hothotpete

JNAVAL: WS (world standard) fluid is the crap they put into the trans' these days for Toyota. according to them, you NEVER have to replace it... i call BS on that one. call me old school, but if you knew what was going on inside the transmission, all the heat that it builds up and all the mechanical components that fluid passes through, then you'd WANT to service it every once in a while. as for 60k, that's just when i always did mine. you can be like RC-PILOT and do it at 30k, but like i always tell everyone; it's your money, you can do whatever you want with it. bottom line is, if your fluid isn't red and more of a brownish-reddish, flush the thing.

bB384

I know this topic applies to automatic transmissions but here's a video which pointed out something to me that I never thought about. I use the advice given at 1:40... Again, sorry the video refers to racing and manual transmissions but It's still good info and could be translated to automatic transmissions accordingly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ATk8TIx_-Y

jnaval

Thanks for the info. Yeah, when I first got my xB and I read that in the owner's manual I just thought that there was no way that the transmission fluid is gonna last me the life of the car. Also, when's the best time to check the transmission fluid? Can I just check it while it's sitting cold in my driveway or should I just check it after driving?

hothotpete

@JNAVAL: you can check the CONDITION of the fluid anytime, to check it's color and what not. but when you check the fluid LEVEL, it needs to be warmed up and the car running. reason is, trans fluid expands as it heats up. be warned, when you flush out the WS at a dealership, they might charge you a little more since it's WS and not the regular ATF the older models used.

mnscionxb

is a trany flush at toyota realy $399.00? for ws

elwaylite

iTrader: (1)

I have a hard time believing that.

My Sonata takes the Diamond, which is pretty costly, and the flush is only $175.

mnscionxb

ok i looked it up only $239.95

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

so mine was a reddish brown. good?

hothotpete

@MNSCIONXB: 230 sounds more reasonable than 399. then again, i've never been priced out at normal cost ever so i'm of no help there...

@DJ_FROZONE: reddish brown huh? i guess that indicates that it's getting close to the time to do it. if you really want to keep up with the maintenance, you can flush it now, or opt to do it when it gets a little more brown than it is right now. but don't wait til it's black... cause when it's black, it's never gonna be the same again haha.

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

thanks hehehe

RC-PILOT

If reddish brown, it's time. Again, it's your money.

We charge about $229 after tax for the BG Synthetic flush that is compatable with the Toyota WS fluid. You coulf look up Bg Products on-line and find a shop near you that services transmissions, call and ask. Also ask whatit would cost to just do the fluid flush if you supplied the WS fluid yourself. Sometimes it's the questions you ask that make the difference. Toyota will sell qts of WS, but you will need 16 qts to use a machine at another shop (the machine uses 16 qts).

Questions.... Does your shop FLUSH the trans or pull the pan and refill (don't do that)
How much for a WS flush?
Can I supply the WS fluid & how much?

AAG

iTrader: (1)

Reddish brown at 35k miles? You must be really hard on your transmission. I've had personal cars with 2 or 3 times that mileage and the fluid was still a deep red. You should install a tranmission cooler too (if it doesn't have one already from the factory) to prolong the life of your fluid and the tranny.

jnaval

Do they sell one for the xB2?

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

well i did it today with the motor running and the very tip was red. imma look again later maybe tommrrow. i mean i drive hard some days. but most of the time. i just cruise along faster than most people. i only floor everyonce in a while.

RC-PILOT

I'm sorry, but here we go again.... "Almost" EVERY VEHICLE ON THE ROAD has a transmission cooler built into the radiator. I say almost, because someone will say there is one without one, but I can't think of one. The fluid is pumped up to the radiator and returned to the trans. The #! cause of transmission failure if FLUID CONDITION.... NOT HEAT!!!!! ABSOLUTE FACT. The term "You "BURNED UP" your transmission" is not fact. Your transmission failed for one of many reasons, only one of which is overheating. But I promiss, if the fluid & the cooler were clean, the trans would have never overheated to begin with. Otherwise it would have overheated when you drove it off the lot new. Are you aware that a remote trans cooler can actually cause the transmission to run too cool and that can cause other added problems that will be blamed on something else.

The fluid on the stick is going to have some sort of red color to it even if the fluid is total crap. But compair a cup full of your fluid to a cup full of new clean fluid. You will see. Better yet, wipe your trans stick on a clean white paper towel, then place a couple of drops of clean on another sheet. Do you see any difference? I bet you do.

Look, fluid lubricates, cools, cleans & carries contaminates. The by-product of old trans fluid is a type of wax. It builds up over time and causes all kinds of problems. Does everyone have these problems? NO! But outside an electronic control failure, fluid is 99% of the cause of failures in modern transmissions.

As for adding a cooler.... Take a Ford F-250 diesel work truck. You "BURN UP" a transmission and get it rebuilt, then ADD A COOLER to keep that from happening again. But it happens again anyway. Why? Because the fluid is crap. We replace the transmissions, remove the external coolers, then keep the transmissions fully flushed every 50K miles. These transmissions last 4 times longer and give up due to wear and miles, not heat. But they last 4 times longer..... We have one guy that is a hot shot hauler with his F-250 and has almost 450,000 miles on the original transmission, with regular flushes. His brother after going 88,000 miles had to replace his transmission (black fluid and all). He now has almost 350,000 on a replacement transmission that has been flushed regularly at 50K.

Just be careful out there. If you ask 100 people, you will get 100 different answers. My point is that you should always go to a place that has top techs and ask a lot of questions. You can also do a lot of research on-line and learn the truth. A site that has something to sell will tell you whatever will best cause you to buy their product. Go to an information site, not a product site for your data.

Rant off now. I do not want to upset anyone on this site. I just want everyone to know the truth about some of the things that are posted here.

AAG

iTrader: (1)

Not sure but maybe a "universal" one could be used.

mnscionxb

I have a trany cooler im going to try and get it in next friday. i do a drain and fill every other oil change 20,000 miles .

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

thanks rc imma start savin!!!!!hopefully by november ill have the dough

mnscionxb

so I stoped in at toyota and asked about a trany flush they wont do one till i hit 100,000 miles even if i have brown fluid.

elwaylite

iTrader: (1)

They actually refused?