ATF Drain Plug and Gasket

Normally, a drain plug gasket need not be changed. On some cars, you have to remove the transmission pan, clean it, and then replace a filter and the pan gasket.

That may not be your case. Some trannies nowadays have no replaceable filters, and there is no need to drop the pan.

Go slowly. I applaud you ethic in changing your ATF, but you need to know a little more before you get kneedeep into this.

Thanks for the response. I have specifically asked at the dealership on how they change ATF, and their answer was that by draining the old fluid only, so, it seems to be not such a difficult task to do by inexperienced person. I do oil changes by myself on regular basis. I have done careful research on the procedure, the key info seems to be the correct ATF which is ATF T-IV or T-4 type. I am planning to get it from Toyota dealership to be on a safe side. Also, planning to measure how much of old ATF came out and put similar amount in, then use a transmission dipstick to adjust.

Thanks for the response. I have specifically asked at the dealership on how they change ATF, and their answer was that by draining the old fluid only, so, it seems to be not such a difficult task to do by inexperienced person. I do oil changes by myself on regular basis. I have done careful research on the procedure, the key info seems to be the correct ATF which is ATF T-IV or T-4 type. I am planning to get it from Toyota dealership to be on a safe side. Also, planning to measure how much of old ATF came out and put similar amount in, then use a transmission dipstick to adjust.

I have changed the ATF without any glitches. It turns out, the complexity of the operation is smaller than oil change: very easy ATF plug access and no filter change. The old ATF had brown color, although ATF was serviced before recommended schedule. Based on cost/ effort and potential saving in transmission problems it is no brainer for me that I will drain/refill ATF in my Camry on regular schedule (probably once a year, even though my average millage is low: ~10-15,000 miles/year).