Should i change transmission oil?

[Dreamy]

I bought a 2008 toyota yaris a few months ago and since then i was wondering what if i should change the transmission oil becuase i don't know if the previous own has change it or not . The car has 210,000 km on it and some people told me if the previous owner had never change it you may have problems with the transmission if change it now, so i'm really confused here i don't know what i should do? Another thing is there a possible way to know if the oil has changed recently ?
Thank you in advance

[Dreamy]

By the way i have auto trans

[The Limo 2]

Toyota Canada recommends you change the automatic transmission fluid every 96,000 Km. This is just a drain and refill. They do not recommend flushing the transmission. They say it is important to use genuine Toyota WS automatic transmission fluid. I buy mine at the Toyota dealer and drain and refill myself.
Roy

[jcboy]

i concur. Only genuine toyota since you don't have to change it often. i feel that a/t trannies are VERY brand-conscious when it comes to their fluids, as compared to m/t ones.

[bronsin]

No way to know the oil has been changed unless you can contact the previous owner. You cant tell by looking at the trans.

The idea that changing the oil if its never been changed before will cause problems is nuts.

IMO you should read the owners manual and do whatever that says. Many (most) people never change the auto trans oil and have no problems. Its merely a matter of opinion whether or not changing it expends the life of the unit, unless intructed to do so by the OM.

Read the OM and obey! :bow:

[John Lenin]

How do you even check the auto-tranny fluid level on the Yaris? I can't see the tranny dipstick anywhere and no mention of it in the MOM??

[bronsin]

How do you even check the auto-tranny fluid level on the Yaris? I can't see the tranny dipstick anywhere and no mention of it in the MOM??

Keep looking its reddish brown in color. Maybe theres a picture of where it is in the owners manual?

Incidently my mothers parents were from NFLD and I spent the summers of 1970 and 1973 in Glovertown. My grandfather was from Flat Islands which is near there.

[Kenny_Kamchatka]

I always heard that if it was not flushed at the recommend point (50k miles) its a roll of the dice to flush it... The reason being that there is all kinds of contamination caked into the passages of the valve body.. Flushing the tranny, you run the risk of breaking loose that contamination, and killing the valve body with a big clump of metal, burnt clutch material, etc. Unless it's acting up, I'd just make sure the levels are right and call it a day.

[bronsin]

Thats how I look at it. The only things that would make me change it is servere service like trailer towing and cold (or hot) weather operation.

[bentjazz]

The service department where I bought my Toyota said every 60,000 miles. The OM doesn't really say, so for the heck of it I called the 1-800 number in my OM and they couldn't give me a definitive answer, either. I did all of this awhile back, but I think I'm gonna stick with 60,000 miles. I hate to waste money if I don't need to change the tranny oil, but if it helps my Yaris last longer, it's probably worth it....

[Kenny_Kamchatka]

Dude trust us, it's a tempting fate kinda thing. Source; I'm acing my tranny class right now ;D

[bairjo]

[quote=bentjazz;753737]The service department where I bought my Toyota said every 60,000 miles.

Wow, well my dealer said do it at 100,000 miles. Maybe we can find one that tells us to do it 500,000 miles. My next oil change is due at 80,000 miles this week.....I think I'll do AT fluid as well....can't hurt

[brg88tx]

I never change my auto trans fluid. I know several people who have had toyota auto transmissions with over 200k and never changed it and never had problems. but then again I'm huge on "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

[The Limo 2]

Under normal service, Toyota USA says to check your transmission fluid at 100,000 miles and then every 50,000 miles after that and not to change it unless there is something wrong with the fluid. They treat it as a lifetime fluid.
As you can see in my post #3 above this is different than Toyota Canada.
Roy

[lenzomaru]

Under normal service, Toyota USA says to check your transmission fluid at 100,000 miles and then every 50,000 miles after that and not to change it unless there is something wrong with the fluid. They treat it as a lifetime fluid.
As you can see in my post #3 above this is different than Toyota Canada.
Roy

My manual says that as well..check at 100,000 and inspect every 50,000..but how will you know something is wrong with it?

[Kenny_Kamchatka]

Honestly, if its doing what its supposed to do, then its not broken.
You can hook it up to a scanner and look for trouble codes, but if everything reports OK, and it shifts when its supposed to your in good shape!

*Edit, I a word.

[The Limo 2]

When I check my fluid, I put a drop of clean fluid on a paper towel and right beside it put a drop of fluid that is currently in the transmission. I compare the colour. If the fluid in the transmission is really dark/blackish then time to change the fluid.
The second test is to put the dip stick up to my nose and smell the fluid. If it smells burnt then it is time the change the fluid.
This test is crude but usually effective.
Roy

[Mikastef]

I always change mine at 40k interval. If u r unsure, ask ur self this question : is changing the tranny that expensive for u? If yes then stick to normal service as advice by Toyota.. 100,000km... Or more....

You know prevention is better than cure. A transmission cost is greater than its fluid...

[Mikastef]

My habit of changing the transmission regularly paid off recently since I discovered that my transmission gasket burnt out... It melted and oil was leaking slowly over several months...the transmission pan was wet wit traces of oil.... Imagine me not changing the transmission for years...! My transmission would have burnt

[yougojay]

How do you even check the auto-tranny fluid level on the Yaris? I can't see the tranny dipstick anywhere and no mention of it in the MOM??
Here's the tranny dipstick in a 3rd Generation 2013 - should be the same for the 2nd Gen.

http://i57.tinypic.com/ne6w4h.jpg

[cptriker1]

As of this writing my 2008 Yaris has 353,000 miles. Original WS-ATF.

When I was at 100k miles I was forced to take a job to commute 242 miles/day. I stopped at the local dealership service manager and he told me the previous week he'd spoken to Toyota engineers and they said DO NOT CHANGE. Ok, now jump to today and find out they're saying 60K miles? Do you even want to know how PISSED I am to read that???

About a year ago I started experiencing problems (hard shifting & shudder). Now I'm at a loss and starting reading / videos. After research I got a tube of the Lubegard ShudderFix. INSTANTLY all issues DISAPPEARED. I'm _not_ joking!

Lubegard states that if you have an 'instant to 20 miles' and the problem fixes then it's the FLUID not mechanical. Apparently, those lying engineers knew the additives in WS would go bad over the "lifetime" and was building failure to this stellar car.

Firstly, if you have a trans issues then add the Lubegard Shudder Fix.

Because of the HIGH mileage I'm considering using Valvoline Max as they've told me ((I CALLED)) it is 100% compatible with WS. They even told me that their fluid is BETTER than OEM WS! Still, I'm on the ropes about that BUT this Lubegard has proven that the original WS is GONE. I think that it makes sense that I'll change the filter & considering my options for fluid as I'm now considering LubeGard Complete ATF given it has the additives and is 'complete' - no mixing issues.

I've read others with very high miles & was on original WS did a drain/fill with zero issues OR that when they did the change issues they had was gone. Again, showing that Toyota Original WS is wearing-out and the 'lifetime' was total BULLSHIT.

[bairjo]

This is a helpful video on the subject from the most reliable guy regarding Toyota's...

https://youtu.be/ULcSauSJrsY

[Billiam]

As of this writing my 2008 Yaris has 353,000 miles. Original WS-ATF.

When I was at 100k miles I was forced to take a job to commute 242 miles/day. I stopped at the local dealership service manager and he told me the previous week he'd spoken to Toyota engineers and they said DO NOT CHANGE. Ok, now jump to today and find out they're saying 60K miles? Do you even want to know how PISSED I am to read that???

About a year ago I started experiencing problems (hard shifting & shudder). Now I'm at a loss and starting reading / videos. After research I got a tube of the Lubegard ShudderFix. INSTANTLY all issues DISAPPEARED. I'm _not_ joking!

Lubegard states that if you have an 'instant to 20 miles' and the problem fixes then it's the FLUID not mechanical. Apparently, those lying engineers knew the additives in WS would go bad over the "lifetime" and was building failure to this stellar car.

Firstly, if you have a trans issues then add the Lubegard Shudder Fix.

Because of the HIGH mileage I'm considering using Valvoline Max as they've told me ((I CALLED)) it is 100% compatible with WS. They even told me that their fluid is BETTER than OEM WS! Still, I'm on the ropes about that BUT this Lubegard has proven that the original WS is GONE. I think that it makes sense that I'll change the filter & considering my options for fluid as I'm now considering LubeGard Complete ATF given it has the additives and is 'complete' - no mixing issues.

I've read others with very high miles & was on original WS did a drain/fill with zero issues OR that when they did the change issues they had was gone. Again, showing that Toyota Original WS is wearing-out and the 'lifetime' was total BULLSHIT.

I've been running Valvoline Maxlife in our '10 for 7 years and 50k miles. No issues at all. I did 3 drain and fills, including a pan drop and filter replacement at about 120k miles. That's when we bought the car and I didn't know what the previous owner's service history was. She's now at 172k miles and shifting perfect. Zero problems with the Maxlife

[ohms]

This is a helpful video on the subject from the most reliable guy regarding Toyota's...

https://youtu.be/ULcSauSJrsY

he also has a video that is an absolute love letter to the yaris!

also fwiw, my yaris is going smooth at 130k miles on original trans fluid, and its been a mixed lifetime of nyc commuting driving (staten island to harlem/bronx) and long distance trips out of state, she is a soldier.