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I have currently have 58k miles on my 2004 solara SLE. I have never done a transmission flush, just a drain and refill. is it recommended to do flushes? i plan to use mobil 1 syn ATF after i drain and refill at 60k. Going MOBIL-1 5w-30 oil also with K&N oil filter.

Toyota recommends it at around 60k. However, it's just totally up to you. I had mine flushed during my last state inspection, as well as the power steering fluid.

Blah. I am buying toyota atf and doing it in my garage. Should be easy.

when a transmission flush is done, is power to wheels delivered more freely?

philosophicaljt wrote:Blah. I am buying toyota atf and doing it in my garage. Should be easy.

Doing it yourself?? draining it and refilling or doing a actual flush? I'm just going to have my friend drain it and refill. Should be okay! maybe i'll do a flush at 90k that would be like in 2 or 3 years

^^yeah, I meant a drian and refill. I will never do a flush. It puts a higher pressure on the inside of the trans than what it was designed for (possibly), and I would rather not take that chance.

But I'm also rather paranoid

philosophicaljt wrote:^^yeah, I meant a drian and refill. I will never do a flush. It puts a higher pressure on the inside of the trans than what it was designed for (possibly), and I would rather not take that chance.

But I'm also rather paranoid

Yeah same, i'm also very paranoid.... i'm getting a transmission flush next thursday at the dealership. SOO scared..

Transmission flushes are safe and good for the car right??? doing it for my 60k service!

Interesting subject...open to debate. I had my fluid 'flushed' by the dealer at 90,000 miles...about $100 or so. Transmission shifts better...or I may just feel better about getting the fluid changed. In the 04 maintenance guide I couldn't find reference to changing the fluid except if you tow with the vehicle. I ain't towing nothing. I need to crawl under my vehicle but I don't believe the transmission has a pan to drop. If this is the case the only way you can change the fluid is by a 'flush'.

I also have a '94 Toyota pickup with 325,000+ miles on it. The transmission in it has been flushed several times and never had any work on it other than replacing a cable. So...based on my experience 'flushing' don't hurt.

One of you younger guys crawl under your car and see if there is a pan on the transmission to drop...I would but my back is killing me today.

Gentlemen I stand corrected. I couldn't stand it...bad back or not I went to the parking lot and crawled under my car...best I could. And there is a pan and plug...I feel so used. Anyway...did some digging and Toyota doesn't require you to change the transmission fluid except under extreme conditions...boy that is open to debate. But I'm not sure there is a filter to change in the transmission. I don't ever recall seeing one in any reference books...I could be wrong there also. I change mine ever 50k miles or so...or when I remember...by having them pump the old fluid out and pump in the new. This is suppose to get the fluid out of the converter also. The draining method doesn't get the fluid out of the converter.

When one of ya'll crack open the pan let us know if there is a filter there to replace.

I have an 04 with the 4 cyclinder. I have 125,000 miles on the car, I drive alot of highway miles. I had the car flushed at 40,000 and then at 80,000. This week I did something different. I changed the filter in the trans. There is a drain plug in the trans pan. I think it is a 10 mm allen head plug. I drained about 4 quarts of oil from the pan. Next I removed the 20 or so bolts that held the pan in place. These bolts had a 10 mm hex head. It was very hard to get the 5 bolts removed from the drivers side of the pan. I used a 1/4 inch drive, with a swivel on a 10 mm socket.
I dropped the pan and replaced the filter, which I bought at Auto Zone for $25.00. Filled trans with oil, drove 100 miles drained trans. again and filled with oil.
I then cut the old filter in half to see how much junk was trapped in the filter. I am glad to say there was very little dirt or metal shavings in the filter.
I will do this again, in another 100,000 miles. I think I will drain and fill every 25,000 miles. I think this is cheap insurance to keep this trans. going.

Good post...finally found someone who has more miles on their car than I do...95,000+ miles. I do mostly interstate driving...probably 75% of my miles. I'll get a filter and do a change like you did. I like the idea of doing another change after 100 miles to see what was going on. What transmission fluid did you use when you replaced the filter?

Not sure what you DIY-res used, but when I had mine done at 28.5K mi (30K recommended for Gen 2 V6 but I drive mine as hard as I can so it gets abused!) they used the higher-quality multi-grade that Toyota specifies. All I know is that before the flush it was dark brown when they showed it to me and after about 17 qts flush it was bright pink again. Don't know if that brown is dirt or just fluid break-down, but it looked nasty.

Draining fluid from transmission will remove only half of it and the other half will stay in torque converter, flushings is the only way to go as they use service system to move fluid inside transmission so it can be flushed out, usually flush uses 2x the amount of fluid needed to fill transmission for normal operation. so draining an refilling will only contaminate new fluid...

i work at pacific northwest transmissions. i do this for a living. at 60k do the FLUSH! dont just halfass and do the service. 9qt refill and the pan only holds 3 qts so you will have 6 qts of old fluid left. the flush isnt gonna hurt your tranny . LOL . plus when you do the flush they will put in protectants to protect your tranny from wear

tony jj wrote:I have an 04 with the 4 cyclinder. I have 125,000 miles on the car, I drive alot of highway miles. I had the car flushed at 40,000 and then at 80,000. This week I did something different. I changed the filter in the trans. There is a drain plug in the trans pan. I think it is a 10 mm allen head plug. I drained about 4 quarts of oil from the pan. Next I removed the 20 or so bolts that held the pan in place. These bolts had a 10 mm hex head. It was very hard to get the 5 bolts removed from the drivers side of the pan. I used a 1/4 inch drive, with a swivel on a 10 mm socket.
I dropped the pan and replaced the filter, which I bought at Auto Zone for $25.00. Filled trans with oil, drove 100 miles drained trans. again and filled with oil.
I then cut the old filter in half to see how much junk was trapped in the filter. I am glad to say there was very little dirt or metal shavings in the filter.
I will do this again, in another 100,000 miles. I think I will drain and fill every 25,000 miles. I think this is cheap insurance to keep this trans. going.

when a flush is performed they change the filter