As many threads this person has about this vehicle I say don’t spend any money on it that you don’t have to .
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Nah I’m keeping this vehicle another 2 years at least. I’m spending what it takes to keep it road worthy. No matter how many previous posts I’ve had about this vehicle. There is a new car shortage right now due to the chip situation and good deals are hard to come by on new cars right now.
Unfortunately, I’m not a DIY person with cars. I haven’t looked at the dip stick. I go by mechanics advice. I’m inclined though to go for the most gentle, least invasive method.
It is “he” by the way lol
Yeah I figured you were. Your owners manual should show you the location of your transmission dipstick and your engine oil dipstick. I suggest that you check both now. Let us know the color you see on the transmission dipstick.
It is a good idea to check the engine dipstick on a regular basis, once a month or each time you are filling the gas tank.
Most auto parts stores will show you for free if you have never done this.
Edit: The engine dipstick just pulls out. The transmission dipstick has a latching top so you have to flip the cap up like on a water bottle before you pull out the dipstick. Be sure to secure the latch when you finish so the dipstick doesn’t accidently work itself out. BTW, there is a procedure to check the ATF level but right now we are only interested in the color.
If it is red or pink, you don’t need to do anything just to go another two years. If it is brown or almost colorless, then one simple drain and fill will do. If black, two drain and fills a week or so apart will be needed, then a color check a month after that to determine if it needs a third to go two more years or not.
But if you let that engine oil get too low, you will need to get a new vehicle on it’s schedule, not yours.
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Tester
Notice they are telling us the price difference.
Thanks! I appreciate it
My son 06 Corolla when we got it at 43k I did pan drop with new filter after that around every 30k drain and fill now at 130k no issue’s.Use new drain plug gasket,toyota atf from dealership.Easy DIY.
I’d be traumatized by that experience too. I’m just a driveway diy’er, and have removed/reinstalled my truck’s transmission pan quite a few times over the years w/no problems like that at all. Something seems a tad amiss. I expect the shop was attempting some sort of shortcut, rather than using the manufacturer’s procedure. The advice above giving alternatives to the procedure is worthwhile to consider. In any event suggest to locate a local inde shop that specialized on Toyotas or at least Asian cars for your future car repair and maintenance work.
I’m presuming this is an automatic.
My 2006 Corolla has been owned by me since it was new. I’m the original owner. I had the transmission fluid changed once. I have 166,000 miles on it now with no transmission issues so far.
It is automatic
In a nut shell I’m worried about it possibly driving worse after the transmission service than it does now
Sound like the choice is between a probable failure after a change and a guranteed failure with no change.
Is it guaranteed though?
No guarantees no matter what.
Yup no guarantees either way I guess
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My daughter bought a 2003 Corolla new. Same engine and transmission, same body. At 75k, I checked her ATF and it was BLACK. She was complaining of feeling some slipping between gears. The ATF is supposed to be lifetime and she does not drive in severe conditions that require more maintenance.
First I drained the ATF through the drain bolt and refilled. A few weeks later I dropped the pan after getting a kit that was supposed to fit, it didn’t but I cleaned out the pan. The filter wasn’t even close. It looked OK but the dimples on top that were supposed to match the bolt heads of the valve body were not in the right place so the new filter would not fit flush.
I reused the gasket and the filter, the filter is just a stainless steel screen and looked like it was new. At 90k I drained again through the drain bolt and refilled and again at 120 and 150k. She sold it at 200k and the second owner put another 100k on it before it got totaled.
The transmission never slipped after the first change. I always used Toyota T-IV ATF from the dealer. An extra buck a quart was worth the peace of mind.
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Sounds like you got a lot of miles out of that car
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I had a 2005 camry and would bet your corolla is the same (has a dipstick to refill). Drop the fluid and replace with either Castrol transmax for imports or Super Tech for imports. if they couldn’t get the bolts out, how did they replace the pan??? and I bet your oil is conventional 5w30 from 2006 (my camry used that). I change fluids faster than my underwear and have done my rav 4 trans (2015) about 11 times with 1 filter change. I’m overkill but it runs nice and the fluid is always clean and slightly darker coming out than going in. I use synthetic 0W-20 and change it every 2 to 2.5K. Never had a trans or engine go out on my 3 camrys or Rav 4. Other than the Rav, the camrys went 186K to over 200K before trading in or giving away. It’s easy to drain the fluid and add new stuff.
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