Originally Posted by mt_goat

I got a PM from someone telling me that the Toyota techs say to never replace the ATF filter. I know, I've had to argue with the parts guys to get them to order one for me before. So just for the record, I'm not saying that everyone needs to go out and replace them. The subject was brought up by someone as to how to clean one, and I just said they really can't be cleaned effectively and to just replace it instead of trying to clean it.

The first time I changed one it was hardly dirty at all at 100,000 miles. I went ahead and changed it since I'd already bought the filter and had the pan off.

The 2nd time I changed one I was doing a VB upgrade at about 27,000 miles and had the pan off for that. So I went ahead and changed it while I had the pan off. It's a real PITA to get the pan off and I didn't want to have to take it off again for a long time.

Based on my limited experence with these filters, they really don't get very dirty, but both of my trannies were in great condition and had regular maintenance. I'd say that the filter can easily go 100,000 miles without a problem, maybe even 200,000 miles. In fact cleaning the magnets is probably more important than changing the filter IMHO. I edited my previous post to make that a little clearer.