10,000 Mile Oil Changes and Sealed Transmissions

[prof fate]

The issue I see is you'll buy a 10 year old 130k mile vehicle and not be able to afford the overdue maintenance on it. This will kill the value of older, used cars - it will create a disposable car economy for one, and the poor won't be able to own a car at all.

But then in 10 years we'll all be driving elec cars in 10 more use an app to call a 'transportation pod' paid for via monthly subscripiton like your phone bill or cable tv.

Am I the only one here who's skeptical about these ever-longer service intervals, or modern sealed transmissions? Sounds to me more like forced parts replacement and or deliberately limiting life. I'm sure great strides have been made in both fluid technology and the components themselves, but parts and lubricants still wear out/get dirty.



Most, if not all vehicles I've ever owned were older than that when I first bought them!

In response to the OP's question, if I were to ever own another toyota product (cold day you-know-where), I sure wouldn't try to push service limits, if anything I'd do fluid changes well before the recommendations. Then again, my experience with the brand has been less than delightful.

 

[Trillium Farm]

The issue I see is you'll buy a 10 year old 130k mile vehicle and not be able to afford the overdue maintenance on it. This will kill the value of older, used cars - it will create a disposable car economy for one, and the poor won't be able to own a car at all.

But then in 10 years we'll all be driving elec cars in 10 more use an app to call a 'transportation pod' paid for via monthly subscripiton like your phone bill or cable tv.

I'm waiting for the Beam me up Scotty !!

 

[Tractorable]

One thing that makes me inclined to follow the manufacturers recommendation to not change the transmission fluid is that I had a bad experience in the past of having a shop change the transmission fluid in a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with 120K miles and the next day the transmission failed.

I had further bad luck with that car because after replacing the transmission it blew a head gasket on the rear bank of the transversely mounted V6. Threw the car away after that.

 

[Trillium Farm]

One thing that makes me inclined to follow the manufacturers recommendation to not change the transmission fluid is that I had a bad experience in the past of having a shop change the transmission fluid in a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with 120K miles and the next day the transmission failed.
I had further bad luck with that car because after replacing the transmission it blew a head gasket on the rear bank of the transversely mounted V6. Threw the car away after that.

I can understand that; but 120K mile before a fluid exchange is way too much, by then there would have been accumulations around the seals which were dislodged by the new fluid. If the exchange is done every 60K miles this would not occur.

 

[Ritothebull]

They are producing some very fine synthetic lubricants that can easily go beyond 100,000 miles in a gearbox these days but I dont think I wouldn't trust the stuff their putting in at the factories to go that far.

 

[Trillium Farm]

They are producing some very fine synthetic lubricants that can easily go beyond 100,000 miles in a gearbox these days but I dont think I wouldn't trust the stuff their putting in at the factories to go that far.

It's not the lubrication that's in doubt, but the life of additives that expires well before the oil is unable to lubricate

 

[Trillium Farm]

They are producing some very fine synthetic lubricants that can easily go beyond 100,000 miles in a gearbox these days but I dont think I wouldn't trust the stuff their putting in at the factories to go that far.

It's not the lubrication that's in doubt, but the life of additives that expires well before the oil is unable to lubricate

 

[RoyKing]

The transmission shops like to run a cleaner through before new oil, they charge you more also. DON'T do it. you want a strait flush with 2 quart excess. So the tranny takes 8 quarts you want 10 run through. Do it around 60k, if your a truck pulling heavy loads more often. what kills tranny is heavy work at low speeds like parking a heavy load on soft ground. The coolers don't get enough air and they max out the radiator core cooler. My plan 60k drop pan change filter inspect filter, 120k flush. My F350 crew cab 7.3 diesel, extra cooler screw on filter Mobil 1.

 

[crazyal]

My wife's '13 Rav4 has a sealed transmission. I do the oil changes every 10k (0w20 syth and a filter) unless it's winter in which case Toyota says to do it every 5k. I think it's very cold weather with short drives, dusty conditions, and towing. From what I understand about the transmission is the fluids aren't like engine oil. Engine oils can be mixed but not transmission fluids. The manual only says to check the transmission fluid level (which is removing a plug on the side of the tranny). It's going on 150k miles now and doesn't burn a drop of oil. But I have my own lift so the oil gets changed right at 10k.

I've read about the "do not flush" the transmission because it could loosen stuff up. Doing a simple change is pretty easy and if you feel the need to do it then I would do it every 100k. Just replace the oil in the pan (I'm pretty sure it has a drain plug) and then fill it back up. You'll only get half of the oil but there's lots of Toyotas with 300k+ on them that have never had the transmission oil changed. Since they seam to be very reliable I'm guessing that they know what they are doing.

 

[mcfarmall]

I changed the transmission fluid in my 2011 F150 this past summer and it was a REAL FUN all day job. I removed the oil line from the cooler, started and ran the oil into a bucket a few times. Dropped the pan and filter, cleaned thoroughly, wiped the crud off the solenoids, cleaned the donut magnet. Put everything back together, filled and pumped a gallon through the oil cooler, refilled and drove until the trans temp reached around 198 degrees F and then re-checked the oil level...literally took all day on a Saturday.

Changed the transfer case fluid and rear axle oil as well but on different days. The rear axle oil looked as good as the new stuff and there was almost zero sediment on the bottom of the differential. The gear teeth showed zero wear pattern...I couldn't believe it.