2014 LE Transmission fluid question...

[Crown]

Hey all, a lifelong Ford man with a Yaris needs some advice

A little background: I recently inherited a 2014 Yaris LE 3D with 4500 miles. It was owned by an elderly relative since new and sat in a carport the majority of it's life, infrequently going on pretty much only short trip driving (usually 2-5 miles round trip under 30mph). I've changed the oil when I got it, as it was 2-3 year old oil...


1) Would it be wise to change out the ATF on this? I do know it's the BS "lifetime" fluid, but everyone knows about that marketing gimmick.

2) I was thinking just to do a drain and fill... (as I don't think these have an actual filter) with a compatible ATF, presumably Valvoline MaxLife, which is a thin synthetic ATF meeting specs of T-IV and WS.

3) I have done drain/fills on some 1st gen tundra sealed transmissions, where you need to do all that nonsense with getting the trans to a certain temp, poking your finger in the "check hole" etc... these just have a regular drain bolt, right?

[tmontague]

Hey all, a lifelong Ford man with a Yaris needs some advice

A little background: I recently inherited a 2014 Yaris LE 3D with 4500 miles. It was owned by an elderly relative since new and sat in a carport the majority of it's life, infrequently going on pretty much only short trip driving (usually 2-5 miles round trip under 30mph). I've changed the oil when I got it, as it was 2-3 year old oil...


1) Would it be wise to change out the ATF on this? I do know it's the BS "lifetime" fluid, but everyone knows about that marketing gimmick.

2) I was thinking just to do a drain and fill... (as I don't think these have an actual filter) with a compatible ATF, presumably Valvoline MaxLife, which is a thin synthetic ATF meeting specs of T-IV and WS.

3) I have done drain/fills on some 1st gen tundra sealed transmissions, where you need to do all that nonsense with getting the trans to a certain temp, poking your finger in the "check hole" etc... these just have a regular drain bolt, right?

A/T fluid tends to be fine sitting and only really begins breaking down under heat and shearing - meaning you would likely be fine leaving the trans fluid as is for another couple years.

If you do want to change it than a drain and fill is fine and much simpler than a flush. You can use the trans cooler lines to do your own flush but it likely is not needed, takes more time, is messier and costs more in fluid.

I have used Valvoline Maxlife with all of my Toyota trans flushes as it is easily accessible to me locally and is cheaper than Toyota's stuff. Also Toyota's A/T doesn't appear to be a very robust fluid (unlike their oil) compared to Valvoline and others. There is a typical drain plug on the bottom of the pan that takes an 18mm crush gasket. I'd recommend replacing it when and if you drain the fluid as it is a pain is the ass to have to replace is if you find out it's leaking afterwards (ask me how I know).

And lastly - do your Yaris a favour and go drive the sh*t out of it for a half hour.