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My Prime's first transmission fluid change :D

Discussion in 'Prime Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by thatoneraccoon, Feb 9, 2017.

  1. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    Well, Bob may be proud. :) I changed my transmission fluid this evening with 2124 miles on the clock. And I am indeed shocked at how dirty the fluid is with only 2k and glad I changed it and going the extra mile with this car. I do really like it a lot.

    It will be interesting to see what it looks like when I hit the 7k mark and again at 17k marks. It was a pretty easy job over all and sure looked nice under there and behind the splash shield. I have taken a few pictures and will post them up for all to enjoy.
    And a thanks to bob for all the testing and suggestions :D

    fluid.jpg
     

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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well done!(y)
     
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  3. Jasonheng15

    Jasonheng15 Lowered Prime

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    Nice. What kind of fluid and how many quarts and where is the fill hole?
     
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  4. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    I used the OEM Toyota ATF WS. I measured out 3.5 Qt's and put back 3.5. It looks to be very close to gen3 setup I saw on here. 10mm hex tool to remove the drain and fill. crush washers from dealer only a buck and change. And if you look at the 2nd picture the fill hole is the hex closest to the drive shaft in the back.
     
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  5. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    OK, I'll bite: "What transmission?"

    Does this fluid lubricate the PSD, or are you talking about the differential, or...?
     
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  6. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    You have to change the transmission fluid that quickly? Why?
     
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  7. Jasonheng15

    Jasonheng15 Lowered Prime

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    Thanks for being the 1st! I think im going to wait until i hit 5k to do both oil and trans fluid. Im only at 1500 on my prime. Did you see any metal scrapings on the magnetic plug or any particles in the fluid?
     
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  8. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    Perhaps the PSD? where the planetary gears and motor windings are?

    I dont think you have too do it this early. There was a thread where bob took a sample on his previous gen prius at 5k and it had a lot of contamination, presumably from things being new and being broke in. I think. So he wanted to do it eariler around 2k, so I thought I would too, just because to go the extra mile since I like this car and I was curious too see what the fluid would look like. I heard after the first few changes you can go 60k after that and it still looks like new and test good.

    awesome! it was kinda fun :D I did not see any metal scrapings or the such. Though I should add a big strong magnet to the bottom of the drain plug to catch the little stuff. I will add one in 5k miles! :D then we will see at next one after that.
     
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  9. dalcon95

    dalcon95 Senior Member

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    The owners manual doesn't mention changing the transmission fluid until it is at 60k miles under extreme driving conditions. If it is contaminated as soon as 2k miles, why don't they mention changing the fluid as early as 2k miles? I am thinking that following their recommended schedule would be good. Just trying to understand the extreme differences in maintenance schedules.

    #1 in Easley,SC
     
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  10. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    I dont have all the answers for this, perhaps some others around here may.
    I can say, I would not be surprised if the trans ran perfect even at 150k without changing the fluid or doing anything.
    im just a dork and wanted too do it and see what it looked like. as for how beneficial all this is?
     
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  11. dalcon95

    dalcon95 Senior Member

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    I don't want to be doing something wrong by following Toyota's recommend schedule.
    #1 in Easley,SC
     
    #11 dalcon95, Feb 9, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2017
  12. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    Well, if you plan to keep the car a long time and care about it. it cant hurt too go a little above I dont think. Perhaps 60k or 30k changes.
    I would not go more than 5k oil changes on a regular car. the prime changes things depending on how much ice you use. but besides that. I have never had a car start to burn or use oil or a transmission slip or have problems, I racked up over 500k miles on one of my buicks once and she was a perfect running car the whole time and I did oil at 3k and trans at 30k
     
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    3rd gen does not have magnetic drain bolt. 2nd gen did? I'm guessing 4th doesn't either.
     
  14. Samprocat

    Samprocat Active Member

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    Preventive maintenance....
    Cool....what would be nice to have oil sample sent to see what type of things are in this....oil....
    It looks like addative formula in factory fill oil and one you used is under question....
    2000 miles and already dark...
    This is making me scratch my head...
    I will be doing on my wife car this soon...i have almost 5k



    Only way what is coming in my mind is that in Germany...especially MB and BMW are using special transmission fluid that are nonconductive....and this may be new addative or sign of overlooked part in hybrid design by Toyota R&D......
    I will do some calling regarding this....your oil color look like ether new addative or continues
    Electrical pitting that occurs while electric discharge happen
    MB is already using this type of special oil including BMW




    Looks like they did R&D on this and ATF WS oil is good for Prius...they have learned with first generation's when this type of oil was still under development....
    It will be interesting what will new transmission for 2018 Camry hybrid have for




    I'm backing up my post.....discoloration is to breaking in internal parts of transmission and this is normal for first couple short oil changes....where is up to owners to decide ......stick with Toyota lifetime....or make better life in long run....
    From my findings this type of hybrid transmission should have change interval.....




    And my only dream is seeing ceramic bearings on future Prius cars.....eventually when this comes cost effective.....
    Tesla is already using on induction motors ceramic bearings....
    1/10 of rolling resistance from old school bearings...

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #14 Samprocat, Feb 10, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 10, 2017
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  15. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    You scamp, beat me to it!
    • Was there any odor? - My first Gen-1 transmission oil change smelled of paraffin. Not definitive but curious.
    • R&G Labs: R&G Laboratories, Inc. - Home - these are the people I use. Be sure and get a 40C and 100C viscosity reading, usually an extra charge, as shear-down has been seen in the past. They have advanced particulate analysis but these typically cost in the $50+ range and answer questions of what type of materials and their size.
    We have a new architecture transmission and this is the first oil change I've heard about. It is likely to have different wear characteristic than seen in the Gen-3 and Gen-1. Every data point helps us understand what is going on.

    During our last cold snap, I used my standard, roll-down test and found no evidence of significant rolling drag. Otherwise I would have already done the change. But now, I'll make sure it gets done at 2k miles. I'm just under 1.8k miles.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #16 bwilson4web, Feb 10, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2017
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  16. thatoneraccoon

    thatoneraccoon Active Member

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    oh wow! yeah that would be pretty awesome :D maybe by the next few gen's we can hope

    :D
    I didnt notice any odd smells so I just went out to check the new bottle vs the old and it does smell a little different than the new fluid, but not like paraffin I dont think. It will be interesting too see and hear about how yours turns out.

    When it was draining out, it looked pretty nice. it was not until I put in the bottles for comparison when I realized just how much of a difference there actually was. I am going to keep the bottles and label them and see the difference side by side at 7 and 17k will be interesting too see when it starts to clear up.
     
  17. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    One caution about storing samples. It is possible that the oil might leach out whatever the container is made of. As a general rule, I prefer glass containers as the 'gold standard' but I'm persnickety about such things. Also, storing a sample can lead to settling of some suspended matter.

    If you have a nice strong magnet, you might put it adjacent to the oil, taped to the outside. Then after an hour or so, tilt the bottle to see if any debris were attracted to the magnet.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  18. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Is this correct?

    Prime transaxle drain and fill locations.jpg
     
  19. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    I love 'maintenance' posts like these. Thanks to all of you early adopters!
     
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Is that a 4th gen?

    Assuming yes, I'd tread cautiously. What you've marked as drain might be the coolant drain. Not sure. On 3rd gen both fill and drain bolts are on the side face, close to the CV joint.

    See this:

    Transaxle Fluid Change DIY? | PriusChat


    ^ With the link in the above, it looks like someone at TechInfo forgot to lock the door for a while. That door is NOW locked though: the link dumps me to TechInfo home page.

    Now the ethic of this bother me, that a routine maintenance item like a transaxle fluid change instruction is considered privileged (Hey: they don't even include an oil change instruction), proprietary information, off-limits to owners of the vehicle. A far cry from the old days:

    '58 Volkwagen Beetle Owner's Manual | PriusChat
     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Feb 10, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2017
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