don’t ask them about transmission changes. I have a 2015 and couldn’t get the fill plug loose and they wouldn’t help and said it’s lifetime (100K) fluid. I’ve owned 3 camrys and 1 rav 4. They say the 10K mileage per change with 0w20 (might be 0W16 now) but I’d change it way earlier than that. the oil might lubricate and hold viscosity but it’s dirty. I let mine sit in jugs before taking to the dump and solid films settle on the bottom. I think I did my first rav 4 at 2500 miles as it has break in oil (high in molybdenum).
My dealership couldn’t even get the plug loose one time
The dealership said because they couldn’t get the plug loose they had to take off and change the whole transmission pan and replace it to the tune of $1,500. That was supposed to originally be just a transmission fluid changed that they advised me should be done. That was a first time transmission fluid change. I don’t remember if I had about 60K or 100K miles on it.
Here is a horror story that I wrote about a while back about trying to get a drain plug out on the rear axle of my Pinto Station Wagon…
That’s indeed a horror story. Hard to imagine why a trained auto-repair tech would risk such a method to loosen a transmission pan drain plug. I suppose it is possible they just apply a little torch heat for a few seconds and got unlucky & the worse-case occurred. At least nobody was seriously injured & you ended up w/a new car out of the deal
It’s been a while but I think it was the fill plug. I had a small rachet. they said it’s good for 100K or more (lifetime, yeah sure it is) so I got a 18" torque bar/wrench. Then it came open. All I wanted them to do is loosen it.
I just did my trans filter. Easy but you’re on your back for 2 hours. I have 102K on it now. 1st filter was original at 65K and put a beck arnley in. The toyota filter was slightly gray but I didn’t have any issues other than changing it. Once I crossed 13K (2015 rav 4), I started changing the fluid every 4 to 7K or so and now it’s like 3 to 5K. Remember, only 2.5 qts comes out from 6.9 qts total volume. For this change, the 19 bolts came out easily. The 4 magnets did have some metal dust on them and I cleaned/wiped them down. The old rubber gasket had a few tiny cracks but zero leaks and it peeled off the pan easily. took the old filter off and it was a little cleaner than the 65K first filter change. Put the new filter in and closed the pan. didn’t use blue tread sealer for either change on the bolts. Added 3.75 qts and it’s smoother in the shifting and when in gear at cruising speeds. Glad I did it as the filter had 37k on it. i’d recommend it. I use valvoline max life synthetic fluid and never toyota WS.