How do you flush the transmission fluid?

[bigmitch]

A true flush according to Toyota.

It will take four cycles. First cycle is drain and refill. Drive for 10 minutes. Drain and fill. Drive for 10 minutes. Drain and fill. Drive for 10 minutes. Drain and fill and replace filter and gasket.

Stop and go traffic is ideal for the 10 minutes of driving.


Simple, and yet a real pain. A simple drain and fill does more harm then good. ATF is a great detergent and a simple drain and fill will only get the dirt circulating.

I have a tendency to lean more to this style of the drain and fill, as I don't really see why most go a couple of hundred miles between drain and fills. It doesn't take that long for the old and new fluid to mix together. I plan on doing each drain and fill about a week apart as my son only puts about 50 miles a week on the car and I think that is enough for all fluid to be good and mixed. Would like to hear more on both sides of the coin.

[djandrey_M]

Idonno why that transmission flush is supposed to cost $130. I had my transmission serviced and engine oil changed all for 100 bucks (regular price) a couple days ago.

[robbievelasco]

Hi guys,

Well I found out that Aamco checked codes for free so I took it there. First off, they told me my transmission was fine and the fluid was clean!!! I can't believe EZ Lube told me how "bad" my transmission was, wow...

Anyway they ran all the tests and told me that the following codes came up: 402 and 1411. Apparently they have to do with the ERG and Exhaust. Now they want to charge a $190 (which half of that will be applied to a repair) to further diagnose the problem and find out the exact reason those codes are popping up. Before I do that I was wondering if any of you had any experience with fixing this code type.

Thanks!!!

[Chinky420]

you should start another topic with the codes in the subject

i know the egr has been discussed, and i'm not sure about what you specific prob the exhaust could/would have


FYI - autozone can check your CEL codes for FREE

btw

Well I found out that Aamco checked codes for free so I took it there

so what exactly is the $190 for then? (or the $95, if the other half goes towards the repair)

if it's free, then it shouldn't cost $190
if it's $190, then they shouldn't suggest it's free

and all they did to 'diagnose' it was plug in the OBD-II reader, and pull the codes.

if they did anything that actually required a labor charge, then they should have been able to tell you EXACTLY and SPECIFICALLY what was wrong with your car, and EXACTLY what they needed to fix it.

i wouldn't leave your car there...sounds like they're trying to scam you.



http://www.solaraguy.com/viewtopic.php?t=16121
P0402 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Excessive Detected

P0402 – EGR Excessive Flow Detected (4-Cylinder engine)
· EGR valve stuck open
· Vacuum or EGR hose connected to wrong pipe
· MAP sensor malfunction
· PCM malfunction
P0402 – EGR Excessive Flow Detected (V-6 engine)
· EGR valve stuck open
· EGR VSV stuck open
· Short in EGR VSV circuit
· Open or short in EGR valve position sensor circuit
· EGR valve position sensor malfunction
· PCM malfunction

P1411 EGR Valve Position Sensor Circuit Ranger/Performance

GL with getting it to be a 'free' code check.

BTW, EZ Lube places are a joke. anything that prey's on peoples laziness/ignorance like a brake check or an ez lube, is usually below car-people like us. i would never take my car to one of those places, even for a simple oil change because 1, usually their oil sucks, and 2, more often than not, they'll hand-torque the oil pan bolt, and leave you with a leaky oil pan/tranny pan/etc.

i know these two things to hold fairly true around san antonio, as my sister is big on the convenience factor of those places. but in the end, i'm always the one climbing under her car to finish the job that the cheapo EZ places half ass.

now, i don't know about AAMCO's quality of product/service....but if they're charging you for a free service, i can't think too highly of them.

[Chinky420]

btw, i don't know what these "tests" could have been that they ran (if all they came up with were codes). autozone takes a little handheld machine out to your car, plugs it in under the dash, and hits a button to read the codes. if aamco only did this, they're not 'tests' they're just effing lazy.

but in the end, the only thing that matters is this:
You don't have to pay for any service you did not authorize

and if you only authorized the free code check...then i suggest you take your car out of their hands ASAP.

who knows what they'll mess up to have you come back for more service.

find an indepedent mechanic that you can trust, and who will guarantee his own work. IMO that's always 10 times better than using a corporate shop like aamco, brake check, ez lube, NTB (see my recent gripe/post) or discount tire.

at a corporate shop, they don't really have to worry about a returning customer base (like an independent word-of-mouth mechanic would). they rely on their marketing dept to get customers, and then they rely on their legal depts when they screw their customers.

which means they only have to do a half ass job, and get paid twice as much to do it.

/rant

[Chinky420]

lol, i just went back and RE-read the OP, and saw that they want the 190 for FUTHER diagnosis.



....i'd still pull my car outta there and find a reputable independent mechanic


{sorry, mods, for the triple post! at least they other two posts are fairly hearty......happy friday!}