When I first bought my truck in Nov 04, I thought I was going crazy because I couldn't find the transmisson dipstick. After researching the manual and talking to the dealership, I discovered that it was a totally sealed transmission. How realiable is that? All other transmissions (with a dipstick) require changing the fluid at 30-40K intervals. Am I to believe that transmissions with a dipstick are more prone to getting dirt, grime, etc, inside therefore degrading the fluid and requiring a fluid change/flush? I just don't see the "big" difference between this particular transmission and any other transmission that requires fluid change at some point.
05 sealed transmission
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05 and up tundras get the "World Standard" tranny fluid. it's suppose to be a lifetime fluid, but i don't buy it. if you know what goes on in your tranny, you would change it. i plan to get mines change at 30K. some might think it too soon, but just some extra insurance.
I don't know but I would think it would be a big job to change the fluid in a sealed tranny. I didn't even notice a drain plug. I probably wouldn't trust that work to anyone but a toyota technician and I'm sure it would be a pretty penny!!! If Toyota can claim that they've built a tranny that never needs fluid replacement......I would presume that all other car manufacturers have been riping people off for years by recommending to change tranny fluid every 30-50K miles.
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I just had a conversation a few days ago with my "regular" mechanic (for my older, out-of-warranty vehicles) and he would agree with you. Told me he goes to training on a regular basis and for each major new component like transmissions, etc. His opinion--the dealers support the 100,000 mile interval between changes because by then, you're out of warranty and they get a chance to make some major bucks off you. Changing fluid (just a drain and refill) every 35-40 thousand miles is cheaper and more likely to keep you problem-free.
Although I am a hard core Toyota owner and believe they are bullet proof, I am a little reluctant to have that same faith in the actual transmission fluid. I don't recall seeing a drain plug on the tranny and there definitely isn't a dip stick to check or add fluid. So how would you change the fluid? I'd bet the farm that it's a huge job and comes with a hefty price tag.
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would you not change your old for the life of the vehicle? same idea here. and it can be very expensive to R&R the tranny for inspection, with teardown and rebuild even more.
anyways, there are 2 plugs on the pan. one to drain the fluid, and the other is to check. to drain is the normal 14mm and to check it a 5mm hex key. to check, you must have the truck on normal operating temp and then take off the 5mm hex plug. if it is overfilled, it will drain out, if it is low, no fluid will drain out and will stop at the correct level. the fill plug is on the right side of the tranny towards the back, close to the transfer case.
anyways, there are 2 plugs on the pan. one to drain the fluid, and the other is to check. to drain is the normal 14mm and to check it a 5mm hex key. to check, you must have the truck on normal operating temp and then take off the 5mm hex plug. if it is overfilled, it will drain out, if it is low, no fluid will drain out and will stop at the correct level. the fill plug is on the right side of the tranny towards the back, close to the transfer case.
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BTW, couldn't tell if yours is a 2WD transmission, but if so, there's a TSB in the Knowledge Base here that you may want to become a subscriber to access.
A similar problem in that same area resulted in a TSB covering '04 models and the problem(s) may not be solved yet. I've got a little over 5,000 miles on my June '06 vintage DC and recently noticed it's leaking a little fluid there.
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When I crawled under the truck yesterday to run my amp power wire I saw that mine was leaking. I'm going to drop by the dealer later and make a service appointment to address this and my leaking power steering rack along with the engine noise while accelerating, the bj recall and a vibrating drivers rear view mirror. I love my truck however I'm not happy with all of the little things that have cropped up in such a short time.
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When yall sign in go to the bottom of page where you will see the forum on engine and drivetrain and look at first post by th Admin!! NHParrot,he has a link and it explains the sealed transmission a pretty good bit and it might clear up some issues yall have! i agree that 90 or 100K seems a bit long for Tranny fluid but if you tow a group i wold get it done myself around 50K and again at 100K at the dealership cause the WTF fluid is only sold by Toyota and they have evac machines that will do a complete fluid change and it is not that expensive to do! but ya gotta figure you are replacing 10 to 15 qts of "synthetic" Toyota fluid and it will cost you, but a new tranny without labor is around 3K bucks!! changing tranny fluid at an early interval seems a tad bit overkill due to you are changing a synthetic tranny fluid thats rated for 90K at extreme conditions but i fully understand concerns of those whom wish to pamper their Toy!! it is your money and it deserves your attention if your life/livelyhood depends on it !!
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IntegraGSR is right on with his inspection procedure :tu: with one exception: THE ENGINE MUST BE RUNNING My dealership replaced a tranny in a Land Cruiser, at Toyota's expense, with the service rep present, before one of the mechanics decided to read the fine print in the repair manual. They were letting the fluid drain out, and thought the tranny was bad, because it wouldn't shift out of first, which is the default, "limp-home" mode when the fluid is low. Apparently, if the engine is not running, you get an "overfilled" condition when you open the smaller plug. There is a standpipe that is the right height for the fluid, when the rest of the fluid is being pumped up into the rest of the tranny. Now that I understand the design, I like this method better for checking the fluid. I always seemed to get different readings on a dipstick, and was never completely happy with the result. Too bad Toyota wasn't a little more forthcoming with the info, even to their own people. Chalk up another one for TundraSolutions :tu: :tu: :tu:
My dealership replaced a tranny in a Land Cruiser, at Toyota's expense, with the service rep present, before one of the mechanics decided to read the fine print in the repair manual. They were letting the fluid drain out, and thought the tranny was bad, because it wouldn't shift out of first, which is the default, "limp-home" mode when the fluid is low. Apparently, if the engine is not running, you get an "overfilled" condition when you open the smaller plug. There is a standpipe that is the right height for the fluid, when the rest of the fluid is being pumped up into the rest of the tranny. Now that I understand the design, I like this method better for checking the fluid. I always seemed to get different readings on a dipstick, and was never completely happy with the result. Too bad Toyota wasn't a little more forthcoming with the info, even to their own people. Chalk up another one for TundraSolutions :tu: :tu: :tu:
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Folks,
Servicing units without a dipstick is not a big deal....it's a bit more inconvenient, but not impossible, especially on a truck. You'll need a hand pump and you have to be willing to get under the truck while it's running and check the fluid level while the fluid is warm. I have a BMW that you have to put up on 4 jack stands to do the service since you have to fill the unit while the car is level. A bit of a pain. The trans pan on the Tundra is easy to drop without putting the truck up on stands.
BTW, drain plugs on trans pans is not a universal. GM, Ford, and Chrysler don't put plugs on their pans (maybe recently). The theory we had in the shop was that they wanted to make sure that you dropped the pan to clean it out and change the filter when changing the fluid. Yes, it could be messy if you don't know the tricks, but it's really not a big deal.
Servicing units without a dipstick is not a big deal....it's a bit more inconvenient, but not impossible, especially on a truck. You'll need a hand pump and you have to be willing to get under the truck while it's running and check the fluid level while the fluid is warm. I have a BMW that you have to put up on 4 jack stands to do the service since you have to fill the unit while the car is level. A bit of a pain. The trans pan on the Tundra is easy to drop without putting the truck up on stands.
BTW, drain plugs on trans pans is not a universal. GM, Ford, and Chrysler don't put plugs on their pans (maybe recently). The theory we had in the shop was that they wanted to make sure that you dropped the pan to clean it out and change the filter when changing the fluid. Yes, it could be messy if you don't know the tricks, but it's really not a big deal.
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