[Kevin M]

Hi All:

I was wondering what people were doing about automatic transmission service? I know they say its a "Sealed" transmission for the life of the vehicle but I don't believe that, the fluid WILL break down and changing it only helps. Mine is at 50k and Id like to drop whats in the pan at 60k...Also do I use the Mazda FZ fluid or the Toyota WS fluid? technically is a Mazda vehicle

Thanks!
Kevin in NH

 

[Dylan Hughes]

I would ideally do a transmission fluid flush every 30k miles, but you're still fine at 50k. I think you may need to just flush the whole thing, but do be weary of the cheap shops that use these weird machines. Automatic transmissions do release metal shavings which add up over time. When there is too much in the transmission, it damages it and eventually the transmission will rely on the metal shavings. Changing the transmission fluid at this point is no longer recommended as it is so damaged your trans will now just slip. @50k miles you're still clear.

According to a link (can't post url since I didn't make enough posts apparently...), "The typical service interval is 60,000 to 100,000 miles." but " Most manufacturers recommend that manual transmission fluid be changed every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. Under heavy-duty use, some manufacturers suggest changing transmission fluid every 15,000 miles."

According to the official 2016 Scion iA Maintenance and Warranty guide, you are supposed to change out the automatic trans fluid every 30k miles or 24 months, whichever comes first. Now if you want to be supa supa responsible, do the maintenance before the official numbers, so every 25k miles or 20 months (25/30 = 0.8333~, so 24 months * 0.8333~ = 20 months)

Just dropping the pan will not change out all the trans fluid. You'll get a small percentage of it, I'm not sure exactly how small but it's not enough. Get a professional to flush it out properly and make ABSOLUTELY sure they clean their flusher every time. Pay a premium if you have to. Don't cheap out on this. Going out of your way to baby your transmission will make you more than likely to squeeze a ridiculous amount of miles off it.

Lots of automatic transmissions die out early because people don't think to change out their trans fluid. Our car doesn't come with a trans fluid dip stick which sucks because with it you can quickly check the state of your oil. You can spread some on your hand, if it's liquidity and clear with no burning smell, it's clear. If it smells like burned crap then you need to change it ASAP.

I don't see any mention of what transmission fluid to use, so we'll have to research more on that. Your dealership should know.

My car is personally at 14k miles at this point, I think the dealership changed out the transmission fluid since this car has been owned for more than 24 months by some other dude I bought it off from.

 

[brahmabull]

According to the official 2016 Scion iA Maintenance and Warranty guide, you are supposed to change out the automatic trans fluid every 30k miles or 24 months, whichever comes first. Now if you want to be supa supa responsible, do the maintenance before the official numbers, so every 25k miles or 20 months (25/30 = 0.8333~, so 24 months * 0.8333~ = 20 months)

My car is personally at 14k miles at this point, I think the dealership changed out the transmission fluid since this car has been owned for more than 24 months by some other dude I bought it off from.

The 2017 iA maintenance manual recommends only inspecting the transmission fluid every 30k miles. Not sure how you are supposed to do that when the transmission is sealed and there is no dipstick easily accessible but that's what it says. It is unnecessary to flush the automatic transmission every 30k miles. Sure, if you have the money, go right ahead but I don't think it is required to flush the transmission fluid that often.

 

[Dylan Hughes]

The 2017 iA maintenance manual recommends only inspecting the transmission fluid every 30k miles. Not sure how you are supposed to do that when the transmission is sealed and there is no dipstick easily accessible but that's what it says. It is unnecessary to flush the automatic transmission every 30k miles. Sure, if you have the money, go right ahead but I don't think it is required to flush the transmission fluid that often.

Most automatic transmissions fail due to dirty oil, after a certain amount of miles the amount of micro metal-shavings adds up and damages the internal parts, causing it to slip if you try to do a transmission fluid replacement later. At that point, you can no longer change it and the transmission is doomed to die. By doing it every 30k miles you absolutely positively ensure it is always clean.

I think 150-200 dollars for a transmission flush every 30k miles (2 years typical driving for the average person) is a sound investment to keep an automatic transmission worth thousands from breaking down.

Of course it really depends on your type of driving. If you do lots of city stop-and-go driving, you should really replace it every 30k miles. If you're mostly doing highway driving and end up doing 30k in less than a year, you really don't need to change it so soon. Most of the wear and tear is done when changing gears and starting up the car. If you're on the highway for long stretches of time very often, you're more than likely to stay in some high gear, minimizing the amount of wear on both the transmission and oil.

 

[Dylan Hughes]

The 2017 iA maintenance manual recommends only inspecting the transmission fluid every 30k miles. Not sure how you are supposed to do that when the transmission is sealed and there is no dipstick easily accessible but that's what it says. It is unnecessary to flush the automatic transmission every 30k miles. Sure, if you have the money, go right ahead but I don't think it is required to flush the transmission fluid that often.

I'm going to go ahead and put my tinfoil hat on, but sealed transmissions are likely an attempt at planned obsolescence as such transmissions were designed to last for a "lifetime", which to the car manufacturers, seems to be around the 60k-100k mileage mark. They make it harder for you to do it so you either don't change out the transmission fluid or come to the dealerships to have it done. If you don't change the trans fluid, it'll eventually blow and you'll need a new car. Bam, you're back on the market.

Sealed transmissions can be flushed by removing some bolts underneath the car, bleeding it out and pumping new fluid in. Some people are saying all you have to do is just change the filter out. In that case, drop the trans fluid collection pan, change the filter and pop it back up without flushing. Chances are the filter is all you need.

 

[honegod]

"the fluid WILL break down"


what if it is the oxygen in the air in the transmission that is HOW the fluid breaks down and a bright soul figured out that by purging the air out with an inert gas and sealing the transmission the fluid would NOT break down ?


would not breaking the seal and INTRODUCING air/oxygen into the system rather mess that up ?

 

[Dylan Hughes]

well... transmission fluid breaks down from the process of heating and cooling. The auto trans releases small metal fragments which increases the viscosity of the solution. This is why you need to change it at the latest, every 60k miles or so. After a certain point there are so many tiny metal fragments the auto trans can't work without this increased viscosity and flushing it with brand new auto trans fluid will cause it to slip.

Changing the fluid every 30k miles will pretty much guarantee the auto trans isn't damaged by metal fragment buildup and broken-down auto trans fluid.

Now here is the tricky part - some people drive A LOT more than others. Now if you take lots of short trips you are classified under "extreme-use" according to the scion car manual. It however only recommends inspection of the auto trans fluid. Lots of experienced mechanics suggest you change out the fluid to really make it last a loooong time. This is really babying it so even crappy trans will last longer if you follow this process.

For other people who drive up to like 100 miles a day, and only take long trips don't fall into the "extreme-use" category and can definitely postpone trans fluid flushing until like 100k miles or so. I'm confused as to why many people have to drive so far. It takes me like 15 minutes to get to work.

 

[WilsonT123]

Hi All: /forum/images/ScionIAForum/smilies/tango_face_smile.png

I was wondering what people were doing about automatic transmission service? I know they say its a "Sealed" transmission for the life of the vehicle but I don't believe that, the fluid WILL break down and changing it only helps. Mine is at 50k and Id like to drop whats in the pan at 60k...Also do I use the Mazda FZ fluid or the Toyota WS fluid? technically is a Mazda vehicle

Thanks! /forum/images/ScionIAForum/smilies/tango_face_grin.png
Kevin in NH

Transmission can be serviced. Look up on YouTube how to service Mazda CX-5/3 transmission.. it's the same for this car.

Use FZ fluid..