Transmission fluid change

I was never 100% convinced that WS is necessary for the electrical properties, but I have yet to see a good UOA for any other product. Bob Wilson ran AMSOil ATF in a Gen 1 Prius and got a bad result (high Cu).

 

Question is where the copper comes from. edthefox5 thinks that it's not from the windings, and only affects gen 1:

Personally I still won't risk it.

 

As my engineer turned CEO control freak former boss used to say: "Show me the data". :madgrin:

 

I thought all us engineers were control freeks?

 

Some more than others. :madgrin:

 

Most of the foreign ones too.

 

That's for sure, it is quite a skill to be able to come up with stuff on the run like that, and look completely honest. Also very insulting.

I just checked my new area, different dealer, and they want 11.50 a qt for the WS. Plus tax that's 12.50. I was able to get some for much much less from a private seller who no longer needed. Does it mean anything that the bottlecaps have all been opened? Is WS black? JK as the kids say.

 

Question is where the copper comes from. edthefox5 thinks that it's not from the windings, and only affects gen 1:

I can garantee you its not from the windings as even the tiniest area of raw motor winding exposure to the fluid would quickly result in a blow out. no matter what type of fluid is in there.

There's 200 volts AC across the windings at max there and would immed. flash over with any exposure to the fluid.

Not sure why there's such a fixation on the motor windings.
There very well protected and there's very few reports of windings blow out. But we still beat it to death.

 

Went to the dealer parts counter and asked for what I needed to do ATF change. Parts guy says you have to talk to service. Service claims you need a scantool to do this job, something about temperature, wants $300 to do the job. Total BS?
Can I just get 4 quarts of WS and the two washers and be done?

 

Enough WS and washers are basically it. For the details, use the search function, there is a real nice write-up on the forum. IIRC, you will also need a funnel and right size tube or a pump and tube.

You learned something about your service and parts people. Too bad it wasn't something good

 

Yes, and yes.

You will also need a plastic funnel with a three-foot long flexible tail; or else a hand-operated pump that screws onto the top of the ATF bottle. I recommend the former instead of the latter.

 

I found a long discussion thread but no concise howto. If someone has the link handy, please post - but if not, I can figure it out without the writeup.

What I do need is the part number for the drain/fill washers. Not sure if this is a Toyota thing (I am a VW/Audi guy) but the guy at the parts counter insists he cannot look anything up, I have to go talk to the service desk (where there are literally 10-12 service advisers in a circle fielding customers).

I don't suppose there's an online part lookup (the equivalent of VW's ETKA) online huh?

 

You need to find a different dealer. I've gone to 3 different dealers (Roseville, Maita, Folsom Lake) in the Sac area and none of the parts departments tried that BS. When I bought the washers at Folsom Lake Toyota, the parts guy actually printed out the exploded parts view of the transaxle and gave it to me.

The washer is #90430-18008 for both the drain and fill.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...124-changing-transaxle-oil-10.html#post881573

 

Perhaps true with my FJ Cruiser, which doesn't have a dipstick on the auto trans. There is a fill plug on the side of the trans, and an overflow plug on the trans pan

Using either the scantool, or touching two pins on the OBD connector, you shift D-N over and over until the trans is at operating temp

You then fine tune the trans fluid level until it dribbles out the overflow plug

The Prius cvt can be thought of as a manual transmission, there is no torque converter or valve body or clutches or shift solenoids. A drain plug and a fill plug

Always remove the fill plug first

Your dealership is the reason why Toyota reputation is tanking. BTW the dealership I bought my FJ from charges $80 for a transmission service, even on something as complicated as the 5 speed auto in my FJ Cruiser

 

That's good advice because it's inconvenient when you don't find out your fill plug is frozen in place until after you have drained your transmission.

It can also be useful to put the fill plug back in finger tight before removing the drain plug if you want it to drain more slowly.

 

It's funny how "Stealerships" always shorten the intervals, claiming it's in our best interest and disregarding what the manufacture suggests.

 

From the lab testing we have done a first ATF refresh at 30k miles is a reasonable idea, then every 60k miles thereafter. The metallic content builds up rapidly at first in the ATF and then slows down as the gears "lap in".

Toyota is somewhat optimistic about the lifetime of it's Type WS ATF.

JeffD

 

Especially in the FJ auto trans!

 

Just wanted to chime in... I did my first tranny drain and fill this afternoon. I did loosen the fill plug first, as suggested. It took between 3.8 - 3.9qts. Total time...about 30 minutes.

Mileage is 77,600. Fluid was dark and there was a layer of fine mush on the magnet. No solids/chunks were noted.

Thanks for a great thread!:rockon:

 

Task completed. I took video which should make for a nice howto/tutorial when I get around to editing.

I went to a different dealer and found a normal parts counter with actual computers, and the parts guy showed me the diagram. Fluid was $10.08/quart, washers were around $3 each I think.

I tried using my manual transmission fill pump (like a plunger) but that failed miserably.
After wasting a quart on the floor, I used the funnel and tube method just fine, and returned to the bad dealer the next day to get an extra quart, which oddly was cheaper ($8) than at the good dealer.