Hi everyone, Hope you are all doing well. I'm the guy in the Boston area with a pristine '89 Corolla SR5 with 152k miles. I haven't posted in a long time since the car hasn't had any issues. Every time I bring it in for an oil change, one of the mechanics at the shop keeps wanting me to sell him my car. Anyhow, right now I'm asking a question for my little brother:
He has a '97 Camry I4 automatic with 67k miles. He got it at 65k miles and the previous owner, my sister, likely did not change the trans fluid. After he did get the car, he did get the transmission fluid changed; the mechanic said that the original fluid was looking pretty dirty, but that he changed it and it was fine now. When he got the car at 65k miles, we took it a shop that we know and trust and they serviced everything on the car-- new timing belt, water pump, drive belts, oil change, ATF change, etc. etc.
My brother moved to Los Angeles and just took his car in for its first oil change there-- he went to an independent Toyota/Honda shop with a good reputation. He said that the mechanic working on his car told him that the transmission fluid looks a bit dirty, and recommended that he have the transmission fluid drained and filled every time he goes in for an oil change, for the next few oil changes. He said the shop said that flushing the system is an option, but not a good option (they did not elaborate).
My questions for all of you:
- have you heard of draining and filling your ATF with every oil change for several oil changes in a row?
- am I correct in assuming that my brother's car's ATF could be dirty despite a drain and fill 2000 miles ago, because 1. a drain and fill doesn't remove all the pre-existing ATF, and 2. if there was some gunk in the system originally, then it may have gradually dissolved into the ATF these last 2000 miles?
If #1 is correct then I'll tell my brother to do it, I just don't want him spend $70 for an ATF change every time he gets his oil changed these next few times if there's no value to it. I'm not in California so can't say how his ATF looks, and he himself doesn't know how to assess it.
Thanks, John