Replace Transmission Filter or No?

[mrdctaylor]

I've never replaced a filter on a Toyota. I drain/fill every 30-50k miles. My Tacoma has 217K miles now. No issues. Doing the same with my Highlander. Also did that with a Hyundai Santa Fe that racked up 220k miles. I've never seen a clogged AT filter. I think it is a waste of time changing it.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
I've never replaced a filter on a Toyota. I drain/fill every 30-50k miles. My Tacoma has 217K miles now. No issues. Doing the same with my Highlander. Also did that with a Hyundai Santa Fe that racked up 220k miles. I've never seen a clogged AT filter. I think it is a waste of time changing it.


I can't speak about a Toyota or a Hyundai since I never serviced one of their transmissions. I've seen a few transmission filters plugged up enough to cause problems, in Ford and GM applications. Most recent was my buddies 08 Expedition, it would delay shifting into drive and reverse when cold. We did a pan drop after hours at a friend of his shop and the filter was plugged up. Swapped it out and the delay was gone.

He towed with it, and it probably wasn't serviced in 100K miles, not good.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Necessary? Not according to the OEM. But, it's a cheap fix and I've never heard anyone say it hurt.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Dyusik
At 97k or so, my filter looked very clean. It's a rock catcher, so it will take some time to clog up. I won't bother with the filter for another 150k. If I dont get rid of the car that is.
However, do drop the pan, I got an extra quart out of my IS that way.


Do you mean your 97k miles are from your IS and the filter still look very clean by then? How's the ATF looking when you change it?

 

[Dyusik]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear


Do you mean your 97k miles are from your IS and the filter still look very clean by then? How's the ATF looking when you change it?

Did a complete flush at the dealer at around 50k (WS), then 3x DF by Valvoline quick lube at 91 I think (ML), and tore into it myself at 97 (maxlife, and what was left of Redline D4 and D6 from the RX).

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Another thing to consider is:
How many miles to drive between Drain No 1 and Drain No 2 …… also between 2 and 3.
Not only are you mixing the old/new fluid, but the 'new' fluid may do some cleaning.

If you have some small glass jars, save some fluid during each drain and compare the color.

I think I'd change the Filter while doing the last drain/fill.
Then you have clean fluid and a new Filter.
Good luck.

 

[lancerplayer]

Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid
Another thing to consider is:
How many miles to drive between Drain No 1 and Drain No 2 …… also between 2 and 3.
Not only are you mixing the old/new fluid, but the 'new' fluid may do some cleaning.

If you have some small glass jars, save some fluid during each drain and compare the color.

I think I'd change the Filter while doing the last drain/fill.
Then you have clean fluid and a new Filter.
Good luck.


I was planning on a 100-200 miles in between drains. Normal driving habits too (50/50 highway/city)

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint

I can't speak about a Toyota or a Hyundai since I never serviced one of their transmissions. I've seen a few transmission filters plugged up enough to cause problems, in Ford and GM applications.


Toyota has been using the same felt media filters as the domestics since the early 2000s. Filtran makes the FWD ones, while the one in my parent's LS430 was made by Toko Roki.

Looks like the simple screen Toyota(and Aisin AW) has been using doesn't cut the mustard for 5-8 speed transmissions.

 

[mrdctaylor]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: demarpaint

I can't speak about a Toyota or a Hyundai since I never serviced one of their transmissions. I've seen a few transmission filters plugged up enough to cause problems, in Ford and GM applications.


Toyota has been using the same felt media filters as the domestics since the early 2000s. Filtran makes the FWD ones, while the one in my parent's LS430 was made by Toko Roki.

Looks like the simple screen Toyota(and Aisin AW) has been using doesn't cut the mustard for 5-8 speed transmissions.


Or it could be that they now claim Toyota WS is a lifetime fluid. If they went back to recommending ATF changes they might be able to go back to screens. Who knows. Regardless, I'm going to stick to 30k-50k drain/fill schedules for my Toyotas and don't plan to replace filters.

Having said all of that, when my daughter got my parents' 2002 Chevy at 150K miles, I knew they had never serviced the transmission. So I dropped the pan and changed the filter. The filter media looked just fine. I don't think it was necessary and I won't do it again on this vehicle. After that initial filter replacement/refill, I did another couple of drains/fills using a fluid extractor. 4-5 years later we're at 175k miles and everything is still running great.

I suppose I'd try a filter replacement if a vehicle was showing symptoms. Other than that, I don't see it as being a necessary preventative measure on modern cars. Maybe that's just me...

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: demarpaint

I can't speak about a Toyota or a Hyundai since I never serviced one of their transmissions. I've seen a few transmission filters plugged up enough to cause problems, in Ford and GM applications.


Toyota has been using the same felt media filters as the domestics since the early 2000s. Filtran makes the FWD ones, while the one in my parent's LS430 was made by Toko Roki.

Looks like the simple screen Toyota(and Aisin AW) has been using doesn't cut the mustard for 5-8 speed transmissions.


Or it could be that they now claim Toyota WS is a lifetime fluid. If they went back to recommending ATF changes they might be able to go back to screens. Who knows. Regardless, I'm going to stick to 30k-50k drain/fill schedules for my Toyotas and don't plan to replace filters.

Having said all of that, when my daughter got my parents' 2002 Chevy at 150K miles, I knew they had never serviced the transmission. So I dropped the pan and changed the filter. The filter media looked just fine. I don't think it was necessary and I won't do it again on this vehicle. After that initial filter replacement/refill, I did another couple of drains/fills using a fluid extractor. 4-5 years later we're at 175k miles and everything is still running great.

I suppose I'd try a filter replacement if a vehicle was showing symptoms. Other than that, I don't see it as being a necessary preventative measure on modern cars. Maybe that's just me...


I'd rather not wait for symptoms, but I'm talking domestics here. If I hadn't seen and fixed a few problems first hand over the years with plugged up filters in domestic applications maybe I'd see it differently. My Jeeps will get pan drops, fluid and filter changes, along with fluid exchanges as long as I continue to own and maintain them.

As I said I can't comment about Toyota, I never owned one or serviced one. I figure if it has a screen or filter and the pan is down I'm changing it.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor


Having said all of that, when my daughter got my parents' 2002 Chevy at 150K miles, I knew they had never serviced the transmission. So I dropped the pan and changed the filter.

I suppose I'd try a filter replacement if a vehicle was showing symptoms. Other than that, I don't see it as being a necessary preventative measure on modern cars. Maybe that's just me...

I recently did a pan drop on a friend's Ford Explorer with the 5R55E and the OEM filter looked OK to me, the pan and filter were coated with clutch plate sludge. I replaced the filter with a $12 Puro kit off Amazon and while it was made in China, it had the info sheet from Filtran about installing a new filter bolt. I suspect it was made by Filtran China(the original SPX patent was molded on the plastic half of it, but it wasn't stamped FILTRAN SPx), but for $12 and 4 quarts of fresh Kendall fluid it's cheap insurance. I still need to do a suck and fill but the fluid that came out was still nice and red.

I think if the filter is easily accessible and if it's not a PITA to set fluid level, a filter replacement once in a car's life will pay dividends in longer transmission life and replacing it more than that is probably overkill. On the Subaru I maintain, I don't plan on dropping the pan as the filter is a screen and not worth touching.