Hi Guys, i hope you can help me again. I have 2005 corolla - what a great car! I drive a lot , and the car has 155K . Recently i have been having problems to accelare up the hill , it does it but very slowly . Its also hard to change shifts when i get to 40mph . And I am sorry for my simple language but a im a woman and now little about cars.
Anyway, i went jiffy lube to get my ooil change and they said i should have my transmission oil flush as well since it was already dark brown. I had that changed 50,000 miles ago with a trusted machanic. Anyway, i agreed . That has not helped and now im reading that i should have a transmission filter change as well? I did not even know there is one . Now, my question is ...should i go to a transmission shop and have it looked at it , should i change the filter ? anyway to improve the transmission at this point? I would love for this car to last me another year or 2 . Please advise . Thank you!
Could be a couple of things here. Did you notice the engine speed as you are driving up hill? Was the RPMs climbing, engine racing, but the forward speed of the car was still very slow? If it was this case, then you have a classic slipping transaxle. There are several culprits that lead to a slipping transaxle, from running low on fluid (underfilled), running too much fluid (overfilled), fluid is heavily oxidized/burnt, wrong fluid was used (wrong friction modifier), or there is a mechanical or electrical problem with the transaxle itself.
The Toyota Type T-IV ATF that they use on this transaxle does tend to darken pretty quickly. When you had the transaxle serviced last, did the mechanic do a drain and refill or flush?
Jiffy Lube shop's quality vary from shop to shop - some do have Master techs that have decades of experience, others use students from tech schools and sometimes from highschool vocational programs. Generally speaking, I tend to shy away from flushes, unless it is the type that requires the technician to drop the transaxle pan, remove the filter and attach directly to the inlet pump side. This doesn't sound like this was the case.
The filter itself is reusable, more of a metal mesh screen than something you would consider a "filter". But what I'm more worries about is the particulates and sludge on the bottom of the pan that they stirred up in the process of flushing the transaxle. Normally, they drop the pan to wipe that stuff off and clean off the little magnets on the bottom of the pan, but you didn't mention that in your post.
The fluid has to be Toyota Type T-IV or compatible ATF. Not all shops carry it, most carry Dexron III or equivalent and add a friction modifier to make it "compliant". This can have some unusual effects on a transaxle that is having problems to start with or has a lot of miles on it.
I would suggest bringing this to a quality tech at a Toyota dealership, trusted mechanic, foreign car / transaxle specialist, etc. - would not bring this to a chain shop (Jiffy Lube, Firestone, Midas, etc.) You can see if they really changed the fluid by removing the transaxle dipstick and dribbling a few drops of fluid onto a clean paper towel. Fluid should have a clear, reddish color to it. If it is cloudy, brown, or metallic in color - you need to have the transaxle looked at as soon as possible.
I would also stay away from additives at this point, until you are sure that there is no mechanical or electrical issues with the transaxle (metal shavings in the pan, faulty or stuck solenoids, stuck check balls, damaged springs, etc.) and it is fully filled with the appropriate ATF. At that point, if slipping is still evident - might try adding some well known additives and see if it will help with dissolving some of the deposits internally. Note that this will not "fix" the underlying problem, but would likely keep the car functional for some time.
THANK YOU!!!
Could be a couple of things here. Did you notice the engine speed as you are driving up hill? Was the RPMs climbing, engine racing, but the forward speed of the car was still very slow? If it was this case, then you have a classic slipping transaxle. There are several culprits that lead to a slipping transaxle, from running low on fluid (underfilled), running too much fluid (overfilled), fluid is heavily oxidized/burnt, wrong fluid was used (wrong friction modifier), or there is a mechanical or electrical problem with the transaxle itself.
The Toyota Type T-IV ATF that they use on this transaxle does tend to darken pretty quickly. When you had the transaxle serviced last, did the mechanic do a drain and refill or flush?
Jiffy Lube shop's quality vary from shop to shop - some do have Master techs that have decades of experience, others use students from tech schools and sometimes from highschool vocational programs. Generally speaking, I tend to shy away from flushes, unless it is the type that requires the technician to drop the transaxle pan, remove the filter and attach directly to the inlet pump side. This doesn't sound like this was the case.
The filter itself is reusable, more of a metal mesh screen than something you would consider a "filter". But what I'm more worries about is the particulates and sludge on the bottom of the pan that they stirred up in the process of flushing the transaxle. Normally, they drop the pan to wipe that stuff off and clean off the little magnets on the bottom of the pan, but you didn't mention that in your post.
The fluid has to be Toyota Type T-IV or compatible ATF. Not all shops carry it, most carry Dexron III or equivalent and add a friction modifier to make it "compliant". This can have some unusual effects on a transaxle that is having problems to start with or has a lot of miles on it.
I would suggest bringing this to a quality tech at a Toyota dealership, trusted mechanic, foreign car / transaxle specialist, etc. - would not bring this to a chain shop (Jiffy Lube, Firestone, Midas, etc.) You can see if they really changed the fluid by removing the transaxle dipstick and dribbling a few drops of fluid onto a clean paper towel. Fluid should have a clear, reddish color to it. If it is cloudy, brown, or metallic in color - you need to have the transaxle looked at as soon as possible.
I would also stay away from additives at this point, until you are sure that there is no mechanical or electrical issues with the transaxle (metal shavings in the pan, faulty or stuck solenoids, stuck check balls, damaged springs, etc.) and it is fully filled with the appropriate ATF. At that point, if slipping is still evident - might try adding some well known additives and see if it will help with dissolving some of the deposits internally. Note that this will not "fix" the underlying problem, but would likely keep the car functional for some time.
