ATF fluid changes ARE Required.

Finally completed the transaxle oil drain and fill today.

Here's what it looked like at 36725 miles (fresh fluid on left, old fluid on right):



The fill plug was a PITA to access and break loose due to the close proximity to the drive shaft and CV boot on the passenger side, and a lower crossmember. I had to keep turning the hex socket every which way to get a small angle of advantage with the breaker bar. There is no way that fill and drain bolt was torqued to the factory recommended torque of 29 lb-ft. When I torqued the drain and fill bolts to the specified 29 lb-ft of torque, it sure didn't seem like it was tight enough, so I abandoned the torque wrench and just used some muscle to get 'em tighter. I didn't want any of that thin WS oil getting past the washers and bolts.

I used ramps on the front wheels and jacked the rear end up using a floor jack at the rear jacking point. Kind of strange that the rear jack point is off center, but I guess it ended up working out ok, as it allowed me to set down the driver's side first on a jack stand, then the passenger side.

I used one of these on each jack stand so I wouldn't bend or abuse the pinch welds:

 

^ Yup, extension bars make it a lot easier.

 

^^ Wonderful photos

By the way, the first time I replaced the ATF in our (v)agon most of my time was spent removing and reinstalling the air covers. I was more than a bit annoyed when I realized it was not necessary. I should have had more faith in Toyota.

 

Did the drain mostly miss? I was nervous the stream would hit some plastic and then go everwhere, lol.

(To illustrate my mind set, I wasn't even draining anything this time; this was just a dry run to take off the cover, see what I could see.)

 

Translate please: the front can be lower or higher than the back ?

 

No, sorry: I was referring to the transaxle fluid level spec.

(XlRider was saying it could be plus or minus 10 mm.)

 

Got it. That allows for a considerably non-level car.
Going by ratios and approximate lengths of the ATF tank being about 1/10th the length of the car, a height difference of 10 cm between front and rear bumpers is allowed.

Now I feel silly for having checked my car with a level.

 

That wasn't me.

I used a level too, at the front door rocker panels.

It wasn't quite level, the rear could've been a bit higher, but it was close enough. I figure raising the rear would've allowed slightly more fluid in, but it was all the way to the bottom of the fill hole, so I'm not worried about it, due to the 10mm below allowance.

 

I used a level. One of my driveways has a slight slope, so I drove the car up ramps until it was level and it worked out just fine. I didn't remove anything up top, I snaked a clear hose down between the engine and the trans.

 

Must be ATF changing season. A friend and I did mine on Thurs. I thought the worse part was removing the undercar fairing. Some are saying it is possible to change the ATF with out removing it ? I saw a access hole for the drain plug. But I can't see how you could get to the
fill hole. Also I have to check again, but I thought shop manual said to torque the plugs to 37 ft/lb. I wimped out and did 32 ft/lb.

 

@our1vue: Transaxle drain and fill bolts are 29 ft/lb. (32's not a lot over)

@xliderider: sorry about the misquote

 

Knock. Knock. Knock

This is the UNIT police. Come with us, please.

 

Just checked my copy of the doc from the TIS website. It says to torque the plugs to 50 Nm or 37 ft-lbf. Not sure what an lbf is but
I assume it is some form of pounds. Where are you finding 29 ?

 

lbf = pounds of force rather than mass.
The units of torque are force*lever_length

 

I've got a pdf of the Repair Manual. Could be they revised the spec more recently?

29 seems fine, requires some effort. I've had it off since I retorqued to 29, it was solidly locked. The one time I've noticed drain bolts kinda loose is with those composite aluminum/rubber washers. But the transaxle washers are plain aluminum.

Here's an excerpt from my pdf, the torque is on the last page:

 

Mendel,
Looks like they up'ed the torque in the 2012 doc. Below is a terrible copy (my good scanner is some where else). Wonder if they figure if they up the torque, the plugs will be harder to get out and people won't
be changing the fluid

 

What mileage does most agree that the ATF should be changed?? 30,000? This is actually Lester asking, as Elsie's 2012 ''v'' has 50,000 miles on it and she will drive it until the Gen 4 comes out. She has not had any problems from her car period, I am just a bit more into ''preventive'',, if I advise her to get it changed, she will. From reading most of this thread, I had decided to change mine on my 2014 at 30,000.

 

I did a first change at (I'm a bit embarrassed) around 15,000 km's (about 10,000 miles), and then another around 30,000 km's. With the first change the fluid was fairly dark (comparing to new). With the next change it seemed to be overkill, the fluid was looking only slightly darker. My take:

It's hard to overdo it with an early first change, the break-in period is hardest on the transaxle, with all the gears meshing and so forth, and then you can let it stretch.