Does sealed tranny fluid need to be changed @ 50K?

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...and 4 years on Sienna.

Toyota Stealership offered to change out my wife's Sienna's tranny oil (even though its sealed) I LOL'd out loud. I wonder if they were simply trying to beat her out of 120 bucks bc she's female.
 
No such thing as a "sealed" tranny. A D/F at 50K isn't a bad idea, Toyota WS turns nasty. I'm a stickler for WS, MaxLife does well for these as well.
 
It's not really sealed, what they mean by sealed is there isn't a dipstick. It is a smart move to change the transmission fluid.
 
Originally Posted by diyjake
It's not really sealed, what they mean by sealed is there isn't a dipstick. It is a smart move to change the transmission fluid.

+1
 
Although not quite a universal truth, people that maintain automatic transmissions often get far better results than those who leave the "lifetime" fluid in for it's (probably shorter) lifetime....
 
Originally Posted by diyjake
It's not really sealed, what they mean by sealed is there isn't a dipstick. It is a smart move to change the transmission fluid.


The Ford dealer refused to do a drain & fill on our 2017 Explorer because the transmission is "sealed". HOWEVER they were only willing to do a BG Transmission Service for $200, YEAH, NO, "that ain't goin to happen"! I've been successfully doing drain & fills myself for $20@$5/qt using Mercon LV. But they tell me it's a 150,000 mile ATF change interval, why would I want to change it, well maybe because we keep our vehicles well over 150,000 miles
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Whimsey
 
$120 is actually a very good price for a transmission fluid drain/fill from a dealership. I'm used to hearing 2x that.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
$120 is actually a very good price for a transmission fluid drain/fill from a dealership. I'm used to hearing 2x that.



+1 That's a fantastic price.

OP: For some trans manufacturers 50k mile pan drop falls under their "severe service" interval.
 
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Originally Posted by JTK
$120 is actually a very good price for a transmission fluid drain/fill from a dealership. I'm used to hearing 2x that.

If the dealer is using real Toyota WS fluid and not MOC/BG/Wynn's, that's a good deal. There is some truth to BG, but MOC and Wynn's are ripoffs, they cost the dealer little in comparison to what you're charged.
 
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I had the Lexus dealer use their machine for a 14qt fluid exchange (uses car's pump and then gets the ws level perfect, watched the whole thing lololol if that isn't BITOG syndrome I don't know what is) at 50k in my RX and it was shifting fine before and the same after, but since this thing is expected to last us 300k I felt it was a good move. I vote do it with WS fluid only and motor on
 
WS fluid from Toyota is the same as the Amsoil Low Viscosity formula (Blue Cap Multi-Vehicle Formula) here so I used the Amsoil in my Highlander before I traded it. I noticed it improved the shift quality over the WS fluid in the short time I had it. I did a complete exchange. Just in case you want another option. The Amsoil is a multi-vehicle formula but having used it in the past (including my Santa Fe in my signature) I'm confident it lives up to the WS standard and having seen the improvement in shift quality in an otherwise terrible transmission setup I was impressed. The 8-speed that is new from Toyota has teething issues still but I wasn't waiting around to find out if this would affect longevity because from new it was jerky and unrefined.
 
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Why are you laughing at a 50k fluid change? Some newer vehicles have every 30k in the maintenance booklet.

It's your car, your transmission. Up to you what sort of preventative maintenance you want to do. You're the one that'll need to foot the bill either way. Consider how long you're keeping the vehicle and whether this makes sense
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
WS fluid from Toyota is the same as the Amsoil Low Viscosity formula (Blue Cap Multi-Vehicle Formula) here so I used the Amsoil in my Highlander before I traded it. I noticed it improved the shift quality over the WS fluid in the short time I had it. I did a complete exchange. Just in case you want another option. The Amsoil is a multi-vehicle formula but having used it in the past (including my Santa Fe in my signature) I'm confident it lives up to the WS standard and having seen the improvement in shift quality in an otherwise terrible transmission setup I was impressed. The 8-speed that is new from Toyota has teething issues still but I wasn't waiting around to find out if this would affect longevity because from new it was jerky and unrefined.

Sorry I meant the same price here...
 
Amsoil Low Viscosity formula is good stuff, running it in my camry and my transmission likes it.

Sorry but what is a BG Transmission Service?
 
I took the dipstick out of my transmission, put a plug in it, and Voila!... I have a sealed transmission!
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Sealed doesn't help the fluid any. Change it... at least to get rid of the break-in debris.
 
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