Transmission fluid change

Addendum (4:11 pm): Not sure what happened, meant to quote Pual Schenck; I think he figured it out, lol. Anyway, correct quote:

If memory serves I did that, sometime after the first drain and fill, didn't really get anything, so pulled it off. Just for giggles I put another on the engine oil pan drain bolt too, similar result. They were strong little magnets too, I use them for locating submerged drywall screws in the walls, for example.

 

My dealer says we do not recommend. However Local independent Prius specialist says 100K Only Toyota OEM fluid or LEAVE it alone.

 

The dealership's recommendation, is maybe due to the Toyota maintenance schedule saying nothing. Still, this doesn't seem to stop them recommending various fuel system and throttle body treatments though, that are similarly absent from the schedule.

The "specialist"? I'm not sure why he(she) would recommend to sit on your hands for 100K. I've change ours 3 times now, and I'm about halfway to 100K miles. The first change at around the one year mark and 15K kms was by far the darkest fluid. My "non-specialist" recommendation: at the one year mark or 10K miles, then a subsequent change around 50K miles. That second change would likely be cleaner than the first, and help you to gauge the interval for subsequent change, or to decide if any more changes were even warranted.

I'd concur: use Toyota ATF-WS fluid only. There seems to be an inverse corellation, between Toyota's emphasis on the need to use their fluid only, and owner's inclination to find alternatives.

I'm a little perplexed by the angst, to change or not to change, lol. This is a dead simple do-it-yourself, about the complexity of an oil change, and takes about an hour (maybe 2 since most DIY'r don't have a lift), and say $40 worth of fluid and repacement washers.

 

Well seeing this thread will be doing the first ATF change on a 2008 prius with 250k. The dealer never changed it up to 80k said it would be changed at 100k. After 100k two Prius got overlook in maintenance rotation for the family. A 2005 didn't get an oil change for 100k (the driver just added oil . At 400k we needed the main battery replaced so did full service, found sludge in oil pan but no engine still fine. Same with ATF, dark but no loss and the car stopped lurching after parking and releasing brake. The 2008 will be having it's first change, see if it's smoother afterward. Used Valvoline MAx life in 2005 (ATF-WS version) so will use in 2008. So pretty good proof that these cars can go 250k+ without changing fluids.

 

Ok performed the ATF change. I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't that bad, a little build of gunk on the drain plug for the 2008. No dramatic change in MPG. The fluid coming out was not as dark as others I have seen. Haven't noticed a huge difference in the ride either. The lurching well, I didn't drive it long enough to determine, I will see what the other primiary drive says later.

 

I got my '06 with about 194k on it. I swapped trans fluid at 200K and the fluid was very DARK! So dark that when I opened up the WS fluid I was surprised to see it was RED IN COLOR!!! Took about 15 min to drain, fill, plug, clean up. Once I started driving around and commuting, my MPG went up by about 4 mpg.

Last week I hit 235k and swapped it out again and there was some remnants of red color still in the fluid which I liked to see. CHange in mpg is negligible, if any, but the car does seem to be smoother (could also be placebo).

I plan to swap the trans fluid every 30-35k miles for as long as the car stays alive.

I had NO idea there was a Bentley manual for the G2 Prius. I just ordered one. I've used Bentley manuals for my VWs, BMWs, Volvos...such good info in those.

 

What size hose? Someone elsewhere said 1/2in diameter? Thanks!

 

No one has mentioned anything about running the engine afterwards and cycling through the gears to get the new fluid mixed in all around. Maybe not necessary, but when I did my CR-V, it was recommended to slowly move from P to R to N to D and back. Obviously there's no L1, L2, L3 etc, but do we need to do this on the Prius (Gen 2 anyway)? Great advice in here as always

 

The tubing I'm using has OD around 15 mm, and still has a little room to spare. It's sim this one:

Plastic Funnel with Handle | Princess Auto

I just sub'd a longer tubing, 3 foot.

Come to think of it, I'm third gen, so not 100% sure of that tubing diameter.

 

No, because the Prius transaxle does not have gears that shift, unlike a regular vehicle.

 

Use a size that fits tightly over the funnel spout. 1/2" or 5/8" inner diameter would be OK. Use electrician's rubber tape to secure the hose to the spout.

 

Excellent, thanks Patrick!

 

I did the transmission fluid replacement yesterday, and all went pretty smooth.

I want to thank this site and its members for being so helpful and helping us to do these types of services at home, instead of paying the dealership or Jiffy Lube etc. So far I've done the front and rear struts, oil, plugs, and now the transmission fluid!

Not sure if and who did the last trans fluid replacement on this car, but damn, if the drain and fill screws weren't cranked down hard! I could've almost done the whole job without even jacking the car up, but I had to eventually jack it up to really get on those.

I bought 3ft of 1/2 tubing for the refill (probably could've used 2 feet) The guy at the store asked if I wanted 1/2in on the inside or outside diameter of the tubing...? No one has mentioned it here or on YouTube, etc., so I got the 1/2in outer diameter size. Neither of my 2 funnel stems would fit inside the hose, so I ended up just running the hose through the funnel, and that worked perfectly! When it came time to put the other end into the fill hole, it barely fit, and I wonder if a slightly smaller diameter size would be better? I was able to get it in, but it definitely took some work.

Anyway, all want well, and I replaced what was some dark brown, nasty transmission fluid with new fluid. (yes, I used the recommended Toyota fluid)

Hope this is helpful to anyone about to do the job.

 

Gen 2 fill hole inside diameter's maybe less?

 

Could be. Or maybe 1/2in 'outer' diameter size tubing, would be better.

 

Yeah double-checked mine. The tubing's ovalled a bit now, 15 mm OD in the bigger axis, and as I recall there was a bit of wobble room in the hole. Again, that's with 3rd gen, and I recall second gen drain and fill bolts vary from 3rd.

I used a nice long-handled Jet ratchet wrench (maybe 18" overall), makes it a lot easier breaking loose those bolts. A breaker bar style wrench is good too, as long as you can get the right angle.

 

Ahh, so there is some difference in 2nd to 3rd gen. I think next time I'll try 1/2 OD tubing, and less than 3ft. I really had to hold the hose high up to make sure all the new fluid was getting in.
Probably could've used 2ft.
Me thinks it's time to invest in a breaker bar for this and future work

 

I think this is the one I'm using:



A breaker bar will do, the only thing is with limited clearance for wrench rotation under a car, the long handled ratchet is sweet.

 

There is a ton of controversy here about appropriate fluid. Yes, I get the it's better safe than sorry. A few years ago when I changed my fluid I was not able to afford the previous fluid nor willing to drive long distance to a dealer. I used Vavoline atf, my car had 270K on it at the time. It currently has 325K.. pretty sure it's ok and it worked/is working just fine.
Just throwing it out there.
No need to believe the hype, unless you are rich and are debilitated by fear.

✌ Happy DIYing!

 

I changed the transmission fluid today at 300,913 miles (the first time it has been changed). The old fluid was really black, all the pink was gone. Filled with a little shy of 4 qts of Idemitsu ATF Type TLS-LV. Don’t have a floor jack or ramps so jacked up the driver’s side, opened the fill bolt, undid the drain bolt and then lowered to car to drain it completely. Installed the drain bolt with new washer, filled the new fluid using a funnel and tube as recommended in previous posts. I wasn’t able to find the fill hole by feel, so had to jack the car up again to install the fill bolt. It turned out I needed the space under the car anyway to use the torque wrench.

All in all, was about the same amount of effort as an oil change. Should’ve done it sooner!