Guys,
I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander 2WD with the 3.5L V6. I did a transmission drain and fill at 30K miles and another at 60K miles. Both times the fluid looked/smelled fine. Both times I replaced with genuine Toyota WS ATF. I do not tow anything. Most miles are highway miles (probably 75/25 highwy/city) and I travel about 15-16K miles in a year.
I've always done 30K mile drains/fills on my other vehicles. I've done it on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma since new using Mobil 1 ATF. I've done it on my 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe since new using Genuine Hyundai SPIII ATF. Both vehicles have over 210K miles now with no transmission issues.
My question is this: considering that Toyota *never* recommends changing the fluid in this transmission, is 30K miles overkill in your opinion? I have about 82K miles on the car right now. I did the last ATF drain/fill at 60K. I was thinking about waiting until 100K (instead of 90K) which would make it a 40K interval and then going to 50K intervals after that. I like easy-to-remember numbers.
Thoughts on the interval? To me, it seems like 50K mile intervals should be sufficient.
PS. I know some will recommend switching ATFs. I have heard Maxlife is a good substitute for WS. But I generally feel better using OEM ATF. The only reason I went with M1 in my 2002 Tacoma is that it recommended Dex III and that was a popular standard that many fluids adhered to at the time. With all of the manufacturers essentially having their own standards these days I just like to pay a few bucks more and use OEM. To each their own.
I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander 2WD with the 3.5L V6. I did a transmission drain and fill at 30K miles and another at 60K miles. Both times the fluid looked/smelled fine. Both times I replaced with genuine Toyota WS ATF. I do not tow anything. Most miles are highway miles (probably 75/25 highwy/city) and I travel about 15-16K miles in a year.
I've always done 30K mile drains/fills on my other vehicles. I've done it on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma since new using Mobil 1 ATF. I've done it on my 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe since new using Genuine Hyundai SPIII ATF. Both vehicles have over 210K miles now with no transmission issues.
My question is this: considering that Toyota *never* recommends changing the fluid in this transmission, is 30K miles overkill in your opinion? I have about 82K miles on the car right now. I did the last ATF drain/fill at 60K. I was thinking about waiting until 100K (instead of 90K) which would make it a 40K interval and then going to 50K intervals after that. I like easy-to-remember numbers.
Thoughts on the interval? To me, it seems like 50K mile intervals should be sufficient.
PS. I know some will recommend switching ATFs. I have heard Maxlife is a good substitute for WS. But I generally feel better using OEM ATF. The only reason I went with M1 in my 2002 Tacoma is that it recommended Dex III and that was a popular standard that many fluids adhered to at the time. With all of the manufacturers essentially having their own standards these days I just like to pay a few bucks more and use OEM. To each their own.
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