Clutchless

w84me - Watch the Toyota Master Tech video posted above as he explains how to check the temp through the Diagnostic Port and doing some procedure of shifting in and out of drive etc until a light comes on. I highly recommend you learn the proper procedure as the transmission is very touchy about fluid level.

On a cold drain and fill, you will drain no more than 2.2 quarts on a transmission that has the proper fluid level. I have done this on 2 different vehicles. Do it when your car is cold and the new ATF is the same temp as ATF and all oils expand when hot.
When draining the fluid first remove the drain plug and some fluid will drain, when it stops stick the 6MM Allen wrench in the hole and unscrew the overflow tube and more fluid will drain. Try to have the car level.

You can refill with WS, or MAG 1 full synthetic low viscosity multi vehicle ATF which is what I have been using for several years and it works better than WS ATF and is only about $30 for 6 quarts at Amazon, others have used Maxlife ATF.

danielnas

Holy! Are you serious 🤣. Man you are blowing your tranny. Every drain and fill wont take more than 1.8 L. It's very tricky. The orange dip stick is behind the drain plug. Just drain the pan. And add 2 L of tranny fluid. Make sure the dip stick is screwed all the way in. Turn on the car and check the pan temperature with a laser gun while extra fluid is dripping. Once the temp reaches 104 F and only very little amount is dripping your atf fluid level is correct and you need to close the drain plug immediately. Remember too much fluid can create foam and can damage your transmission.

danielnas

i use 5w30 which is indicated on the cap. 0w20 flows faster but it's a thin oil and can't protect the engine as good as 5w30 can do.

w84me

Got'er done per video. I used scan tool to get AT Temperature reading. Gotta tell ya, watching all that fluid drain out until you get to drizzle is not a super assuring way of knowing you have proper fluid level.

clarkkubia

I would like your opinion on trans fluid change.
When I first bought my LS430 10 years ago with 53k miles I took it to my Indy tech shop and they did a BG trans fluid exchange and replaced all the fluid by running new trans fluid with a connection some where while engine running until it ran clear pink . It took 14 gallons to clear out the old fluid that had a viscosity like Karo syrup combine with a cola color.

Have you heard of this method. Tech told me he makes his fortune mainly repairing transmissions that are said to have permanent fluid.

Clutchless

clarkkubia - that is the typical method of doing a fluid exchange on an automatic transmission. I have done it myself at home on older cars that had dipsticks to check the ATF level.
I also am pretty sure they only flushed 14 quarts, not 14 gallons of ATF. These machines are made by several companies and precisely measure the amount of fluid that leaves and enters the transmission. They often first put some additives into the transmission to loosen up the old dirt before changing the fluid. Your old LS had a dipstick which makes it a lot easier to check the fluid level than the temperature sensitive overflow tube the crazed Toyota engineers put into the Aisin 6 speed automatic that is used in so many Toyota and Lexus vehicles

tolian21

What are your thoughts on DIY trans fluid change. On a cold card in the garage, open the drain plug, drain fluid. Measure amount drained, and then put same amount in.

tolian21

Btw, transmissions without dipstick are everywhere, my Acura rdx 10sp transmission has no dipstick and its complicated to change fluid. Unlik Toyota, Honda still has maintanence schedule that requires drain and fill every 60k miles. The lifetime fluid is a non-sense that Toyota came up with.

Clutchless

tolian21 - that is how I change the ATF on my RX and Sienna and the ES has the same transmission. A cold drain and fill is simple and fast, just measure exactly how much has drained. Having done this on a few cars the proper amount should be about 2 quarts. If it is a lot lower than 2 quarts trying some more and note if it shifts better. I found that my Sienna only drained a quart and a half.while the RX drained 2 quarts and shifted better. When I added more to the Sienna, it shifted better and the throttle responded faster from a stop. You can always adjust the level by draining a bit out later. Note the overflow plug that is inside the drain hole and must be removed to fully drain it.

overclock

I don't disagree with you but I would like to know what you know. Please explain. Thank you

tolian21

It all depends on your driving habits, if you make a lot of short trips without letting your car to warm up fully and/or spend idling in traffic, does not matter what synthetic oil you use, the oil needs to be changed sooner, 4-5k miles.
You can also use motor hours, if engine has total of 300 hours, probably good idea to change it.
if you always drive highway and its long trips, and got synthetic oil, 10-15k miles will work fine