Transmission fluid change at 120K miles? What is transaxle fluid?

Front wheel drive vehicles have transaxles. That one assembly combines the transmission and differential components found in rear wheel drive vehicles.

Regardless whether you refer to the liquid within as "transaxle fluid" or "transmission fluid", it should be changed now. The drain pan should be removed and the interior cleaned. The Classic transaxle uses 5 US quarts of Toyota ATF T-IV.

Regarding coolant, if your dealer is using the red Toyota Long Life Coolant then both the engine and inverter coolant should be changed at 30K mile intervals. If the pink Super Long Life Coolant is being used then the service interval is 50K miles.

You didn't mention iridium spark plugs, and the service interval is 60K miles.

 

Hi Patrick , and all Gen 1 owners!

I just dropped off my 2002 Prius for a smog, and I told them I noticed a whirling sound on acceleration. The sound ramps up and down on acceleration and de-celeration. Actually I thought it was a wheel-bearing. I'm at about 97,500 miles and you know I don't drive the car much. The last time it was checked was at 94,000 miles in 2017 and it was noted as "sealed" so it doesn't appeared to have been changed.

The local shop is telling me that the transmission fluid has "metal filings" in the fluid, and that the car is in need of a "rebuild" of the transmission at a cost of $4,200. The car is safe to drive, however. What are your thoughts on this?

I asked the repair guy if I could simply change the fluid and if that would help, and he sort of muttered that it might, but wasn't sure which caused me to be suspicious. Right now I'm not doing anything as I'm guessing changing the fluid is a DIY procedure I could possibly undertake if it made sense.

If you have a moment, could you let me know your thoughts. 97,000 miles and a failed CVT seems a bit suspicious.

I'm looking at selling the car as a "parts car", located in Southern California near the Long Beach Airport if anyone is interested in picking up a 2002 Toyota Prius with low mileage. It has some quirky issues, but the battery appears to be in good shape, and I'm the original owner. Please inquire.

 

Thought I would mention that Prius CVT transaxle usually require Toyota ATF WS fluid..



Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Except for the Gen 1. That takes Toyota ATF T-IV

 

That’s right. Here’s the documentation from my 2002 manual for the Gen 1.

 

I stand corrected, ATF WS is not backward compatible...

Thought this is Gen 2 Prius forum, I should have read it more carefully as this thread is about Gen 1 Prius...

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Here's a good post regarding changing the transmission fluid.

Gen1 tranny service DO IT NOW! | PriusChat

 

Also this yt video:

 

That's a gen 1 Prius, the transaxle has had improvements since then. The transaxle on newer Priuses are more efficient, have less friction, they can go far longer with the original transaxle fluid, easily surpassing 200,000 miles with the original fluid.

 

The guy in the video is using ATF-WS not recommended by Toyota ATF T-IV.

As I will be performing the oil change I was wondering if it is a matter of build date of specific example.

 

Gen 1 uses Toyota ATF T-IV and must not use ATF-WS. There is no Gen 1 that should (or can) use ATF-WS.

ATF-WS is for Gen 2 onwards,