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2011 Prius - Transmission Fluid Advice; changed recently with non-Toyota fluid

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Matthew Jones, Jun 24, 2023.

  1. Matthew Jones

    Matthew Jones New Member

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    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hey all, I'm new here, so don't be too hard on me. Gotta start somewhere!! Thanks in advance for any of your time and advice.

    My family has had 5 priuses over the years, all Gen 2, Gen 3. With mechanic prices the past few years, I started doing a lot more car, tractor, machine maintenance for the family across the board, including my own Prius. The Toyota dealer recommended I change the transmission fluid at 91 K, so I went for it at next oil change (97K). That morning, the small town our family's farm is at (where I was doing my oil change, blah blah blah) didn't have Toyota ATF WS I could find anywhere. So, I just bought some bottles (I think it was Castrol....??) of ATF that, per the manufacturer's description on the back, met the Toyota WS cert. Changed the fluid. I felt so accomplished, especially saving the money changing everything myself.

    Naturally, my heart sank when I began reading threads on here months later saying, "Why would you not just use the highly recommended Toyota ATF WS?" Is it that bad to go with the non Toyota ATF WS? It's not like I was against the ATF WS or did it to save money. I just didn't have immediate access to the Toyota fluid, which I figured would be more readily available. So, I just used something compatible, thinking like...well...engine oil. Formulated for the cert I want should be good, right?

    So, what do I do? It's only been about 4,000 miles on the non-Toyota fluid.
    a) Go with it, because it is not that big of a deal long term. If it passes Toyota WS spec, it will be fine.
    b) Wait 5,000 miles until next oil change, then just do the transmission again, this time replacing with the Genuine Toyota ATF WS. I guess that would kind of be like a 10,000 mile flush?
    c) I am literally doing damage by the 100 miles, and should change the transmission fluid asap to Toyota WS.

    FYI, the car has been generally well maintained throughout it's life on the PM schedule. I don't want to do something at 100,000 that seems fine now but will prevent 250,000 + unattainable because of transmission damage or wear.

    Thanks again. - Matt
     
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Don't know about the gen 3 but my gen 2 trans fluid change was easier than an oil change. I believe the fluid was less than $50 at the time so it seems a no-brainer to consider the castrol a flush and change it out if nothing more than for the piece of mind.

    I've done similar on regular belt/cone CVT's (not a eCVT like a hybrid) when I found the aftermarket fluids to perform worse than OEM.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    He won't be having any problems with that transmission fluid I have the same and two of my prii now And both of them have about 70 to 90K on this fluid without any trouble so if anything catches on fire and implodes one of my representatives will let you know.
     
  4. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    used the castrol, half the life of ws fluid
     
  5. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    I'll guess 99% probability the Castrol stuff will not cause a problem. You can choose to worry about the other 1%, or not. I used WS when I changed mine.
     
  6. Matthew Jones

    Matthew Jones New Member

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    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Thanks all for the advice. I essentially got the answer I was hoping for, which was I didn't make a mission critical mistake. I just wanted to not have any heartburn waiting another 5 to 10 K before going with the recommended approach and switching back to Toyota WS. When I drain the Castrol, I will update the thread on how it looks after 10-20 K in the transmission.

    Yall are so much better than the Autozone people.
    Have a nice weekend. -Matt