Changing Transaxle oil

The only thing computerized about the transmission oil change was the dealers computer that said the price was $200.

 

Foxrider68: The transaxle won't take the full 4 quarts. The amount filled should go to just a hair below the fill plug, when the car is level. You are probably OK, but there is no way to be sure unless you get the car level to check.

 

It doesn't necessarily accept the full 4 quarts because some ATF-WS remains in the transaxle. When I changed it in my Prius, it took about 3.8 quarts. I changed the ATF-WS six months ago. I have not noticed any difference in the transaxle since the change.

It seems your procedure was correct. Don't add any more.

BTW, did you use jack stands after lifting the car again to reinstall the fill plug?

If not, you daredevil!

 

Thanks for the responses, it drove fine today so I think I'm good. I always use jack stands if I'm not blocking the car off. My dad has a friend who lost his son to a car falling on him so its something he drilled home a long time ago.

 

No thats about right. Somewhere at the end of the 4 th quart is what I see also and have done mine twice.

To bad though you didn't read all the posts because you could have done the ac evap coil maintenance while you were under there. Please see my last post above.

 

You are OK.

 

Ok I found your list and saved it for later. We're trying to move but I just picked up the car and at 99,800 miles I felt like this was a must so I took a time out. I'll get your other list done this summer once we're moved. Good tips though, applicable to my 04 Sienna as well.

 

Ok cool. Understood.

 

I have a 2006 Prius with 102K miles on it. I drove it 300 miles constantly on I-5 from Sacramento to Bakersfield, flat and straight, 60 miles per hour, with no problems. I parked it for 4 hours, and then I took it out on the freeway again. I heard a screeching noise coming from under the hood. It is like a bearing going bad. If I went under 50 miles per hour or over 60 miles per hour, the noise went away. If I accerated, the noise decreased and when I lightly pressed on the brake pedal, the noise became worse. I took it to Toyota of Oxnard California. I wanted them to check and replace the transaxle fluid. They took it for a test drive and did not want to check the transaxle fluid stating that it was sealed for the life of the car. They erased all the error codes and want me to take the car back to view the new error codes. They thought the problem was electrical in nature and described the noise as harmonic. My gas mileage has decreased by 10 miles per gallon in the past 3 days.

Does anyone know of someone in California who knows about Pruis transaxles ?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and visit Los Angeles frequently. (925)314-5777

 

I have a 2006 Prius with 102K miles on it. I drove it 300 miles constantly on I-5 from Sacramento to Bakersfield, flat and straight, 60 miles per hour, with no problems. I parked it for 4 hours, and then I took it out on the freeway again. I heard a screeching noise coming from under the hood. It is like a bearing going bad. If I went under 50 miles per hour or over 60 miles per hour, the noise went away. If I accerated, the noise decreased and when I lightly pressed on the brake pedal, the noise became worse. I took it to Toyota of Oxnard California. I wanted them to check and replace the transaxle fluid. They took it for a test drive and did not want to check the transaxle fluid stating that it was sealed for the life of the car. They erased all the error codes and want me to take the car back to view the new error codes. They thought the problem was electrical in nature and described the noise as harmonic. My gas mileage has decreased by 10 miles per gallon in the past 3 days.

Does anyone know of someone in California who knows about Pruis transaxles ?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and visit Los Angeles frequently. (925) 314-5777

 

The transaxle is *not* sealed, and the recommended change from the PC'ers here is @60,000 mile intervals, if not sooner. You would do well to change it. Any mechanic can do it. As for the noise, I don't think changing the fluid will fix it. Try Luscious Garage for Bay Area Prius specialists. Try Avi's Advanced Automotive in the LA area.Your dealer is not doing you a favor by erasing codes like that.

Note that front wheel bearings going bad are a common occurrence with the GenII. Try turning sharply left and right (someplace safe) to see if the sound is worse with more or less loading on one side or the other. I don't think that is your problem however, if codes were being set.

 

Hi RhinoPrius. Unfortunately changing the fluid is very unlikely to fix a bad bearing if the transmission is really going bad. It would however be very helpful for the diagnosis of whether or not the transmission is failing. Make sure you look very closely at the drained fluid, and especially at the magnetic drain plug, for signs of excessive wear metals.

 

That's crap that they claimed it's sealed and lifetime fluid. But, that's not the first time we've heard that before.

I have no experience w/them but Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists has a good rep. Googling for site:lusciousgarage.com transmission turns up some good hits on their blog on transaxles.

 

I think $100 is reasonable for a dealer to charge. I might have paid that but I did it myself for just over $40.

Glenn

 

I had Luscious Garage in San Francisco change the Transaxle Fluid. THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION ! John there said that there was no excessive metal shavings, etc, on the magnetic plug. It did not completely solve the noise problem, but the car is making much less noise than before the fluid change. There is a noticable change. Can I use Lucas Transmission Fix or some other transmission additive in the transaxle as an attempt to reduce the noise further?

 

I wouldn't put any additives in there. It's good that the new fluid has made it quieter, and given that there weren't any metal shavings or anything in the old fluid then your transmission is probably ok.

Remember that wheel bearings can make a bit of rumble (or whur-whur-whur noise) that people often mistake for transaxle noise.

 

Could you tell me which dealer this is? I'll try to get it done next time I drive through CT. Thanks.

 

A1 Toyota (50 Amity Rd, New Haven, CT, just off the Wilbur Cross Parkway at exit 59), ask for Ken as your service rep and mention me.

JeffD

 

My dealer in California also charges $100. Considering neither of us lives in a low priced area, dealers charging much more are either ignorant of what the process actually is or taking advantage of their customers.

 

Mine was $109 in MS, so it is not cheaper in low rent parts of the US.