Thanks, matelot. That's my instinct, too.
Now to find a reliable and honest mechanic in the Dallas area who can do this properly and get the refill level right.

 

Any toyota dealer

 

No need to on the hybrid. The fluid never gets hot enough to break down, unless you do lots of towing.

 

“any” could be incompetent. Dealer status does not mean much

 

I'm just so uneasy with the thought of having 10+ yr old any fluid in ANYthing i own, regardless of usage pattern.
Unless the manufacturer says : this oil/fluid is "LIFETIME"
This is not the case with Toyota's ATF WS.

 

There is no such thing as "lifetime fluid".

 

exactly that's the point I implied

 

There is no case I have ever heard on this forum of the eCVT breaking down because the owner didn't change the oil in 10 years, but there has been cases where incorrect procedure was performed and the fluid wasn't at the exact level and it caused issues. even if the fluid have degraded a bit over time, the eCVT's are built so tough nothing happens to them.

 

Will not own a CVT transmission, they are not tough. Just ask a transmission specialist (not a stealership tech). If they were tough you would see them in trucks. Not one truck I know of has a CVT. Forums are full of CVT's giving up prematurely, although Toyota has probably the best one out there. Toughest transmission is a manual shift. Transmission fluid gets hot and breaks down. No such thing as lifetime fluid. If you want your transmission to last longer, change the fluid correctly, routinely and with the proper fluid.

Just my humble opinion.

 

oh really, ok my next Lexus will come with one

 

CVT transmissions are more expensive, noisier. cannot handle high horsepower as well, need more maintenance, and do not last as long as a traditional automatic.
They can offer a better gas mileage and smoother acceleration.

 

All true except lexus es300H doesn't have a traditional cvt, it has an e-cvt, completely different transmission that doesn't have the issue of traditional cvts. Look it up.

 

You are correct. In fact, it is almost a CVT in name only. Actually has more in common with a traditional auto transmission. The Toyota so-called E-CVT has nothing to do with a mechanical CVT other than they both can produce a theoretically infinite number of gear ratios in an attempt to maximize efficiency.

A mechanical CVT works by using a belt that is connected to two cone shapes, one attached to the engine and the other the wheels. When the cones are pushed together/pulled apart, the gear ratio between them changes. This is unlike a traditional automatic (or manual) transmission with a fixed number of gears.

The Toyota E-CVT uses a single planetary gear set. The outermost ring gear is attached to the wheels and to one of the two electric motor/generators in the car (the larger of the two), called MG2. The planet carrier is attached to the ICE. The innermost sun gear is attached to the smaller MG1.

To move the car, the ring gear must move (governed by the amount of electric power sent to MG2), but the amount of "help" it receives from the ICE is determined by the electrical resistance of MG1, acting as a generator (most of the time, it's also used as a motor to start the ICE).

Need more power? MG1 turns its generator output all the way down so the ICE helps drive the car as much as possible.

Is your ICE overproducing power (i.e. you're at a slower speed or in a slight decline)? Then MG1 can use the extra power and charge the large traction battery.

The advantage of this E-CVT is there are no clutch packs or belts to wear out, just a single planetary gear set. This results in very high reliability, just make sure that everything stays cool (ICE and inverter coolant, transmission fluid, battery vent/fan). The downsides are that certain modes of operation are a lot more complicated (i.e. neutral, which doesn't technically exist), but 99.99% of the time you won't care.

 

So what's your position on eCVT fluid change ? do it or leave it ?

 

I change every fluid in everything I own. I am an auto mechanic and aviation mechanic. I have been trained on spectrometric oil analysis as well as working in a chemical lab to test machinery oil for degradation. I have never tested an oil on any piece of equipment that has not degraded due to heat, wear metals or contamination.

Lifetime oil is a myth. Although I will guarantee that if you do not change it, it will last exactly as long as your piece of equipment.

Now the question is who does it and what to replace it with. Safest bet is a certified shop and use the recommended fluid from the factory. I do my own and run synthetic. I will say that if you cannot find a reputable shop, leave it alone.

The only fluid on a vehicle that I do not routinely change is A/C compressor oil.