matelot

The ATF capacity is almost 4 Qt.
Per service manual this procedure is basically gravity-drain-and-fill : 3 times.
So that means one needs 12 Qt on hand in total right ? - 3 packs of this

thanks

NdYAG

Not sure why it asks to replace the fluid 3 times in the manual. eCVT drains almost all fluid in one go - everybody seems to replace it just once. They probably just copied the procedure from a regular automatic.

NdYAG

By the way, there is a section in the service manual that describes eCVT design and operation

ESh

You drain/refill once.

matelot

EXACTLY, EVERY SINGLE YT clip I seen so far on this procedure - is "hey guys it's simple - just drain here, refill here, done !" - not one single one references ANYTHING - much less techstream/manual like I did here - every single one of them just do the proverbial "fly by the seat of his pants" - even the frigging celebrity Master Technician "Car Care Nut" - NO engine run calibration.

Yes then everyone just monkey-see-monkey-do the "lead". Pattern became a norm.

The multi-drain/fill spec - for ATF in general (not sure about CVT) - in lieu of a machine-operated flush is not new or rare.
It's just people don't RTFM or too lazy ("meh it's good enough, everyone one is doing this way, no issue, why bother ?")
The wait-time for proper drain alone is 3 X 20 mins.
I think this is one factor the manufacturers stop (openly) recommending ATF change lest people ****** up - they basically stopped mentioning it.

At this point I'm doubting if even the dealer techs (Toyota/Lexus) follow the official procedure - I'm planning to bring 12Qts and the PDF to a indy (transmission specialist) shop and have them follow to the T. else I will fk9ng do it myself.

matelot

here is a lecture

NdYAG

By design, regular AT will drain only about 1/3 from the plug, eCVT will probably drain >95% (only small amount will remain in the oil pump, just like in an engine).

And if you want to follow the Toyota manual to the letter - you should not be changing eCVT fluid at all.

matelot

I don't get this logic.

NdYAG

You want to change the eCVT fluid three times just because the manual says so (and despite everybody else saying doing it once is enough). My point is if you want to follow the manual to the T you should not change the fluid at all as Toyota says the fluid is lifetime and should not be changed under normal driving conditions.

matelot

I have yet to see that statement in an official manner. i.e. not hear-say, inference, dealer-says-so
There are all sorts of jabs on what "lifetime" mean. Obviously those who had this procedure done don't believe that nonsense. They're just OK with the short-cut.
secondly I'm inclined to just go with the assumption that my driving is not normal.

NdYAG

The official maintenance schedule does not require eCVT fluid change - what could be more official than that?

Anyway, I am not debating a need for fluid change - I am just saying that things written in official Toyota documents should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt. There is a pretty clear case that eCVT fluid needs to be drained/refilled only once. Changing it three times would be the same as changing engine oil three times - much more work for almost no benefits. You would be much better off changing the fluid 3 times as often.


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