AppleJack

I have 52K on my '05 Taco. I just took it in today to have the transmission serviced, and 20 mins. after I dropped it off he comes back and says, " We just ran the numbers on your truck and you've got TYPE-W fluid and it's good for 100K." Can this be true? Can different fluids make that much difference and if so, why don't they all run TYPE-W?

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

Tell him "I dont care what is has, change the fluid"

I would not trust ANY Auto trans fluid to 100K, i dont care what they say. Toyota also said you didn't have to change the oil in your Camry, Solara, Avalon, etc for 10K miles. And now they are dealing with a GIANT sludge issue and paying out the behind for it.

Change the fluid.

AppleJack

That's what I was thinkin'. I wish I could do it myself, but the tranny is fully sealed.

ismoyota

yup.....remember , your the customer and your always right.

kenwoodrunner

i agree, change it early and often!
this myth about "lifetime" fluid is nothing but a marketing gimmick!

AppleJack

Yes, I'm going to take it to our other Toyota dealership. I got the feeling that they wanted to bug out and go home, as I had a 4:45 appointment.

whitetaco02

they say the same thing about the coolant as well. if you have the pink pepto bismal looking stuff, that is also high mileage coolant as well.

toytech76

yah I dont trust that either. The "w" or world standard fluid is claimed to never needing to be changed. BS. I say do it every 60K. Its kind of a bitch to change as you dont have a normal dipstick and the fill hole is in a weird spot.

William

It isn't lifetime fluid. According to Toyota, it's 100,000 mile fluid.

And it's not Toyota that made the fluid or decided that the fluid will last longer. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is who decides which types of fluids will last longer, and then Toyota makes the decision as to which fluid to use and exactly how many miles it should be left in.

It wasn't Toyota's marketing department that says it can be left in for 100,000 miles. It's the engineers. Toyota engineers can make mistakes, but this may not be one of them. After all, other engineers from other manufacturers are saying the same thing about transmission fluid intervals.

Toyota wouldn't say that the fluid could last for 100,000 miles if it couldn't. Why? Because they wouldn't intentionally do anything that would cause more warranty work, recalls, or TSBs.

Transmissions don't pollute their lubricants like engines do. So unless the transmission has overheated enough to damage the fluid, it can very well last for 100,000 miles.

And modern lubricants have additive packages and such that not only make them lubricate better, but that also makes them last longer.

As far as engine oils go, the manual for my Honda motorcycle says that the oil change interval is 8,000 miles. I've been changing it at that interval ever since I've had it with no problems at all, using either Honda's oil, Amsoil, or Mobil1. Motorcycles are harder than cars on oil, because most of them (and mine) also use the engine oil to lubricate the transmission and the multiplate wet clutch. Plus I've been very hard on the bike and didn't break it in right. I found out it's top speed (150) the third day I owned it, and it was nowhere near broken in.

The problem with the engines sludging may not have been just due to the oil change interval. It could have also been due to the engine oil not getting hot enough to burn away the moisture and other contaminates that form in the oil over time (which causes sludge). Reducing the oil change interval would certainly have helped, but the interval probably wasn't the only factor.

Now I'm not saying that it would hurt to change the fluid sooner. I would make that determination based on what kind of loads and abuse and ambient temperatures the transmission sees, not based on lack of knowledge and/or misinformation about how good some modern lubricants are and why the manufacturer says the lubricant can be left in longer.

With mine, I tow my boat (4500-5000 pounds) on a regular basis about 45 miles one way to Tampa Bay, and I tow my trailer with my motorcycle and ATVs 850 miles one way to Kentucky at least once a year (will be doing that this summer). Plus, mine has to deal with Florida heat. So I'll probably change mine sooner than 100,000 miles, since mine sees harsher use than average.

kenwoodrunner

The fact that,: 1) they changed the transmission to a "sealed" unit in 2003 and 2) that it is 100,000 mile fluid makes it a lifetime fill by default.

Our definition of the life of a vehicle and toyota's definition are totally different. For me lifetime of a vehicle refers from birth, to when the vehicle enters the junk yard. for toyota the lifetime of their vehicle is when the vehicle is no longer their responsibility (warranty is over).

"Lifetime" automatic transmission fluid (ATF). In a legal context, "Lifetime" really means the duration of "toyota Powertrain Warranty". Upon its expiration, the $JOKE$ is on you.

of course toyota's synthetic derivative fluid will last longer than the mercon dextron they used to use

so who decides what to put in the owners manual? toyota or the SAE? Toyota has the last say as to how long to leave it in. And what business are they in? Selling new cars!


It was also the engineers who decided that the camry's 5sfe timing belt interval was changed from 60,000 miles to 90,000 miles (in the mid 90's). the timing belt and idlers were not re-engineered or anything. why did they change the interval when the timing components were the same? Like other car-makers, toyota knows that most owners don't keep their cars too far pass 90k. So they extend and/or delete the specifications on some costly items... i.e. 90k timing belt change on 2.2 5sfe engines, "lifetime" fuel filter and ATF (came later). This is a marketing twist to help sell cars by advertising "minimal" maintenance. one of consumer reports categories is maintenance costs! this maintenance change gave them an advantage in the consumer magazines under the catergory maintenance costs. It is all marketing!


i fully believe it will last 100,000 miles!!!! my arguement is as follows: Is it in your best interest to leave the fluid in for 100,000 miles if you are going to have the vehicle for 300,000 miles or 15 years? and the answer is: NO! even know the fluid might still look good at 50,000 miles you still have oxidation and the moisture content (all city driving) from heat and cool cycles.

i am not saying change it every oil change! just less than 100,000 mile intervals.



Which a shorter oil change interval would have cured! And toyota admitted it by lowering the oil change interval back to 5000 miles.

that why i said early and often!

glad to see we agree to change it before 100,000 miles.

William

My reason is more than just "I don't believe the fluid will last that long" like it is with some people here. My reason has to do with hard use and hot ambient temperatures.

If I never towed or drove off road, then I would go the full interval. So then I don't fully agree that it should be less than 100,000 miles. Like I said, it depends on the circumstances.

I've had a Mazda M5OD manual 5 speed transmission that used Mercon automatic transmission go bad because I didn't change it often enough. But then again, I also towed alot with that vehicle ('94 Mazda Navajo, same as a same year 2 door Explorer), did alot of slow speed off roading and rockcrawling (which allows heat to build up), and took a few trips out west, in the desert in the summer where temps were well over 100 degrees.

The factory 30,000 mile interval would have been enough if I had not towed or driven off road. But for me, I should have done it every 15,000 miles.

Spence1016

the dealership changed mine at 120k and unless the previous owner had it done under 60k then it was the first time and i didn't notice any change,nothing like firmer shifts or anything.

86tuning

AFAIK, Type WS fluid is recommended at 96000km on Lexus vehicles. That's around 60k miles.

At 52k miles, it won't hurt a thing to change the lfluid. Type WS is more expensive, and somewhat labour intensive to change the fluid. The trick is to properly check the fluid level, which has to be done at a specific ATF temperature.

No, it's not something that you'd want done at 4:45 on a friday afternoon. Make an appointment for a weekday morning