transmission fluid

[kaykin75]

So I was told on this forum to check my tranny fluid. I just did and there is barely any fluid on the tip of the stick.....can I add more fluid myself?

[keithvibe]

go to the toyota parts department and get the transmission fluid there, it will be cheaper than pontiac. Yes you can add it yourself add it threw the dipstick. Add a little check it, add a bit more check it again... keep doing this till it's at the proper level

[kaykin75]

Thanks for the info Keith...this single mom appreciates it! I have been doing quite a bit of reading on this and I have come across numerous posts that say to "drop the pan, drain, and add more fluid".....do I need to do this or can I just safely add more fluid the way you said? Thanks again!

[keithvibe]

that is refering to changing the fluid. Your simply adding more fluid at this time. But you should have someone check why your losing fluid.

[dcbridgwater]

Just make sure you do not fill it all the way to the full mark when the transmission is cold. If it is cold I would add fluid till it is just a little above the low mark on the stick, then recheck and top off when transmission is hot. Also make sure the transmission is in park and engine is running when you check the fluid.

[kaykin75]

Really? The car was not running when I checked it but I had been just driving for 15 minutes....will check again with the car running. Thanks!

[joatmon]

Your other thread says you have a 2003 Vibe. In the 2003 Vibe Owner's manual, checking and filling the automatic transmission fluid is covered on pages 6-24 through 6-27. If you no longer have the owners manual, you can download a copy from http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1010The owners manual suggest that it doesn't take much, maybe half a quart. When you add fluid, you will want to use a funnel, as that dipstick tube is narrow. You can buy one, but sometimes I'll just make one out of aluminum foil. Your other thread says you have 86,000 miles on the car. It is probably due for a fluid change. Sounds like something you might want to get done at a shop. A dealer will charge a lot for it, but any tire shop, tune up place, oil change place should be able to do it for you. If you get that done, it will help extend the life of the transmission.Therre are many types of Automatic Transmission fluid. Whether you add the fluid, have someone else do it, and when you get around to getting a fluid change, make sure to use fluid that is type T-IV (toyota compatible stuff)

[lovemyraffe]

If you are not comfortable with putting the tranny fluid in, it is worth the $ to have a good shop do it for you. If you put too much fluid in, it can do terrible things.

[kaykin75]

Thank you all for the help. Luckily, for me, my ex husband checked out the fluid for me and showed me on the stick that it is at a perfect level....i must have been looking at it wrong

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by kaykin75 »Thank you all for the help. Luckily, for me, my ex husband checked out the fluid for me and showed me on the stick that it is at a perfect level....i must have been looking at it wrong Sounds like you have a good relationship with your ex-husband. Seems like your problems with your Vibe may be a little more complicated. Is there a family friend who is a mechanic who could look at it for free?

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly » Seems like your problems with your Vibe may be a little more complicated. Is there a family friend who is a mechanic who could look at it for free?+1Having spent countless hours in my f-i-l's transmission shop before he passed, it would be best to at least have a certified transmission guy look at it. The underlying problems are countless and extremely expensive.

[kaykin75]

Do not know anyone who is a mechanic. I did put Seafoam in the gas tank yesterday and it does seem to be revving better today. I was only checking the tranny fluid as a precaution. I would love to be able to take it in and have it checked out but I just do not have the money. It would actually be easier for me to trade it in and get a new car....at least then I could make payments.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by kaykin75 »Do not know anyone who is a mechanic. I did put Seafoam in the gas tank yesterday and it does seem to be revving better today. I was only checking the tranny fluid as a precaution. I would love to be able to take it in and have it checked out but I just do not have the money. It would actually be easier for me to trade it in and get a new car....at least then I could make payments.It sounds like a simple fix, yet could be various things and without properly trouble shooting and spending the $$$ for a diagnostic, there is nothing else wrong with the vehicle.

[Caretaker]

The local Mr. Tire is offering a tranny flush for $100. I'm not sure if that would be the price once I told them that I needed Toyota Type IV fluid placed into their machine.

Has anyone been searching for a deal on tranny flushes, and if so, could you offer up what a good price would be? I have been searching all my local GM and Toyota dealerships for service specials but have not found one. It appears that $140 is the going rate at the Toyota dealership. My 2009 Vibe is fast approaching 60,000 miles. The fluid is no longer a nice color red, appears to be turning grey, and does not smell as good as the fluid in my 2010 Elantra Touring. I figured I'd evacuate it sooner than later.

[Caretaker]

Wow, I'm feeling like I'm in Homer Simpson's colon here with only one way out (and it ain't pretty). Can anybody provide a price for transmission fluid flush at a dealer given that we have to use the Toyota Type IV fluid? Most Toyota dealers don't want to do the work since "it isn't a Toyota" and most GM dealers charge excessive fees for the T-IV fluid. Will Jiffy Lube use T-IV in their machines if I provide them with the fluid?

[djkeev]

FYI,
First, you do NOT want to flush your transmission! No long term good will come from such activity, just use your Google search and begin reading the delayed effects of flushing procedures.

Secondly, if you do anything, you want to exchange your oil in the transmission, a procedure that removes the old oil as it puts in new oil, a transfusion if you will.

I prefer the do it yourself technique of simply dropping the oil by pulling the transmission drain plug three times with short mileage intervals between each drop. Statistically this exchanges almost all the old oil in the unit. I now also pull the trans plug at every 2nd or 3rd oil change (14,000-20,000 miles +/-). The act of frequently Adding fresh oils with fresh additives gives me peace of mind.

At 50,000 my oil was filthy, they don't recommend a change until 100,000 but I ignored that and erred on the side of too often. I've now got 110,000 miles and all is well with the transaxle.

Any Toyota Dealer that won't work on your Pontiac is simply short sighted and turning down easy cash, the Vibe IS a Toyota Matrix / Corolla in all it's major components.

Personally I shy away from other oils that aren't Toyota T-IV but others use them without harm. Whatever you use it MUST be T-IV compatible!



Dave

[Caretaker]

thanks Dave. No, no flushing here . Just the transfusion like the BG machine does.
Has anyone on this board (who is still alive and kicking) gone to a Toyota or GM dealer to get this service done and paid anything other than the $200 charge most want due to the T-IV fluid? Has anyone seen service department specials for this service, or am I confined to the occasional $10 off coupon or $20 off for services over $200? When I used to go to Jiffy Lube to get this done with "regular fluid," I could find deals of $90. $200 seems outrageous.

[michael]

Ok, just joined, have already enjoyed the intelligent posts by many here.My first post, not sure if it will crash into someone's else's thread, my apologies if the case.

I bought an 04 vibe with 107,000 on it, all seems solid, but the last owner didn't drain/exchange the tranny fluid at 100,000 miles, or prior to that.I live in an apt. Can't do the drain here. I called shops that wanna do it for up to 257.00. ..this would be for a fluid exchange & not using Toyota iv fluid.I asked if they'd do just a drain , three different times, all places felt it was absurd.however, I feel it makes excellent sense.so, at this point, does it make sense to just do the fluid exchange, but of course not the high power flush? I believe the 04 has the mesh filter that doesn't need changed. I have no clue if they would be dropping the pan, or replacing the 2.00 carquest gasket that goes on the drain plug. Any experts here wanna guide me on this??

[Caretaker]

in summary: 10 year old car with over 100,000 miles on it, that has never had its transmission fluid replaced. Do not flush it or you'll likely be flushing your transmission down the drain. Check lots of places (Pep Boys, Jiffy Lube, Toyota dealer coupon, etc) to see what prices they want for a drain and fill. Make sure you ask them if you should supply the Toyota type IV fluid as well. I'm not sure if there is a synthetic equivalent for the T-IV fluid. For my Vibe (World Standard fluid), I wouldn't think of putting anything else in it.

[triz]

I shudder at the word Jiffy Lube. If you love your vehicle don't ever ever ever ever ever take your vehicle to Jiffy Lube or you just might be the next horror story.

As far as fluid. Amsoil makes a great synthetic transmission fluid. The Signature Series is a Toyota WS compatible fluid.

You also want to change the transmission filter. It holds all the gunk and nasty stuff. Your fluid might look good but drain the filter and you'll see the difference.

[Caretaker]

great, but the OP has T-IV fluid, not WS. As for JL: tens of thousands of customers go there every year and they are still in business. JL carries the same BG machine that every other mechanic has for fluid replacement. If I had a car that did not require OEM Honda or Toyota fluid, I would not hesitate to throw JL into the mix to determine a price for transmission fluid replacement.

[tpollauf]

Ok, just joined, have already enjoyed the intelligent posts by many here.My first post, not sure if it will crash into someone's else's thread, my apologies if the case.

I bought an 04 vibe with 107,000 on it, all seems solid, but the last owner didn't drain/exchange the tranny fluid at 100,000 miles, or prior to that.I live in an apt. Can't do the drain here. I called shops that wanna do it for up to 257.00. ..this would be for a fluid exchange & not using Toyota iv fluid.I asked if they'd do just a drain , three different times, all places felt it was absurd.however, I feel it makes excellent sense.so, at this point, does it make sense to just do the fluid exchange, but of course not the high power flush? I believe the 04 has the mesh filter that doesn't need changed. I have no clue if they would be dropping the pan, or replacing the 2.00 carquest gasket that goes on the drain plug. Any experts here wanna guide me on this??

Welcome to GenVibe Mike Although I can't really jump in on this topic as I own a manual transmission and still have very low mileage. Just want you to open up separate thread introducing yourself & location and then ramble on about anything Vibe related! Welcome

[Vulcan05]

JL employs the people who failed on their McDonald's application.

[triz]

great, but the OP has T-IV fluid, not WS. As for JL: tens of thousands of customers go there every year and they are still in business. JL carries the same BG machine that every other mechanic has for fluid replacement. If I had a car that did not require OEM Honda or Toyota fluid, I would not hesitate to throw JL into the mix to determine a price for transmission fluid replacement.

I was actually going off your post ad listed vehicle since the original post was from 2009. The Toyota T-IV is actually older fluid, equal to that of Dex III/IV. Like everything else there is always a upgrade. That is why I recommended the SiG series fluid which is the recommended fluid.

As far as JL, yeah they have the same machine, but it's the mechanics experience I worry about. I could post up thousands of other threads where some failure of there car began with, "well I took my car to Jiffy Lube". Just read another recently where they put ATF fluid in a manual transmission.

It's your choice but I would rather have a independent shop that was well reviewed or recommended than JL.

[gtv237]

Its already been said but yes, make sure you check it with the engine running and the transmission in park. Make sure you warm up the fluid before you check it. The only way to heat the fluid is by driving it. It wont heat up just sitting there running. Take notice of the color as well. It should be pink or pinkish purple. If its red, orange, brown or darker you will need a transmission fluid change. Your shift solenoids can clog fairly easily with dirty fluid. Automatic transmissions have clutches and various other metallic parts that shed their material into the fluid. So keep it clean!

[lannvouivre]

You also need to shift through all the gears so that fluid goes into every clutch pack/piston/valve/oil channel.

[yellowtiger]

So today I took my 2009 to a local Toyota dealership to have the transmission fluid change. At first the lady said most likely a type-iv and then after checking agreed should be WS. She insisted no need for a filter cleaning as so only drain and fill. Ended up with 4L fluid and labour costs C$98.54. I think it's a good deal as it's far better than the GM's and even those drive-thrus.