TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGE

210

Asked by MICKEY5763 Jul 11, 2011 at 05:29 PM about the 2004 Toyota Camry

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

2004 CAMRY ,NEVER CHANGED TRANNY FLUID HELP

14 Answers

Its messy but can be done with a 5 gallon bucket and some hose lines. detach the 2 lines at the radiator and have an assistant start the engine, 1 line will start flowing with fluid shut the vehicle off. attach a rubber hose to that line (home depot has various sizes in their plumbing aisle) place that hose into an empty 5 gallon bucket. attach a hose to the other line and place that hose into a 1 gallon bottle of fluid. Start the car. the old fluid will dump into the 5 gallon bucket while the new fluid is sucked into the vehicle. Keep doing this until the fluid going into the 5 gallon bucket looks new. shut the car off and clean up and reattach the fittings.

15 people found this helpful.
210

JEFF --- MY CONCERN IS I WAS TOLD NOT TO CHANGE IT BECAUSE IF I DO THE TRANNY WILL SLIP --- IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE VISCOSITY OF THE FLUID BREAKDOWN OVER THE YEARS.

16 people found this helpful.

That's an old myth. If you neglect it the transmission will wear and begin to slip. Some people blame the slipping on changing the fluid (wrong) overlooking the fact they damaged the transmission by running the old fluid too long.

9 people found this helpful.
210

THANKS JEFF --- THE ONLY THING IS THAT MY MECHANIC SAYS AFTER 7 YEARS OF THE SAME FLUID,HE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IF HE CHANGES IT.

5 people found this helpful.

The transmission is either already worn or it isn't. If the fluid was meant to stay in it, they wouldn't specify a maintenance schedule.

9 people found this helpful.
425

You can usually tell if the fluid is dirty by the color or even the smell of it.If the fluid is not transparent or very dark in color,it will sometimes have a burnt smell it should be changed,more important than the trans fluid is the transmission filter,I've seen trans saved by changing the fluid & filter many times,can also decrease slippage & improve shifting.

7 people found this helpful.
1,815

wouldnt change it, herd by many more than one peson, all auto tranny builders not just random people, ive always been told if you dont change it every 50k or so then dont change it at all because the transsmission has been " broken in" too that fluid. now if you change it when your saposed to ive herd its ok or also that if its being used to tow a lot its fine. when i pulled my engine and dumped the fluid my tranny builder strongly advised me to put the old oil back in and mine only had 40k on it, just my 2 cents.

5 people found this helpful.

End the myth once and for all http://ezinearticles.com/?Transmission-Flush-Myths---Busted!&id=4791559

22 people found this helpful.
1,815

just my opinion. my uncles whent in his vette right after being changed and my couisins in his van... literaly within a week, not trying to start agument just simply my opinion... if its not black then id leave it alone

3 people found this helpful.
19,495

the tranny oil should be changed 35-to 40k miles. if u don't, you are grinding your parts down plus the oil lost all properties of lubing.

6 people found this helpful.
25

I always heard don't change unless it smells burnt This will be the first time unfortunately it may be to late for my 2002 Camry Tranny I questioned the jerky shifting when I test drove and the Sales agent no doubt said he couldn't feel it. Manual says it is good for life. Come on do you eat burnt toast? Only if your starving. Is it possible the tranny will be saved with a flush and new fliud or do I bring it in for diagnostics expensive either way.

2 people found this helpful.
60

I have had mechanics tell me different things I have done research on YouTube and have read different blogs here, I have a 2000 Toyota Camry LE 2.2 L engine with 177,000 miles , I know it has not had any transmission flush or change because the previous owner told me so. The car has no issues switching gears, or slipping. However I want to prevent it from doing so. What I have learned to do is a simple change of fluid, Allow the fluid to come out by the tranny plug change the filter and gasket and add new ATF in, that way you have half old fluid and half new fluid. Repeat this process again after A certain amount of driving, allowing new fluid to circulate.

6 people found this helpful.
20

My 2003 Toyota Camry has 360523 thousand mls..I was about to change the trans... fluid when I noticed the instruction that read ' DO NOT CHANGE TRANS...FLUID... (Obviously I did not service the trans..)My Toyota is still going guns..

2 people found this helpful.
40

I have a ‘03 Camry XLE with 180000and was going to change tranny fluid. Where is the “DO NOT CHANGE FLUID “ on yours?

4 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Camry

Looking for a Used Camry in your area?

CarGurus has 43,930 nationwide Camry listings starting at $1,150.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

2004 Toyota Camry

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Reelin68
    Reputation
    34,710
  • #2
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    19,740
  • #3
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    5,710
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
1,522 Great Deals out of 30,102 listings starting at $1,200
Used Toyota Corolla
1,396 Great Deals out of 27,591 listings starting at $1,450
Used Honda Civic
1,297 Great Deals out of 26,038 listings starting at $997
Used Toyota RAV4
1,968 Great Deals out of 34,265 listings starting at $2,300
Used Toyota Avalon
164 Great Deals out of 2,042 listings starting at $499
Used Lexus IS
298 Great Deals out of 4,977 listings starting at $1,500
Used Toyota Tacoma
2,176 Great Deals out of 55,903 listings starting at $3,995
Used Lexus ES
440 Great Deals out of 7,092 listings starting at $2,500
Used Nissan Altima
1,528 Great Deals out of 36,229 listings starting at $995
Used Toyota Highlander
1,457 Great Deals out of 14,915 listings starting at $1,825
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,003 Great Deals out of 10,613 listings starting at $2,995
Used Honda CR-V
2,003 Great Deals out of 37,778 listings starting at $1,600

Used Cars for Sale

2025 Toyota Camry For Sale
86 Great Deals out of 18,735 listings starting at $26,447
2024 Toyota Camry For Sale
238 Great Deals out of 2,970 listings starting at $19,881
2023 Toyota Camry For Sale
324 Great Deals out of 3,985 listings starting at $16,892
2022 Toyota Camry For Sale
275 Great Deals out of 3,531 listings starting at $14,900
2021 Toyota Camry For Sale
204 Great Deals out of 2,630 listings starting at $13,895

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.