10,000 Mile Oil Changes and Sealed Transmissions

[adventure bob]

My subaru CVT is a sealed "no maintenance" trans and I cry BS, but with no plugs on it and no way to fill it, its very difficult to do anything about it. Its basically a snow mobile transmission.

 

[aczlan]

My subaru CVT is a sealed "no maintenance" trans and I cry BS, but with no plugs on it and no way to fill it, its very difficult to do anything about it. Its basically a snow mobile transmission.

If it has a cooler like an automatic transmission, most shops have a flush machine that can change out the fluid using that.

Aaron Z

 

[Trillium Farm]

Spoke with Yota dealer about wife's 4Rnr tranny fluid. He also does not support lifetime tranny no maint. required. The fluids go through thermal cycling and all will degade with time.
There is a complex tool and system procedure for replacing Toyota tranny fluids that is temp. compensated.
Some alternatives are:
measure what is drained from pan and replace amount.
Take to dealer.
Download pdf and perform at home.
Countless threads on forums for doing this.
I will perform the 50k fluid change the lazy way.
drain what's in the pan and replace, (cold temps).
There are many videos out there to help decide. It's your money and we gladly help you spend it D) but in this case glad to help with longevity of equipment.
Whatever you decide you'll benefit from the homework first.

Life's too short to be burned with this fluid exchange every 5 yrs! I take it to the dealer who has the proper equipment for this exchange. Shade tree mechanics are no longer thanks to technology and manufacturers.

 

[dannoGT]

We recently sold our TDI Sportwagen back to VW and it had a sealed transmission that required a very elaborate and expensive fluid change at 40,000 miles. Synthetic oil will last a long time in a transmission or gearbox but it would be nice lf they provided a way to inspect and change the oil if required.

I went thru same thing on my Jetta TDI and I actually challenged them on it! So I got the entire explanation with videos and drawings and highly technical German engineering explanations. All of which came down to they have a special pump which flushes and fills the transmission! And I don't have that pump!

 

[TractorNH]

I had a very well respected transmission shop do this on my daughter's car with the sealed system. It was only 175.00.

Of course a transmission shop is going to want to service a transmission, doesn't mean that's what the manufacturer intends.

 

[TractorNH]

The �ree oil changes and tire rotations at the Toyota dealer for the first 30,000 miles on my 2016 Toyota Avalon recently ended so I actually sat down and read the maintenance section of my owners manual.

The manual states that the oil should be changed every 10,000 miles with 0W20 synthetic motor oil.

Also, the owners manual did not recommend for the transmission oil to be changed at all. Looking under the hood the transmission is sealed with no obvious way to drain and/or fill it.

Thereç—´ also no timing belt.

I think I知 gonna do it guys and just change the oil every 10K with synthetic, rotate the tires every 5K, tires and brakes as needed, and not touch the transmission.

What do you guys think? Think she値l go 300K miles with 10,000 mile oil changes and not touching the transmission?

Article about it from edmunds: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/tips-advice/stop-changing-your-oil.html

I can only speak of Toyota since that's what I'm familar with. Besides a fluid change not being required, another reason for the sealed transmission is the new oils they use is also hygroscopic, meaning if the fluid is exposed to moisture it will absorb the moisture into the oil. They system is sealed to prevent that from happening.

Dropping the pan and replacing the fluid that is drained is only changing about half of the total fluid in the transmission. Flushing is also the worst thing you can do to a transmission. Best to drain, fill, drain, repeat OR you can use the transmission pump to evacuate the old oil by disconnecting the correct trans cooler line and routing it into a gallon jug. Then start the engine and shut it off when the jug is 3/4 full. Add fluid to the transmission and repeat this process until the fluid being pumped out is new looking fluid. Then put everything back together and fill to the correct level. I've done a few non-sealed transmissions this way.

I won't be doing a fluid change in my 2016 Toyota sealed transmission though. Sometimes we have to accept these transmissions aren't the automatics of the old days. They are more precise and reliable and don't require the same level of maintenance.

 

[BigBlue1]

I use Mobil 1 and change at 6k. I was running 15w-40. Then my mechanic Son said I running too heavy oil. So I switched to the recomended weight. I think it's 5w-20. 2011 5.7L Hemi.

Yes, the Hemi with MDS cylinder deactivation does require a specific weight of oil for the MDS to function properly. So you should be using 5W-20.

Rob

 

[newbury]

We recently sold our TDI Sportwagen back to VW and it had a sealed transmission that required a very elaborate and expensive fluid change at 40,000 miles. Synthetic oil will last a long time in a transmission or gearbox but it would be nice lf they provided a way to inspect and change the oil if required.

I went thru same thing on my Jetta TDI and I actually challenged them on it! So I got the entire explanation with videos and drawings and highly technical German engineering explanations. All of which came down to they have a special pump which flushes and fills the transmission! And I don't have that pump!

On my 2009 beloved, yet to be turned in Jetta Sportwagen I was quoted from $450 to $500 for the DSG service. The price of a kit with the fluids and parts was $135, without tax and shipping. Stohlman charged me $254 TOTAL W TAX in 2012.
So yes, expensive, but not terrible.

 

[aczlan]

I can only speak of Toyota since that's what I'm familar with. Besides a fluid change not being required, another reason for the sealed transmission is the new oils they use is also hygroscopic, meaning if the fluid is exposed to moisture it will absorb the moisture into the oil. They system is sealed to prevent that from happening.
Dropping the pan and replacing the fluid that is drained is only changing about half of the total fluid in the transmission. Flushing is also the worst thing you can do to a transmission. Best to drain, fill, drain, repeat OR you can use the transmission pump to evacuate the old oil by disconnecting the correct trans cooler line and routing it into a gallon jug. Then start the engine and shut it off when the jug is 3/4 full. Add fluid to the transmission and repeat this process until the fluid being pumped out is new looking fluid. Then put everything back together and fill to the correct level. I've done a few non-sealed transmissions this way.
I won't be doing a fluid change in my 2016 Toyota sealed transmission though. Sometimes we have to accept these transmissions aren't the automatics of the old days. They are more precise and reliable and don't require the same level of maintenance.

Why do you say that "Flushing is also the worst thing you can do to a transmission" and then advocate doing pretty much the same thing as flushing?
Also, while the transmission is sealed, it is vented (unlike the brake system) so the fluid is not hygroscopic. The clutches are however hygroscopic (which is why getting coolant into your ATF can kill the transmission).

Aaron Z

 

[Trillium Farm]

I can only speak of Toyota since that's what I'm familar with. Besides a fluid change not being required, another reason for the sealed transmission is the new oils they use is also hygroscopic, meaning if the fluid is exposed to moisture it will absorb the moisture into the oil. They system is sealed to prevent that from happening.

Dropping the pan and replacing the fluid that is drained is only changing about half of the total fluid in the transmission. Flushing is also the worst thing you can do to a transmission. Best to drain, fill, drain, repeat OR you can use the transmission pump to evacuate the old oil by disconnecting the correct trans cooler line and routing it into a gallon jug. Then start the engine and shut it off when the jug is 3/4 full. Add fluid to the transmission and repeat this process until the fluid being pumped out is new looking fluid. Then put everything back together and fill to the correct level. I've done a few non-sealed transmissions this way.

I won't be doing a fluid change in my 2016 Toyota sealed transmission though. Sometimes we have to accept these transmissions aren't the automatics of the old days. They are more precise and reliable and don't require the same level of maintenance.

1st You're confused, your definition of Hygroscopic is that of hydrophilic, in a hygroscopic situation water will not bond to the molecules
2nd Why is the flush or exchange bad for the transmission? It could be under very particular conditions mainly neglect.
Today's machines can check the temperature of the fluid exchanged and you can visually inspect the colour of the fluid coming out and going in, some machines do this better than others. One can easily find which is which