment on what the symptoms of overfilling would be.

 

Free Tool for Smart Phones : Level app.

The front door threshold area is a level reference point.

 

Finally leveled the car along both axes (using front threshold as a reference on length side, as suggested). Opened the fill plug and let it drain for about 15 minutes. I had begun to fear the worst, but I didn't get very much. Probably less than a pint. Here's the pic:

 

Definitely was worth it then.

I hope they would fix the Google Chrome picture issue going on here soon. Have to keep opening image to new tab.

 

Don't know if this is what you experienced or not. But when I did my second change I couldn't get the fluid to go in very fast. I discovered that I had pushed the tube in the fill hole too far and it hit against some internal part and almost stopped the flow. I pulled it out about a half inch and the new fluid went in normally.

 

Well just finished replacing the fluid. Had to run and get more hose (needed 2 feet worth) to reach the fill hole. Took about three hours but I also removed the undercover.
The fluid color was about what I expected and is shown in the photo attached. 44K miles. Nice to have it done but in my case, not sure it was really needed it.

 

Nice stuff, looks like two day old coffee that somebody left on the burner.

 

Did the same thing today at 43K. Color was so dark. Glad I changed it today though. Ended up breaking a few plastic tabs.

 

You can get them at the dealership, they're a common replacement item. One of these is hand for pulling them off:


(top item in above)

Also, when you have them off, rinse the grit out of them, makes them less prone to seize.

 

Boy I have to admit, the drive is smoother and quieter since replacing the fluid. I also had a wild hum above 55 that seems to have gone away. Will know for sure tomorrow.