Auto Transmission Fluid Colour

[tjollimore]

Our Vibe will be 2 years old in August. The first winter we had it, I got stuck in a little snow drift. Knowing the auto transmission was a bit fragile, I lightly drove the car back and forth (keeping revs below 3000 and stopping completely before changing direction). On the third try, starting forward, the transmission popped COMPLETELY out of gear and the engine hit redline. I brought it back to idle immediately and put it in park. What a burnt smell.The transmission has been acting fine, and the fluid eventually got some of it's original colour back. The burnt smell was still there, though, so I got my wife to take it to the dealer a few months back. Their diagnosis was that nothing was wrong, but when I re-checked the fluid it was REALLY red. I think they changed it, and denied doing anything.Now, the car doesn't even have 30,000 kms on it and the transmission fluid (with normal driving) is brown, has a bit of a burnt smell and black bits in the fluid. The tranny still works perfectly, but I know the fluid spells trouble. Now, I'm expecting the dealership to claim that 30,000kms is when the fluid should be flushed and filled anyway. I know this is BS. What condition is your fluid in with 18,000 miles or more?

[Petrucci914]

I'd probably get it flushed and filled sometime after 30,000 miles..... depending on how you drive it. They say to do it at 60,000 miles but a lot of us believe it should be earlier in some cases. If I were you I'd drop the plug and put a few quarts in......... do that during your oil changes (about 2 times) and that should get a decent amount of new fluid in there.

[the1stacekiller]

I drained 4 Quarts out of a friends Vibe when we did his oil change .. and it was BLACK! keep in mind he had 80,000 kms on his ride.. He had no problems whats so ever driving the Vibe or any smells whats so ever.. so We refilled the Tranny with 4 Quarts of Amsoil Univeral ATF (Type T-IV Compatible) and of he went .. no issues again.. So if you can do your own oil change, you can definately change your ATF Fluid.. the cost will only be the ATF.. at $8/L for Toyota T-IV at the Toyota Dealer.. we went for Amsoil for a couple of dollars more.. do it your self.. it will take two - three drain and fills.. but its just as effective as an overpriced dealer service..cheers

[Raven]

It is normal for the fluid to be dark in the Vibe, but black bits, no. I would go ahead and get a transmission flush. When I had a flush done on my '04 auto, it took 9 or 10 quarts until the fluid was clear. I did it at 50,000 miles. (80,000 km)

[Petrucci914]

Sunny, did you notice a great improvement in shifting after that?

[Raven]

I didn't really notice any change, it was shifting fine before and after. The fluid was just so dark that I figured it was time for a change. A month or so later my wife wrote it off, now I have an '06 manual.