Bought a 2014 toyota rav4 xle awd .167 000 k.. planing to drain a fill the transmission fluid. Now . Its at 168k.. but getting a little shudder at 40mph after passing it its fine. Seems tye person's who had it never did the fluid change even though I get a carfax it was only checked never saw where it stated it was changed at anytime. Can I still replace the fluid?
That really should have been determined before purchase, as part of the pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic.
See the site FAQ for detailed information about changing transmission fluid.
Note that model is prone to transmission shudder due to faulty torque converters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtGIUIPE6ik
@chucktobias never felt to when first purchased it happened after driving it form 167k to 168k
Well, it's a known problem on those vehicles, something to bear in mind. As far as the fluid you need to evaluate its condition per the FAQ. You can't tell from Carfax whether the fluid has ever been changed or not.
@chucktobias yes the carfax never showed it to be changed up to the 167k. Thats y id like to kno if I could do a drain n fill .. because I always try do that to a car if I buy used.
yes the carfax never showed it to be changed up to the 167k. Thats y id like to kno if I could do a drain n fill .. because I always try do that to a car if I buy used.
We can't determine from here whether or not you can change the fluid or not. It requires visual inspection that there's no grit in the fluid and smelling of the fluid for a burned smell, something that cannot be done from here. That's why we put together the FAQ. Only you, or a shop can make that determination.
168k miles and no transmission fluid changes is a massive red flag. That transmission fluid should've been changed at least once every 60,000 miles. That fluid has probably been in there the equivalent of almost 3 changes.
