I have a camry 2012 with 125k miles and have never gotten a transmission flush service.
Toyota dealership service advisor is advising me to get one and I was told that they have a “vaccum” machine that does not do any damage. They do not open the pan at the bottom or change the filter. He said that it was safe and will not harm the vehicle.
Two local mechanics have advised me not to get it done due to a potential transmission “slippage”.
Whom do I trust? Are there any other services other than oil change and brake service that should be done at this point to prolong the vehicle life? I plan to drive it another 50k miles.
The service adviser said they don’t drop the pan during the flush.
Not dropping the pan doesn’t give an indication of the condition of the transmission. So if there’s metal particulate in the pan, doing a flush is a waste of time.
Damage done!
Other two mechanics say don’t do it at all.
That guarantees a fried transmission.
But! If the pan is dropped to check for metal particulate and none is found, and the filter is changed and the flush is performed, you know you did everything you could to prevent the transmission from burning up.
Find a shop that knows what they’re talking about, and knows what they’re doing.
I have heard various stories about flush vs regular change. I would do a pan drop and inspection, though it may only do 1/2 of the trans fluid, then next time go for the flush.
For transmission service, you should find an independent (not a chain-run) trans shop that has been in business for several years. Ask friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors for recommended shops in your area.
In addition to doing everything that is specified at the 120k/130k mile interval in the Toyota maintenance schedule (it should be sitting in your glove box…), you should also check your maintenance receipts to see when the brake fluid was last changed/flushed. Even if the maintenance schedule doesn’t list it, this should be done every 3 years.
Most of the time people think of servicing a trans when they have problems, like me. at 145k miles I was having minor issues, did my own home made flush, probably different than a flush machine. Disconnected line at the radiator and ran 13 quarts through a 12 quart capacity system. 25k miles issues starting again, had the shop do a pan drop and filter service, 25k miles later everything was still good. We are not all mechanics, we are not all good at maintenance, just do stuff that works. 03 Car traded in due to getting rear ended at 198k miles.
I think maybe you can do yourself. Drain and refill. Not hard. Old oil will contaminate new oil. You can do multiple times to get the majority of it out? Maybe listen to what people say. Never flush oil if it’s old in a transmission. Contaminates maybe acting as friction material for the clutch rings, get rid of it no more friction material, problem. Haha isn’t the vacuum the same thing as flushing it?
But yea Rajaa, it’s not hard to drain and refill. You can do yourself very cheap to do. And can even replace the filter if you want.
Some newer cars like my 2014 Camry are difficult and labor expensive to drop the pan. When I had my transmission proactively serviced at 30,000 miles I found that dropping the pan required removing a cross member and something else that made doing so cost prohibitive. Two independent transmission shops verified that info and cost and recommended that if I would consistently have the transmission flushed at 30,000 mile intervals the odds are that it will be okay. So I settled for flush with new replacement trans fluid and will continue to do so every 30k.
There’s no accessible trans dipstick for me to check the fluid level and condition. No affordable way to drop the pan. And supposedly is a “lifetime sealed” transmission. Well, I’m going to extend that lifetime with regular proactive maintenance even though only flushes unless trouble crops up.
I had a 2005 Accord EX V6 with an automatic transmission. The owners manual had instructions for changing the transmission fluid. For that car, fluid was drained and refilled three times with a short drive between each change. After the last change, check Luis level and top off as required.
I agree with Tester and especially disagree with the 2 local mechanics who mentioned potential transmission slippage. The old wives tale is still around; much like Fram filters murdering engines.
The article in that link is informative. However always keep in mind the important caution they state at the end, which is:
IF your customer’s vehicle is high mileage and has never had a complete transmission flush service or has only had the old transmission service of changing the filter, you might want to advise the customer and your shop management that there could be negative consequences.
My advice on topics related to “flush vs. change” is this: Ask your dealership to perform the service exactly as prescribed by the manufacturer. No more. No less. They know what that is and want to up-sell you on a more expensive service.
Just make sure that the “specialist” isn’t a chain-run shop, such as Lee Myles, Cottman, Mr. Transmission, or–worst of all-AAMCO.
The fact that you went an additional year w/o servicing that 9 year old transmission doesn’t bode well for a long life, but if you get it serviced by an independent trans shop that has been in business for at least 3 years, you might get lucky and be able to eke-out many more miles from it.