Changing Transaxle oil

As long as it had some resistance, not so bad: that bolt is kind of like the oil fill cap. Maybe the dealership checked level in the past, and neglected to retorque?

I do think transmission fluid change intervals have gone way too long. Considering the Toyota fluid for this application is not that expensive, it seems cheap insurance to change much more frequently, say every second year.

Honda also has been increasing the interval. I don't trust their motivation.

 

My 2008 prius has a little over 59 kmiles on it and I am planning on changing the ATF this weekend. I've skimmed through the 20 pages of posts and it all seems more or less straightforward, but I do have one question: is it better to drain with the fluid hot or cool? Popular wisdom (and common sense: hotter, less viscous oil will drain more easily!) has always told me to change motor oil when hot but my previous car was manual gears so I know nothing about ATF.

I have my 800 mile migration coming up and will be in canada for the next couple of months so I will be trying to get most of the 60k service stuff taken care of this weekend.

P.S. I'm trying to think of a safe and easy way to raise the car while keeping it level. Either get another pair of ramps for the rear wheels or (more likely, already have the equipment but less safe (?) ) jack up the rear once the front wheels are on the ramps.

 

The WS fluid is very thin so probably doesn't matter hot or cold. However just in case there are junk settled at the bottom I would run the car a bit before draining. If you do drain it hot be careful not to burn yourself.

I use 4 homemade wood ramps to raise the car and keep it level. 2 ramps + 2 jack stands may work too but a bit riskier as you pointed out. Good luck!

 

Per the other responder, changing the fluid soon after a run: it will be warmer, though not as hot as the engine oil, and more homegenized.

How to raise the car and and get it levelled: depends on your setup. You could ramp up the front end and jack the back end and settle it down on safety stands.

Personally I would jack up the front, settle it on safety stands (at the rocker panel jacking points), jack up the rear and settle it on safety stands as well.

Before crawling under I push a large/sturdy tool box under a main frame point, just back from the engine zone. If the car were to come off the stands the box is thicker than me.

 

My dealership had it for $5.66 a quart. I bought an oil filter, three washers (two for the transaxle and one for the engine oil) and 4 quarts of ATF WS for $32.77 and that's with tax included.

 

It really doesn't matter. What matters is that you are changing the fluid. Nothing wrong with driving the front of the car onto ramps, then jacking up the rear center of the car with a hydraulic floor jack (placed at the inverted tower intended for that jacking purpose), then holding up the rear of the car with two jackstands.

Well, if there was debris settled at the bottom, then it is better to drain the transaxle oil cold, so that the debris doesn't get stirred up as the transaxle moving parts are spinning around.

You win the prize for paying the lowest Toyota ATF WS price in 2011.

 

What's my prize?:cheer2:

 

Positive acknowledgement of your accomplishment, here on PC.

 

Don't we want to stir up the dirt so it can be carried out along with the drained fluid, as opposed to let the dirt staying at the bottom?

 

Well, since the drain hole is at the bottom of the transaxle, I am expecting that as the fluid drains, that will take any debris along for the ride.

 

Honda CVT fluid was $19.52CAN per US quart, last time I bought. 3 Quarts needed.

 

Great thread on changing the transaxle oil! I paid $8 per quart and a buck fifty for the washer at my local dealer today.

I planning on changing mine tomorrow, and have a few questions.

1. I have a pretty good idea where the transaxle is, but haven't looked yet, so I'm curious, will it be obvious when I get under there?

2. How much clearance under the Prius do you need? I'm planning on using jacks, stands, wood, and blocks.

3. It sounds like the filler bolt is on the side of the transaxle (like an old VW I have), so does it require a pump?

4. I have 4 quarts, what do I do with the extra .2 quarts?

Thanks so much for all your time and help!

 

1. It is located on the driver's side of the engine compartment, and is attached to the engine.

2. If you raise up the car on jackstands then you will have sufficient clearance to get under the transaxle to find the drain and fill plugs. Note that the drain plug needs a 10 mm hex key socket. The other drain plug nearby needs a 24 mm socket and is for the inverter/transaxle coolant. Leave that one alone.

3. The fill plug is located on the side of the transaxle facing the radiator and you need a 24 mm socket to remove it. You could use a hand-operated pump but this is very tedious. Therefore I suggest that you use a plastic funnel with a 3 ft. long flexible tail. Place the funnel between the radiator and inverter and snake the tail down to the fill hole. I use a plastic transmission funnel (with a long and narrow shape) along with a flexible tail of sufficient length.

4. Just fill until fluid starts to leak out of the fill hole, then save the remainder for miscellaneous lubricating purposes that require a very low viscosity oil.

 

Thanks Patrick! That's just the kind of information I/we needed.

 

Technically I think you need two washers, one for each of the plugs. If you just got one and don't want to bother: the drain plug is the important one. FWIW, I wouldn't doubt some dealerships just reuse the washers.

BTW, what vehicle (and year) is involved, your signature doesn't indicate.

 

Oops, sorry about that. When I signed up on Prius Chat I didn't own a Prius yet. I'm very happy to say that now I do. Can't wait to get out there and change that transaxle oil today! I also can't wait to drive it over to the Blue Ridge Parkway and and get a nice picture for all to see! I'm already a huge fan of Prius Chat. Thanks again for all the help!

 

I dug up the used washers (installed at the factory) and found them indeed deformed around the inner radius:

The other side was still flat:


So if anyone wants to save $2 by reusing the washers he/she should at least flip them around to allow the flat surface to make good seal.

 

my PSD fluid after ~50.8K miles

I had my PSD fluid changed today. The dealer was a bit hesitant to change it citing (IIRC) 90K or 100K lifetime on the fluid and I told him I wanted it done as a precaution. Service writer had to make a phone call to check on the ATF WS pricing.

I was charged $109.16 in total for parts and labor, which isn't bad at all.

I had them collect some of it into a jar so I could see what it looked like. See https://picasaweb.google.com/105684...authkey=Gv1sRgCNTfw5CaiIex6AE&feat=directlink. This is after ~5 years, 2 months and ~50.8K miles. The fluid looked pretty dark to me but I've not seen virgin ATF WS to compare it with.

I was outside on a cloudy day at ~1 pm. The last 2 shots are after me turning the bottle over and letting it run back down. They were taken w/my iPhone 4 so I couldn't control the exposure, then they were resized down by Picassa's Piknik.

 

Fresh WS looks like cranberry juice or fruit punch.

 

The fluid in my Prius looked like that after only 12,000 km

I also did a pan drain on my FJ at around 8,000 and guess what? Was already dark!