Should I Change the Transmission Fluid at 200k Miles?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kaufam7, Jan 6, 2022.

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  1. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

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    Yep, I agree with the majority here...go ahead and do a drain and fill and avoid any additives. When I do a transmission job, I collect the old fluid in a tub that has the quarts marked on the side so I know how much to expect to go back in. Some out there swear the Valvoline Max Life is just as good as Toyota WS but my thoughts are "Why risk it?" WS isn't all that much more expensive.
     
    #21 ColoradoBoo, Jan 18, 2022
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  2. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    How do you know the toy stuff is better?
     
    #22 Tim Jones, Jan 18, 2022
  3. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    We don't. Neither does Toyota. There is no international standard for the conductivity of ATF, so no ATF can meet that standard. Toyota knows theirs does not conduct electricity, and has no way to say "or equivalent" since there is no standard to meet to be equivalent.

    If you create such a standard, I bet new owners manuals say "or equivalent".
     
    #23 JimboPalmer, Jan 19, 2022
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Toyota says to use it, and nothing else.
     
    #24 Mendel Leisk, Jan 19, 2022
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  5. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I'm never going to use it........ thinkin about just going back to Walmart 10 w 40 with Lucas.
    I'd put in 3InOne if I could buy a gallon
     
    #25 Tim Jones, Jan 19, 2022
  6. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    All I ask is "No Warranty Claims"
     
    #26 JimboPalmer, Jan 19, 2022
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Tim, this is the half-knackered tran still, that had you resorting to conventional, and fairly thick, motor oil?
     
    #27 Mendel Leisk, Jan 19, 2022
  8. Kaufam7

    Kaufam7 New Member

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    Just had my trans fluid replaced by my local mechanic last week for first time at 200k. He is old school, doesn’t understand the hybrids, and was reluctant to do it. I told him what everyone on this site told me, so he went ahead and did it. Bought 4 quarts of fluid from the local Toyota dealer for about 10 bucks a quart. I think my mechanic reused the old washers. There are no leaks and the transmission is still working great! It will probably outlive the vehicle. I had the mechanic save me some of the old fluid. At 200k miles it still had a slightly pink hew to it and was perfectly clean. No sign of any metal shavings or debris of any kind, and still smelled fresh and not burnt at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was darker colored you could almost see through it. My Prius would have probably continued to run just fine without changing the transmission fluid, but I’m glad I did. I was gonna post a comparative pic of the old and new fluid, but they used all the new fluid doing the change and didn’t save me any.

    I also changed the spark plugs. I have to say that the old plugs were in pretty bad shape at 200k (the genuine long-life Toyota plugs are rated to last 160k). I was surprised the car even ran they were so bad, but I never had any problems except for some occasional shaking for just a few seconds when the engine would first start up cold. I noticed there were several other posts about the shaking. I never saw it as a problem, but new spark plugs will probably resolve the issue in most cases I think. The shaking has stopped since I replaced mine. I haven’t seen any change in gas mileage yet, but it’s winter now and very cold in upstate NY and the mileage always goes down a little in the winter. So far it hasn’t changed, so maybe that’s a good sign. Maybe it will start going up in the spring.

    Well, thanks again to everyone who responded to my original post. You all gave me good advice.
     
    #28 Kaufam7, Jan 21, 2022
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  9. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Are yo the original owner? Sounds like the trani fluid has been changed. Never heard of one being clean especially with that many miles
     
    #29 Tim Jones, Jan 24, 2022
  10. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Yes and it could blow at anytime.................
    I have a backup engine and trani..........might drive it till it blows........
    Thinking about selling it with spare drivetrain.... but who knows...I drive a prius and that means I have some mental problems and impossible to tell what I might do.
     
    #30 Tim Jones, Jan 24, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2022
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  11. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Also the first sign of Head Gasket Failure...... hope not..... check your antifreeze level CLOSELY and often.
     
    #31 Tim Jones, Jan 24, 2022
  12. Kaufam7

    Kaufam7 New Member

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    I bought my trans fluid from the Toyota Dealer for about $10 US a quart, but had my regular mechanic do the change and he only charged about $40 US and reused the old washers. I was at 200k miles and never changed it before. The old fluid was dark but not black, still had some pink color to it, and had no debris or particulates in it! It has been two months since it was changed. There are no leaks and the car has shifted just fine
     
    #32 Kaufam7, Feb 17, 2022
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  13. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    The prius trani does not shift.
     
    #33 Tim Jones, Feb 17, 2022
  14. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

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    Great job getting the old fluid changed out!
    Yep, the E-CVT does not change gear and to call it a CVT requires research...only a small part acts like a CVT. Tim, it DOES have one gear, Park! :) I've been studying on the unique hybrid drive system and it's pretty fascinating stuff! From the planetary gear system (power splitting device) to the MG1 and the MG2.
    And we haven't touched on what-the-heck the "B" does on the shift knob...brake! (Actually, it just tells the regenerative braking system to go up to maximum....gets maximum charging for the battery while slowing the car down.)
     
    #34 ColoradoBoo, Feb 17, 2022
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  15. lovenycpizza

    lovenycpizza Junior Member

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    How's the car running? Did you clean out the EGR valve? Following along. Trying to get as much info we have same car.
     
    #35 lovenycpizza, Apr 13, 2022
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