2010 Rav4 I4 transmission maintenance?

[Brons2]

The Rav4 owners manual does not specify a service interval for the auto trans in this vehicle. It is a 4 speed. I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of "fill for life". What fluid does this transmission take and what do indy shops recommend for service intervals on it? Car has a little over 45K on it now and would like to begin a maintenance regimen ASAP. It shifts perfectly right now and I want to keep it that way as long as possible.

To compare against my own car, I do drain and fills with SPIII every 15K in my Kia as does the dealer if you take it there for scheduled maintenance.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

30K is all I feel comfortable going.

If you plan on keeping it, I'd start changing the trans fluid now.

 

[Brons2]

Takes ATF-WS, apparently, and people say's it's pricey, although I'm not sure how much.

Yes, my significant other wishes to drive the car into the ground. I support her in this goal, because we'll need all the money to care for the kids when they come.

 

[229]

Same as your Kia. ATF-WS from dealer.

 

[rcbc96]

I have a 10' camry. It takes toyota ws fluid. Your service says that the toyota dealership has a special flush machine to make the fluid a certain temp.
I work at a shop that has a fluid exchange machine but I am contemplating on me doing it or let the dealership. They quoted me $159 for the service which isn't terrible.
I've thought about using Amsoil which meets toyota ws specs but I'm afraid I won't do the service right so I am probably taking it to dealership.

Mine has 60k on it and I think if you drive pretty normal I would go with 60-75k intervals.

 

[147_Grain]

For longevity purposes, it's easy to just remove and replace 4 quarts of ATF in the tranny each spring before the summer heat arrives.

I've done this for 30 years in dozens of vehicles with no transmission issues.

 

[LeakySeals]

Its not that easy anymore guys. 50k drain and fill from 2 bolts is good enough. No need to open, screen filter. Drain, measure what came out, refill. Then level to get it right for another 50k. Level requires the right temp (overflow level) Here's a video how to get the correct measuring temp. WS is not that expensive, not like swapping engine oil, recommend staying with WS.

 

[supton]

I concur, rav4 tranny failures are not that common. It's a headache to do a full flush, but if you are worried have the dealer do it. Otherwise, drain and refill.

At 45k I don't think it's overdue.

Dealer wants $230 to do my Tundra, but I suspect it holds more WS. wS is over $9 a quart, so $160 doesn't sound that bad to me.

 

[Doog]

I do 50k intervals with all of my Toyotas..either a cooler line flush or 4 drain fills with 5 miles of driving in between. My dealer charges about $85-90 for a case of 12 qts of WS.

 

[The Critic]

Some of the RAV4 in that generation have a dipstick, even though they take WS.

My friend's gf had a 2006 RAV4 that went 170k on the original fill of WS before it was finally replaced. The only reason for the fluid replacement was due to the torque converter shudder. The old fluid looks like black mud. She eventually traded in the car with 180k+ and the transmission still worked fine.

Likewise, there's a Yaris in our parking lot at work that has 130k+ and received one fluid flush at 90k with WS (by me) and works fine.

I went to a private Toyota event this weekend and the technical trainer told me that 150k is considered the useful life of the vehicle, so you can assume that 150k is how long WS is supposed to last.