ATF/Transaxel Fluids Schedule

toyota calls it 'lifetime'. the recommendations here are all over the board, because no testing has ever been done at various miles, or studies of failed tranny's. i would say the consensus is every 30k. so if you want to, just change it now.

btw, you're early on the plugs and coolant. are you going by the book or listening to the dealer?

what was wrong with the lug nuts, missing?

 

?? Not "and," because the transaxle fluid and the ATF are one and the same. There's no official PruisChat mileage recommendation on that, as far as I know. Everybody is free to form his or her own opinion when is best. For the first flud change, many feel the earlier the better, although solid evidence that changes are necessary is scarce. Whenever the mood strikes is fine.

Dealer charges vary from reasonable to ridiculous to refusing to do it for any price.

 

sorry, missed the trans 'and' atf. funny, after a few days, this thread will look just like all the other ones.

 

a lot of dealers don't look at maintenance schedules, they do what they always did. plus, they probably think people understand those things and it will help to sell the car.

 

do brake flush, caliper sliding pin lubing. Not sure anti freeze was done for the engine or the inverter... so do one that hasn't been done on the coolant.

Other than that, I don't think there's anything else... besides your normal cleaning here and there. i.e throttle plate, egr, pvc replace, hv fan cleaning, a/c cleaning etc.. etc..

 

The Prius transmission is called a transaxle, and the fluid change is a straight drain and fill which should cost about $100. You do NOT need an expensive "transmission flush," as with other cars.

Second, your records say the "antifreeze coolant" was changed, which is good. But there are two radiators, so you should check and see if both were changed. There's the engine coolant, and there's the inverter coolant. Both have their own pink fluid reservoirs.

 

On ours I changed the transaxle fluid at the one year mark, around 15,000 km's. Two years later, around 40,000 km's, I changed it a second time. At the first change, even that early, the fluid looked very dark comparing with the new. At the second change, it looked almost like new.

My take, it's almost impossible to change too soon, and then you can stretch it. If you're considering DIY: it's a straight drain and fill, almost easier than an engine oil and filter change, except for having to raise and level the car. Drain and fill bolts are identical, require a male 10 mm hex driver, torque is 29 ft/lb.

The dealership parts dept should have replacement washers for both, for a buck or three. You'll need 4 quarts or liters, the car should be raised and level, just pour in fluid till it starts coming back out, which should happen around 3.5 quarts (or liters). I'd strongly recommend Toyota ATF-WS, nothing else.

Tips:

Use a funnel with 3 foot hose extension (~5/8" max OD) snaked down through the engine bay.

Remove fill bolt first, then drain bolt, just in case you have troubles.

Taking the plastic engine bay undershield completely off is a good idea. Just take your time. There's two push-in plastic fasteners at the oil change flap that are a bit larger, likely have light gray caps. Mark them and the panel to avoid mixing them up. Also, wash all the grit out of all the plastic fasteners before reinstall, then they'll last, won't jam and break.

 

I managed to change the Gen 2 ATF without lifting the car, has anyone done this on the Gen 3? I've only looked with the splash shield on but it seems like the plugs are much further back and even the drain barely within reach.

 

I have the video on YouTube...

 

Thanks, I didn't realize how far back the fill plug is, I would need Stretch Armstrong arms. I am a bit hesitant to try to level the car on four jack stands, though.

 

I don't think it's possible, and even if you could, I'd much rather do it in comfort, with the car safely raised. You could run the front up on ramps, then raise the rear with a floor jack at the rear/central jacking point and settle onto safety stands.

Some have used this method and it works. Personally I use safety stands front and back.

I do not put my safety stands on the scissor jack official spots tho, they are in no way reinforced, and setting them down on typical safety stand cradles does NOT inspire confidence. I use points slightly inboard, will post pic in a bit.

 

Jack stand locations I use:

 

I just had my trans fluid changed at 60K miles, the low cost of this service is worth the added insurance to protect the tranny!

 

Mendel, is there a spot in the rear center for a floor jack? Or do you need to lift each side separately?

 

There's a front-central jacking point too, it's a bit more self-evident.

 

The rear has a jacking point where you can jack up the rear and put the 2 jack stands on each side.

 

The front and rear central jacking points are explained in the Owner's Manual too. It's pretty much the norm, never had a car that didn't have them.