alybos33

I live in metrowest area, so within an hour is fine! It’s be good to know someone who is honest and trustable and able to do the job.

ft1980

Auto Repairs Lowell MA | Car Repairs Lowell MA| Auto Repair Dracut MA| Car repair Dracut Mass|Middlesex Tire

I can't personally vouch for him as I've only had basic maintenance done by him. I've bought tires from this guy and have used him for alignments and once to change spark plugs on a car that I didn't want to deal with because they were a nightmare to get to, lol. People I've talked to with more complex problems and technically difficult repairs have been more than happy with him. A guy I know had their differential rebuilt which is a technical job. Seemed like an honest guy. 4.4 review on google and 5 on yelp. You can call him and tell him your shudder problem.

RX in NC

I would play it safe with a series of drain-and-fills rather than flushing. One problem with flushing is that the procedure can drag long-settled debris up through the valve bodies and create even more problems for you. That cannot happen with the drain-and-fill approach.

ft1980

I'm with RX in NC on this one. I hated how long it took to do the drain and fills, but the drain and fills did A LOT. Also is depressing how expensive it is with all the fluid wasted diluting the old transmission fluid.

alybos33

Since I’m not doing the drain and fill myself, it can be costly to do it multiple times. That shop who I spoke to who recommended to perform the drain and fill explained the same method @ft1980 did, and it will cost ~$200. If I didn’t remember it incorrectly, he said he will repeat it a few times (at least twice, not sure if it will be 3 times in the same day). Does $200 sound right?

ft1980

Does that include the fluid? It sounds right.

alybos33

yes, it includes the fluid.

ft1980

That's a steal. I wish I did that instead of doing it myself. I saved 100 bucks and it wasn't worth the headache.

alybos33

Precisely, he gave me an estimate of $189-229, depending on the quarts of fluids used.

RX in NC

This is not a difficult procedure. Anyone with the necessary tools and reasonable strength can do it themselves.

alybos33

Update: brought my car to the shop today to do drain and fill, they said definitely my torque converter had locking up issues. They replaced 7qt plus added the Lubegard Shudder Fix. They test drove 20+ miles after, it went smooth and didn’t shudder once!!! I picked the car back up and drove 25 miles back home w stop and go traffic, shuddering is gone; AMAZING. Acceleration on highway is so much smoother than before. The tranny shop guy said it may take 100 miles to smooth out completely and advised to do another service check in 3-4K miles. The final charge was $210; hopefully that’s the fix.

ft1980

Which mechanic did you end up using? I'm not surprised that the drain and fill helped. I also noticed acceleration was smoother. I estimate that over 80% of the shudder problem in my sister's car is resolved. I have a feeling that two more drain and fills will resolve the issue. From what I gather, these are strong transmissions, but it's ridiculous to keep lifetime fluid in there.

alybos33

That’s great news on your sister’s car.
I ended up going to Lee Myles in Dorchester. I found them on Google based on reviews; and via a phone call, the owner told me that he had seen similar shuddering in Toyotas and some lexuses before and he insisted not to do a flush. He seems like a nice guy. I asked him if the old fluid was dirty, he said, yes and it should be when the car has driven for 100k miles. I paid extra for tipping and he didn’t even accept it and insisted to return it. He said if the shuddering comes back, may need to do another drain and fill.

ft1980

Sorry to bring back a dead thread, but I just wanted to update everyone on the state of the transmission and its shifting. First, I want to thank RXinNC and Clutchless for their help. I appreciate it greatly.

I used Idemitsu fluid recommended by clutchless. I did two drain and fills and bought a new transmission filter and gasket for the third drain and fill. I removed the transmission pan, replaced the filter, and re-installed the pan with a new gasket. I used a toyota oem gasket which was rubber coated steel since I didn't trust the flimsy rubber gasket that came in the filter kit from amazon. Removing the pan drained an additional 2/3 of a quart so I removed almost 3 total quarts on the third try as opposed to 2.25 on the first two. I refilled it with 3.25 quarts since I knew I was going to do a fluid check anyways. I drove it around for a few miles making sure to do stops to change gears from park to revers to drive a few times. I did this to make sure the solenoids were full of fluid and circulated. I used the fluid check system I saw the carcarenut do and also found a work manual online from toyota online on how to do a fluid check. I also used the manual for the torque specs and sequence for the transmission pan. For the fluid check, I used the jumper method where I jumped two connections on the obd2 port to get it into diagnostic mode and to heat up the transmission fluid to the right temperature. Why does Toyota make checking the fluid into such an asinine process? Bring back the dipstick! So now the good news and the bad news.

PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THE RESULTS ARE BASED ON NEW FLUID OR SWITCHING TO A NEW TYPE OF FLUID (SYNTHETIC IDEMITSU)

The good news:
1. It was a success. There is zero shudder. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say the transmission shifts as if it was new. It shifts predictably and incredibly smoothly. Furthermore, the car is so much smoother on the highway or at cruising speeds. I understand why new fluid would make it shift better and stop the shudder, but I'm not sure why it would drive smoother during non shifting driving. I'm very surprised it worked as I thought changing the fluid was a Hail Mary attempt to save the transmission. I'm still in awe as to how nice it drives. The third drain and fill really got the final bit.
2. I looked at the magnet inside the pan. I was pleasantly shocked to see how little metal paste was on it. It is a 140,000 mile transmission after all. It was lightly coated. Also, I saw no debris or foreign material in the pan. I sliced open the filter to take a look. It didn't look too bad. By this I mean I didn't see any particles, but it definitely looked close to needing replacement. The carcarenut mentions that, while not necessary, if you've gone over 100,000 miles, it's not a bad idea to change. If you've changed your transmission fluid before that, I wouldn't bother. As a matter of fact, I'm on the fence if I would've bothered dropping the pan and changing the filter if I had to do it all over again, even at 140,000 miles. Don't listen to Toyota about it being a "sealed transmission!" Change the tranny fluid at 80,000 miles.
3. On this last drain and fill, the fluid FINALLY started looking red. The first drain the fluid looked like 5,000 mile motor oil and the second drain didn't look much better.
4. 2 weeks later there are 0 leaks, so I'm pretty confident I installed the gasket and pan correctly.
5. Removing more used transmission fluid than you normally would by the traditional drain and fill was a small benefit. If these transmissions hold 7 quarts, I removed about 42% as opposed to 32%.

The bad news:
1. Removing the pan was a borderline headache. One bolt is tucked above the frame rail. Removing it was almost impossible. There was NO WAY to fit a socket onto it. Even with shallow thin sockets and a flex adapter, there was nothing I could do. I had to use a stubby wrench and awkwardly place it between the frame rail to get to it and I was only able to maybe turn it 10 degrees at a time. After a few turns though, I was able to get the wrench on the bolt with the open face of the wrench aimed at the bolt, so it didn't have much grip, but I had already loosened it. I was able to maybe turn it 90 degrees at a time before having to readjust. It was a very tight fit. Any tighter and the only way to get to it would've had to be to lift the transmission. Needless to say, I couldn't put my torque wrench on that one bolt. I just had to guess by feel.
2. There was a slight trickle that would not stop even after letting it drip for a few hours. It probably would've taken days. It would dribble out a corner of the mating surface. I wanted it clean and dry, but I knew it was impossible. It was only a little corner. Thank goodness for new rubber coated gaskets. I would've been out of luck if manufacturers still used cork gaskets.
3. The fluid level check while not too difficult to do, was needlessly complicated and stupid. Bring back the dipstick.
4. The worst part is that I forgot to reinstall the little magnet. I was so frustrated with myself when I realized this. I don't know what to do. I don't mind dropping the pan and reinstalling it in the spring, but I'm really not in the mood to do it now in the cold. All it is, is two tiny magnets that could hold nothing too much heavier or thicker than a business card onto a fridge. I really don't think 7 to 8 thousand miles is going to be a big deal. They used to not put magnets in transmission pans at all. Also, the transmission at 140,000 miles is broken in, needless to say. At this point, there is very little shaving going on. Also, there was very little metal paste (just enough to coat the magnets) after the break-in period AND 140,000 miles.

In conclusion:
These are strong transmissions, but it's ridiculous to expect the fluid to survive the lifetime of the vehicle. The fact that the only reason (I'm pretty confident anyways) for a poor shifting transmission was worn out oil shows how decent these transmissions are after 140,000 miles and how stupid it is to expect the fluid to not break down in that period. I recommend draining and filling your transmission at 80,000 miles. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just do one drain and fill every 30,000 miles.

CORRECTION:
This was my fourth drain and fill. Seems excessive, but it still had a very tiny and infrequent shudder after the third drain and fill. The original fluid was cooked. I estimate that at least 80% of the fluid in the transmission is now new.

RX in NC

Well done. Glad to hear that you achieved excellent results. I would not worry about leaving out the magnets.

As you concluded, I do not believe it is necessary to drop the pan if you do a series of drain-and-fills early enough in the lifespan of the vehicle. I did my first series at 65,000 miles and expect to do it again at 110,000 to 120,000 miles if we keep the vehicle that long. I do not anticipate ever having to drop the pan. The vehicle now has 83,500 miles and its transmission continues to operate exactly as designed.

The days of automatic transmissions having dipsticks are long gone. Dipsticks make it way too easy and inexpensive for the average Joe to spend 30 minutes changing his own ATF in his driveway. No automotive manufacturer wants that to happen these days. They want you to have to book an appointment with them and then pay them an insane amount of money for an ATF refresh. Sad but true. I have ATF dipsticks on my 1999 Ram and 2013 Outback 3.6R and I really appreciate that. No ATF dipsticks on my wife's 2015 RX350 or 2006 Jaguar XK8 so they are much more complicated and time-consuming to do.

The moral of the story is simply this: Fresh ATF is always a good idea, especially when you are able to do it yourself....