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How many have changed their transaxle fluid?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jyii07, Mar 4, 2021.

?
  1. Yes

    12 vote(s)
    70.6%
  2. No - and don't plan on it

    1 vote(s)
    5.9%
  3. No - but will when I hit XXX miles

    4 vote(s)
    23.5%
  1. jyii07

    jyii07 Junior Member

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    My 2016 Prius is close to 110k miles now and I'm trying to decide if I should change out the transaxle fluid or not. I bought the car at 105k miles and dont think the fluids ever been replaced and I think I heard somewhere that you should only change it if it was changed earlier at like 30k miles. Some people say "life time fluid actually means lifetime fluid" and don't plan on doing it. Others say to do it every 100k miles. What are your thoughts?
     
  2. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Most of what I see here from people who change transaxle fluid seems to be fairly early; around 30k miles or maybe earlier with repeated changes on a regular basis of something like 60k mile intervals. That's not official; just an estimate. The main idea being to get out the break-in debris. My personal opinion given the construction of the transaxle is that after that first change, you should be good to go for the life of the car. Not everyone agrees with that, though. There are loads of discussions about it on the forum.

    • My '05 had just over 100k on it when we got it. I never changed it. Traded it in at 150k.
    • My wife's '07 had 98k when we got it. I changed transaxle fluid a about 118,500. Traded it in at 138k miles.
    • My '13 PiP had about 53k on it when we got it. I also changed it soon afterward. Traded at 89,700.
    • My '17 Prime had about 23k when we got it. I changed it at 37,600 miles. It has about 49,250 now.
    • My wife's '17 trim 2 had about 20,500 when we got it. It's about 23k now. We haven't changed the fluid yet.

    No transaxle issues with any of them. I'm just a little fastidious about preventative maintenance. That got ingrained from 23 years of manufacturing experience.
     
    #2 jerrymildred, Mar 4, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2021
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  3. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I found that Toyota engineers felt it was 100,000 service. Discussion here convinced me to change at 30,000, then 100,000, then theoretically every 100,000 miles.
     
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  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    My company does not change the fluid for their fleet Priuses....but they usually offload them after 10y or 200,000 miles. My last one was exchanged for a non-tracking-device equipped replacement at 160,000 on its original fluid. My present ride is at 120,000 on its original fluid - and probably getting close to the tip-over point.

    I personally would lean towards a 30,000 mile to 50,000 mile initial fluid change (DIY with OEM fluid) and probably every 75,000 to 100,000 miles thereafter.

    YMMV
     
  5. jyii07

    jyii07 Junior Member

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    Yep, that's exactly what I heard too. 30k miles and then every 60k or something like that. Appreciate you posting the history of your cars..

    Thanks, that's what many people consider toyota meant when they said "lifetime"... lifetime = 100k/10yr

    Cool, thanks
     
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  6. David9962000

    David9962000 Member

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    So you guys get it done at an independent shop? Since Toyota says lifetime fluid. And you use Toyota fluid?
     
  7. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I use Toyota fluid at a Toyota dealer. They tell me it is unnecessary, then take my money. About $100.
     
  8. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I use the Toyota fluid ... in my garage. Super simple job if you have four jack stands.
     
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  9. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    The transmission is very different than typical other Toyota’s so it doesn’t follow the same routine. Let the car care nut speak.

     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  11. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I would never trust that to my local dealer. They messed up the first free maintenance inspection on my Prius I might drive 150 miles to a known good dealer though.
     
  12. Mike063

    Mike063 Junior Member

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    I got 160k miles( toyoyota prius two eco 2018) i have changed transaxle fluid twice, first time at 100k and second time at 150k miles nothing bad happened)
     
  13. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    A KNOWN GOOD dealer?!

    You might have to drive a little more than 150 miles.
    Or even 1,500. ;)

    The transaxle fluid replacement seems to be pretty straightforward, and I would expect that a GEN-U-WINE ASE certified mechanic should be able to do it quite easily.
    THE TROUBLE IS.....many times you either do NOT get a GEN-U-WINE ASE certified mechanic, because they're busy on a better paying job like a $4,000 out-of-warranty brake job...you get the $11 an hour mechanic 'trainee' who is being cattle-prodded by management to do more PDIs, car details for new victims, and oil changes.

    OR...

    You DO get the genuwine article only to have them blaze through the change without bothering with such trivialities as torque checks, post-surgical care, or (sometimes) even whether they put the right fluid in.
    I "may or may not have heard" of at least one person whose fluid change was completely gun-decked (marked off as being done when it wasn't) because the genuines didn't think it was necessary because Toyota said it wasn't, and "we know more than the daffy owner does about their car."

    OK.
    So....
    Not everyone can DIY.
    For them, I would find a very busy independent mechanic and develop a long term relationship with them instead.
    You might have to watch a few videos and do some post maintenance inspections to make sure you got a decent one.....but you're at least in with a chance this way.
    ...and for the most part it's cheaper.

    ALSO.....
    If you're one of those people who drive for 4-5 years (or less) and then trade out cars I would ship the transaxle fluid replacement entirely.

    This unit is clearly designed to last for the full service life of the vehicle without this service.
    No combustion takes place in the transaxle.
    No clutches wear out.
    No dirt gets in (unless your mechanic leaves the bolt off after servicing it.)

    It's the automotive equivalent of a prostrate exam.
    Nobody really needs them until they have a certain number of miles on the odometer, and their purpose is diagnostic rather than maintenance.

    Like that (in)famous gland....ALL transaxles WILL fail eventually if something doesn't kill off the whole vehicle before that time...but mostly something else turns the car into a parts-donor before then... ;)


    OTOH....if you're one of the smart people in the world who DO keep their vehicles out to about 15 years or 200,000+ miles then the common consensus in this forum is that the fluid should be replaced once on the front 9 (somewhere between 30,000 and 60,000 miles) and semi-occasionally thereafter......say....every 50,000 miles.

    AS ALWAYS.....

    Real-world mileage WILL be a little different than what you see on TV or read on the interwebs!
     
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Let's see

    My son bought hos 2015 Prius new deom this Gen 1 Prius owner.
    I bought my 2008 Prius from a different (not so good) salesman at the same dealer & Sam, the Prius guy still insiste don saying Hi.
    My other son bought his 2010 Corolls afom Sam
    First son traded in 2005 Prius for a 2015 Prius v special ordered as a fleet of one frmo Sam
    I bought my 2017 Prius from Sam who still owns his Firsg Gen Prius. He insistedf on spending 45 minutes in the car reviewing its features before we even test drove it.

    I believe that makes them a KNOWN good dealer.

    Incidentally, the local dealer would not budge off list and insisted the Prius Two only came with a black interior, so my tan interior Prius Two does not even exist.