I did a little research into changing the factory automatic transmission fluid in my '10 Toyota Rav4 4wd.
Plenty of videos on youtube.
The book does not specify changing the fluid at all.
Vehicle has 79k miles on it now.
It takes Toyota WS fluid.
Stopped by a "top rated" transmission shop on yelp.
How much to change the transmission fluid and filter on my vehicle, just a pan drop no flush?
The owner comes out and talks to me, he says "is the vehicle shifting funny?"
I say no its just preventative maintenance.
He then throws a $450 quote at me, saying it will take his guys "all day" to do the job.
Then he changes his mind and tells me that I am beyond the point of no return. Too many miles to service the vehicle. He says just leave it alone, and don't change it at all.
I asked him why $450 for a transmission that takes 4 quarts of fluid?
He said there is no filter available, and they need to take apart the canister inside the pan and clean it, and it is a lot of labor, etc, etc.
So I get home, get on amazon and order 4 Quarts of Toyota WS fluid for $38.
I order a Wix transmission filter kit for this car, that comes with a gasket and an O ring for $13. The pan drops, then you unbolt the filter (3 bolts), then bolt on a new one. Clean the magnets out with some parts cleaner, and bolt it back up.
I'll do the job properly myself in my garage for right around $50 in about 60 minutes.
I took a look at the vehicle to size up the job, it even has a drain plug on the transmission pan with a hex head fitting on it. If I didn't want to change the filter, I could probably do the job in 20 minutes.
It's sad really what some of these shops do to people, he must have thought I was dumb.
Plenty of videos on youtube.
The book does not specify changing the fluid at all.
Vehicle has 79k miles on it now.
It takes Toyota WS fluid.
Stopped by a "top rated" transmission shop on yelp.
How much to change the transmission fluid and filter on my vehicle, just a pan drop no flush?
The owner comes out and talks to me, he says "is the vehicle shifting funny?"
I say no its just preventative maintenance.
He then throws a $450 quote at me, saying it will take his guys "all day" to do the job.
Then he changes his mind and tells me that I am beyond the point of no return. Too many miles to service the vehicle. He says just leave it alone, and don't change it at all.
I asked him why $450 for a transmission that takes 4 quarts of fluid?
He said there is no filter available, and they need to take apart the canister inside the pan and clean it, and it is a lot of labor, etc, etc.
So I get home, get on amazon and order 4 Quarts of Toyota WS fluid for $38.
I order a Wix transmission filter kit for this car, that comes with a gasket and an O ring for $13. The pan drops, then you unbolt the filter (3 bolts), then bolt on a new one. Clean the magnets out with some parts cleaner, and bolt it back up.
I'll do the job properly myself in my garage for right around $50 in about 60 minutes.
I took a look at the vehicle to size up the job, it even has a drain plug on the transmission pan with a hex head fitting on it. If I didn't want to change the filter, I could probably do the job in 20 minutes.
It's sad really what some of these shops do to people, he must have thought I was dumb.
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