CVT Maintenance

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crazy_corolla

New Member
#1
#1
I traded in my 2006 Prius for a 2014 Corolla LE in January of this year partly because I was tired of driving with virtually no heat. I have been loving every mile in the Corolla. I'm up to 50K miles and am curious to know how I should maintain the transmission. i.e. When/should I have the transmission fluid changed or flushed.
Thank you in advance. :)
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#2
#2
I'd talk to your local dealer. I've heard everything from every 90k to never from several people that have talked to different dealerships. They have a probe that they insert in the transmission to see if the fluid is in spec or not if I'm not mistaken.

50k miles in 6 months I'm pretty sure would fall under the heavy duty use, so I'd mention that to the dealer.
 
V

VTAK8k

2014 S Plus
#4
#4
Sorry I can't help with the CVT question but I was curious of the Prius. I always wondered how good the heat was on them considering the gas motor doesn't always run. An older couple moved in next door to me a year ago and I asked them about it, they said the heat was fine.

Sorry to go off topic, this is a question I've wanted to ask Prius owners since they began selling them.
 
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crazy_corolla

New Member
#5
#5
The heat in the Prius for me was terrible. If you're on the highway, its fine, but around town, the engine would shut off at the first possible chance that it could safely do so. So while the engine may be warm enough to shut off, it's likely not warm enough to blow hot air. I live in Ohio, and the winters here get pretty harsh. The biggest complaint I had about the second gen Prius, is the ABS system. The system wouldn't pulse the brakes, it would disable them. Very scary when your going down a snowy hill to a stop light.
 
echarleswhyte

echarleswhyte

New Member
#7
#7
read owners manual for how to maintain CVT. there is a wealth of info in that book. there is even a schedule that outlines what should be done and when.
 
ToyBoy

ToyBoy

New Member
#9
#9
crazy_corolla said:
I traded in my 2006 Prius for a 2014 Corolla LE in January of this year partly because I was tired of driving with virtually no heat. I have been loving every mile in the Corolla. I'm up to 50K miles and am curious to know how I should maintain the transmission. i.e. When/should I have the transmission fluid changed or flushed.
Thank you in advance. :)
Click to expand...
50K in 6 months ? WOW
 
D

DTG

New Member
#13
#13
r0me0ne said:
Toyota says cvt transmission fluid is "lifetime" techs at my job recommend a world standard flush at least every 100k
Click to expand...
There is no such thing as "lifetime" fluid unless one (as Toyota apparently does) defines "lifetime" as "we want you to buy a new Toyota in 5 years", so it's the car's lifetime with you. Me, I intend to drive the car until it falls apart under me, like I have with my other cars (bought new) with 11, 13 and 21 years under their belts. 100k is probably OK, but I intend to change my 2014's fluid at 70k or so.
 
r0me0ne

r0me0ne

New Member
#14
#14
DTG said:
There is no such thing as "lifetime" fluid unless one (as Toyota apparently does) defines "lifetime" as "we want you to buy a new Toyota in 5 years", so it's the car's lifetime with you. Me, I intend to drive the car until it falls apart under me, like I have with my other cars (bought new) with 11, 13 and 21 years under their belts. 100k is probably OK, but I intend to change my 2014's fluid at 70k or so.
Click to expand...
I plan to change mine quite often as well what Toyota says isn't what what I say just reiterating what I was told.
 
HanSolo

HanSolo

New Member
#15
#15
Lifetime is often also determined by the expected life span of a car. Many cars now come filled with ATF for life with the assumption of an expected service life of 150k miles. I usually do a fluid change at 30k miles and then increase the interval after that.
 
C

crazy_corolla

New Member
#16
#16
Finally got my transmission fluid changed at 60K miles now. I spoke with one of the service advisers. I mentioned the lifetime fluid, and he said that the fluid should still be changed at every 60k or 90k miles. Upon reading some memos, he said that lifetime fluid was merely to keep the cost of maintenance down. Long story short, it's a mechanical component that breaks down and dirties the fluid. Get it changed every so often.
 
HanSolo

HanSolo

New Member
#19
#19
Not bad at all. A full transmission flush with filter change on many vehicles can easily run 160-200 due to the cost of the newer LV fluids.
 
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