New owner of a 2011 here, wanting to drain and refill transaxle soon. Wondering if someone can tell me the actual size of the treaded hole so that I can replace the drain plug with a fumoto valve. I drive a lot and plan on flushing this fluid at least 1x per year and I like to keep my garage floor as clean as I can. Already have one on my engine oil pan as well as on all my other cars and I love them.
I'd let go on this: you have to bust loose the fill bolt anyhow. It's no big deal, and transaxle drain/fill is relatively long term.
I've thought about doing the same thing. Couple of concerns I had: 1. The transaxle gasket is at the bottom of the plug and not sure where the gasket contact would be on the fumoto valve. 2. The transaxle has a drain and fill plug. Would each of these have a fumoto valve?
Thanks for the replies so far. Yes I understand this doesn't have to be done often, however I drive about 1500 miles per week and will have to /want to change the fluid regularly Not quite sure the point about the gasket being at the bottom of the drain plug, I Assume the gasket will work the same way it does on the valve I installed on the oil pan I have been using the valves on oil sumps on my cars for years and place a great deal of value in being able to attach a hose to the nipple and drain the contents of whatever directly into the container I'm going to recycle it in all with no risk of it going all over my garage or driveway I managed to spill a good portion of the engine oil on my garage floor this past weekend when doing my first change on it since I was forced to rely on the original drain plug and was caught off guard by the gusto that hot TGMO 0w-20 exits that dump plug when the front wheels are up on rhino ramps. Thus reinforcing my desire to install a valve on the transaxle plug port if at all possible Yes I had considered the fill port as well and while I would consider installing a valve there as well it's not as critical as I feel I can do a cleaner job of installing the new fluid via a pump I have or a long funnel tube combo than I can of trying to catch the hot fluid draining out I suspect what I may have to do if no one can offer the thread sizes is that I'll have to remove the plugs, take them to lowes/HD and use their measuring nut/bolt things to figure it out and then wait until the second drain/refill cycle to fit the valves as I won't be able to have the car down long enough to wait for the valves to come in, even with prime shipping, if nobody can give me the sizes ahead of time. Thanks for the discussion so far.
You could stop at your dealer and pick up one plug (probably just a few bucks) and take that to HD, save the trouble of lifting the car and fussing with the ones in the tranny. Then you could report the size here.... -Chap
Both the drain and the fill plugs show part number 90341-18016. My experience verifies the two are indeed identical. http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_G_2011_TOYOTA_PRIUS_ZVW30R-AHXEBT_3901.5.html This ebay auction for an aftermarket magnetic replacement shows M18 x 1.50, 12.26mm thread length. Magnetic Drain Plug fits Toyota transmission 90341-18006 90341-180057 (PSR0402) | eBay At your own risk, of course, but I would trust this info enough to order up a Fumoto based on it. It's not a bad idea if you're going to drain the transaxle often. The initial removal of the stock drain plug can yield a bit of a splatter. People do tend to love their Fumoto's.
The one time you drain it conventionally, to install the valve, would probably do the transmission for life. I've done three changes by 60K kms, am thinking to not bother with anymore, the drained fluid now looks so clean.
This is great, thank you very much! And yes, I'm a total fumoto valve fanboy, no mess, no worries about stripped oil pan threads, no need to buy additional drain plug gaskets, etc. I will put them on anything I own and sometimes on stuff I don't own but work on regularly, like other family members cars.
OK, update time: One step forward one step back, I got around to changing my transaxle fluid this weekend with almost 30,000 miles exactly. I followed the step-by-step guides here on PC and they were a huge help. I took a sample of the fluid to send off to the lab and will post the results for everyone's benefit once I get them back, I'm not sure if there's a low-mileage original fill analysis floating around. Now, as far as the Fumoto valve goes, you were spot on with the size, I ordered the F-104N for M18x1.5 and it would have fit, if not for some pesky bracing webs/kickouts in the transaxle casting which prevented it from spinning to tighten. I also tried it in the fill plug location, just for curiosity, and it doesn't fit there either. Now I have to decide if I will order an adapter to push the fitting away from the transaxle body a little more, in hopes it will spin freely, or just lick my wounds and use the drain plugs like everyone else.
Yeah, cargo cult: you may never crack that thing again. Too: simple drain bolt is safer, say if anything was to bump it.
Hi Mendel, Transmission fluid also contains anti-wear and anti-corrosion additives which, by design, are gradually used up in the process of fulfilling their functions. When the additives are depleted, wear will increase significantly. I am not contradicting you. I also think that the transmission will probably last for the typical or average lifetime of the car, for the typical or average car owner, without regular transmission fluid changes. But I would like to generally remind all readers that cleanliness is not the only important factor when deciding if and when to change the transmission fluid. The OP might reach double or even triple the design lifetime miles within a few years. In my opinion there is a small but reasonable chance that regular transmission fluid changes might better maintain comfort, performance, and durability of his transmission.
Indeed they do, I was going to order one in advance, but I thought, based on pictures of the transaxle I wouldn't need it. How wrong I was. and after looking at it in person finally, I'm not sure if one adapter would be long enough. I'll give it more thought in another 30k or so when it's time for the now fresh fluid to come out again. Thanks for your support!
Meh, let go. By then it'll be maybe one more change (in the car's lifespan): and you'll be so accustomed to the trivial act of spinning out the drain bolt.
