transmission fluid prices

[truepath]

I dropped the transmission pan on my 05 Vibe, changed the filter and refilled the transmission with 3.2 quarts of Type T-IV ATF (as called for in the owner's manual). I didn't realize when the filter is changed it takes more than 4 quarts to fill it up again. That meant I needed more ATF, but the nearest Toyota dealer is 100 miles away so I went to the GM dealer in town. I paid about $5.85 for a quart at the Toyota dealer. The GM dealer in town wanted a little over $17.00 per quart. Needless to say they didn't get my business and probably never will.

[silvrhawk7]

Wow, why am i not surprised? Typical GM.Thanks for the heads up...

[vibolista]

Can't you get trans fluid at a parts store? Or do they charge as much or more than GM? Amazing that Toyota stores can charge that little.

[ColonelPanic]

I knew GM was high but that's ridiculous! I think it was around $13 a quart when I had mine, the markup for GM to repackage Toyota parts has always been astronomical. Time + GM/Toyota's dissolved partnership have made that worse, I guess. Need to change the fluid in my wife's Vibe some time soon, no way am I going to Pontiac for that stuff.Never hurts to shop around - any time you have an alternate channel to buy parts, check into it. I bought an OEM oil filter for my Hyundai at the Kia dealer last week, same exact filter that I was paying over 8 bucks a pop for at the Hyundai place... A little over $4 at Kia, identical product, just in a different box.

[truepath]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »Can't you get trans fluid at a parts store? Or do they charge as much or more than GM? Amazing that Toyota stores can charge that little. You can buy ATF at parts stores that claims it is Type T-IV compatible, but if you search though various automotive sites the strong consensus seems to be that it is best to use Toyota type T-IV and that the aftermarket fluid is not reliable in Toyota vehicles. I don't know if this is true or not. If I were changing out all of the fluid in the transmission (drain and flush), then I would be a little more inclined to use non-Toyota fluid, but I'm not willing to mix them. I know that Honda ATF is important to use in Honda's. I used parts store AFT in a Honda Accord a while back and its shifting quality was really poor. I replace the fluid with Honda ATF and the improvement in shift quality was striking. I don't know if this would happen with a Toyota transmission or not, but why take the chance. ATF is another one of those mysterious automotive topics that is hard to wade through.

[truepath]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I knew GM was high but that's ridiculous! I think it was around $13 a quart when I had mine, the markup for GM to repackage Toyota parts has always been astronomical. Time + GM/Toyota's dissolved partnership have made that worse, I guess. Need to change the fluid in my wife's Vibe some time soon, no way am I going to Pontiac for that stuff.Never hurts to shop around - any time you have an alternate channel to buy parts, check into it. I bought an OEM oil filter for my Hyundai at the Kia dealer last week, same exact filter that I was paying over 8 bucks a pop for at the Hyundai place... A little over $4 at Kia, identical product, just in a different box.There always seems to be better (and worse) deal when dealing with car stuff. I do not understand why GM would mark up their ATF to this extent (maybe the particular dealer I was at was a lone wolf). It could be that most car owners just shut up and pay whatever the so called dealer wants to charge.

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by truepath »There always seems to be better (and worse) deal when dealing with car stuff. I do not understand why GM would mark up their ATF to this extent (maybe the particular dealer I was at was a lone wolf). It could be that most car owners just shut up and pay whatever the so called dealer wants to charge.That's called a hold up.