Transmission fluid only 2 quarts came out.

hard to say, but it doesn't sound good. 2 quarts out, and 2 quarts in before it started running out the fill hole?
i seem to remember others whose fluid didn't all drain for some reason, not sure. are you positive it was level?

 

Probably it was just low. Maybe someone previously did a change with the front jacked up? I would refill with car level, with Toyota ATF WS, should take somewhere between 3~4 qts.

 

and only 2 went n, or 4?

 

very confusing.

What do you mean 2 quarts came out of the fill hole? That means it was over filled by 2 for a total of 6 quarts?

Nothing should come out of the fill hole when you open it. On a level service you should be able to get your Little finger in that hole and the fluid should be right at the top of the hole.

take the dump bolt out and clean its magnet.. Give the old fluid a good look for any floating non ferrous metal.

Then bolt the dump bolt back on nice and tight. its smart to wash off the fill and dump bolt with spray carb cleaner before you go at them so no debris gets in the hole.

You have already opened the fill hole so snake a long flexible funnel from the top of the engine into the fill hole. Pour 4 quarts in.
I just jacked the front of the car up high it takes about 3.9 quarts before fluid started coming back out of the fill hole. That means its full!

Install the fill hole bolt.

if your saying you opened the dump bolt and only 2 quarts came out that's not good. You probably have a leak. You just bought the car right?

Find a large piece of cardboard and park over it. Every day back off it and take a look at it. See how bad its leaking. Most trans leaks come from a bad inner cv joint seal where the inner joint enters the diff. Easy to see. It will be wet.

I have replaced my trans fluid 3 times since bought new. Now has 160,000 miles..

I save large cardboard pieces. Easy to store. very useful. Whenever I get my hands on like a big screen box I cut out a big square there very handy. I always park my car over cardboard in the front. Its a great leak checker. And there under the wheels too saves the painted garage floor. They get dirty i recycle them.

 

O.K. ignore me if I am being stupid -- hence the picture with the dunce cap....

But, ya sure you drained the transaxle? Isn't it pretty tough to do it without at least raising the car a bit...but there is another plug down there that can be removed without raising the car, although it is a tight fit... and that fluid would certainly be dark...

 

I have two GEN2 prius, 2005 and 2008, on Prius 2005 (205,000 miles) transmission fluid change 3.7 quarts come out, and 3.7 goes in, but 2008 Prius (140,000 Miles) only have 2 quarts come out, fill in 3.7 quarts. I feel the car drives much better, but my wife say, no different, its all in my head. plan to change it again after 30,000 miles, just to see if 2008 transmission consumes/burn/lose any fluid.

 

lol...exactly Steve......

 

Good thats what I was hoping.

Slow acceleration is probably your hybrid battery is dying like most of them. With poor power contribution from the hybrid battery the car is a slug. This car is all hybrid battery.

Start reading all the posts about hybrid battery failure & rebuild especially in the Technical section.

 

it is interesting that these trannies can survive on two quarts of lubricant

 

The g2 transmission is basically a manual gear box that happens to have 2 electric motors in it. Just sun gears a large chain and a differential gear system.

Like most manual transmissions it should not lose or burn any fluid.

 

I'm going to break with PriusChat tradition and just answer your question first.

No.
I do not think that you will need a new transmission very soon, otherwise you would not have been getting 50MPG before the transaxle fluid change.

YMMV.

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Longer answer:


You're getting wrapped around the axle (pun almost unintended) about this but in the end it's not going to matter very much.

The transaxle either has a leak (caused by a collision, factory defect, covid, POTUS, or whatever else they're blaming everything on these days) - OR whoever replaced the transaxle fluid last time did not perform the task correctly.

Or?
You're really REALLY low on engine oil right about now.

I'm betting on "b" - somebody didn't re-fill the transaxle correctly.

There is a pretty easy way to noodle all of this out.
1. Fill the transaxle with the correct fluid, noting how much went in.
B. Drive the car for a while and see if it stays full.
III. If you drive the car for another 100,000 miles then the transaxle was probably not ruined by the low fluid state.

If the transaxle stays full, then it's a pretty good bet that I am right and somebody failed to properly drain and fill the transaxle the last time that this service was performed.
Both of these happen every now and again, which is why the SMART driver always checks filters and fluids occasionally.

FWIW, my very unscientific opinion is that you're not doing your transaxle any favors by running it 2q low, but there was probably enough oil splashing around in the transaxle to keep things lubricated enough to keep YOUR CVT from acting like it was made by Nissan.

I also think that the car "driving much better" after the fluid change might have been placebic, since you reported that you were getting 50mpg before the fluid change, which is actually a few points above average (especially in New YORK....city OR state.)

The only other issue you've reported with the car is slow acceleration, especially going uphill - which is caused the make and model of the car you're driving - NOT how much fluid isn't in the transaxle.


Good Luck!

 

either someone forgot to fill her up, or she came from the factory like that

 

Sorry to wake the old thread up. My 2015 only had 3.2 quarts out instead of 3.6 quarts. It was the first time at 60k miles drain and refill. It is possible that they do not have enough ATF or some are evaporated from the transmission vent. The vent above the transmission is always wet but not dripping any fluid. Just collecting some dirt on top of it. I wipe it every year.

 

Your are in the wrong forum John this is the G2 forum.