Transmision oil change.

in some countries, toyota calls it lifetime fluid. there are many threads here from people who change it every 30,000 or some other mileage as a precautionary service.
there are no good statistics of change or no change, and transmission longevity.
there are threads detailing do it yourself and oil spec.

 

I had to change a trans in a 2006 I bought with 180k on it cause of a high voltage leak code just recently and the fluid was black and had small metal fragments in it. I would highly suggest changing it at least every 60k miles. I did my 2012 when it had 35k on it but that's just me.

 

toyota's concern is likely getting most units past the 150,000 mile warranty.

lifetime fluid is likely a marketing program, or to compete with other mfg.'s claims.

 

i guess they want you to check the level, which is almost as much work as changing it.

 

Toyota has no documented schedule to change the ATF WS, but as gmcneil05 says, suspended metals are a danger to the insulating properties of the ATF. While any schedule is better than no schedule, I favor 30,000 miles, (50,000km) then 90,000 miles, (150,000 km) then every 90,000 miles (150,000 km) as less metal wears of over time.

 

This is what our transaxle fluid looked like at 37K miles. New fluid on the left, old on the right:



I plan on changing the fluid again at 100K.

 

I'd recommend an early change. With a 2010, assuming it's never been changed, just get on it right away. I did a first change around 15,000 kms, and a second around 40,000 kms. With the first the fluid was quite dark, with the second it looked near new.

For DIY, you will need:

1. 4 liters (or qts) of Toyota ATF-WS (it should take about 3.5)
2. Two (identical) replacement washers, for the drain and fill bolts. You could re-use the existing, but it's good practice is to replace them.
3. Some means to add fluid to the transaxle fill hole, which is deep down in the engine bay. A funnel with with 3' tube extension is simple and effective. Keep the tube diameter around 15mm or less.
4. The (identical) fill and drain bolts have recessed hex pocket head, require a male 10 mm hex socket. A decent braker-bar style wrench is handy, plus a torque wrench for the re-install, and a few extensions, say 3" and 6".
5. A drain pan of some sort.
6. A method to safely raise and level the car. The proper level when filling is determined by adding fluid while the car is level, until it starts coming back out.

Torque for fill and drain bolts is 29 ft/lb. It's good to remove the fill bolt first, just in case there's problems; you don't want to drain the fluid, and THEN find problems removing the fill bolt.

 

No trans filter?

 

No filter

 

Good to know. Thanks.