2009 Toyota Matrix, 1.8L, 165K, automatic transmission. Fluid looks ok, still has pinkish/purple hue and doesn't smell. but it has never been changed. For the past 6 months I have noticed the car 'putters' when i'm gradually accelerating between 35-40mph. It feels similar to when you shift to early in a manual transmission. If I gun it, like accelerating onto highway or getting up to speed fast it never does it and actually shifts like a dream. I thought it might be a fuel issue, but my friend was just over and said it's probably my tranny going bad.
Now i'm nervous, what should I do? No check engine light, should I still get it scanned? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hey everybody, just wanted to let ya know I successfully drain and filled and the shutter in shifting stopped, now it shifts smooth as ever! Thank you for the feedback and guidance!
Excellent! Thanks for reporting back with the fix.
Glad to hear it!
I'm worried if I take it to a tranny specialist what they would do to me!
You have nothing to lose by simply talking to someone. A good mechanic will listen to your story and offer his advice.
I recently had a transmission problem so I took it to a general mechanic (recommended by family). They offer free diagnostics so they hooked it up and showed me the analysis which I photographed with my smartphone. It wasn't their specialty, so they sent me to a tranny shop down the road.
The tranny guy hooked up his scanner and took the vehicle for a test drive. Then he sent me to another shop he recommended, because there was nothing he could do (problem ended up being electronic, but he has been my trusted tranny guy every since).
The electrical specialist got my vehicle in the next day and solved the problem right away. Up until that point I hadn't paid a nickle.
The point is, you need to do the initial legwork first. Vehicle troubleshooting is an iterative process. You gradually work your way to a solution and there may be several detective steps along the way. You need to kick off the process by talking to someone who knows more than you. Talk is almost always free. You shouldn't be charged until somebody picks up a wrench (and even then I've gotten a lot of freebies throughout my life).
It's a good idea to check for codes and live data on the engine to look for anything suspicious. Although it is definitely not good for a transmission to go that long without service you may well be looking at an issue with the way the engine is running. How old are air filter, fuel filter, and spark plugs? You'll also want to check fuel pressure. (Probably a 2009 model will not have a sensor for that so you'd need to attach a pressure gauge to the fuel rail.)
A generic OBD2 code reader will not detect transmission codes. If it is a transmission problem you would need to take the car to a transmission specialist who can diagnose it with a professional-grade bidirectional scan tool.
See the FAQ for details on changing transmission fluid.
thanks. I just did a generic OBD2 scan and no codes came back. I'm worried if I take it to a tranny specialist what they would do to me! I changed spark plugs, air filters, oil regularly, just never thought of changing tranny fluid since it says 'lifetime'. But I know now that's not true.
I bought OEM Toyota tranny fluid and will give it a go!
don't forget to replace the filter too
Neglecting to properly service a transmission for 165K miles and 13 years is almost a guarantee that it's now shot. But, like @chucktobias said, it's best to get it scanned to know for sure.
Gotcha, thanks Doc. After reading the FAQ I feel like i'm in a grey area... to drain and fill or not to drain and fill? The purpose of saving the old fluid is in case it goes bonkers I drain the new out and put the old back in?
Yes.
ok, thanks again. Well, what would you do Doc, given my situation? I'm thinking of going ahead and giving it shot with the drain and fill.
Like @chucktobias said, I'd get it scanned first. If that doesn't show anything, I'd drain and fill with new fluid and keep the old fluid just in case.
what would you do
take it to a professional, and start shopping for a plan B in the meantime
I feel like i'm in a grey area
in the faq, which fluid in the chart looks like yours? Feel free to post a photo of it.
wow, thanks guys! I took the advice and went to a local mechanic. Scanned it with no codes. I explained my problem and he said 'oh yea, you need shutter stop, that'll fix it'. Said it's not a big deal and then really explained how the fluid breaks down overtime and causes slipping, etc. I told him about Scotty and he was like 'huh, what?', lol. Anyways, he said it would be perfectly fine to do a simple drain and fill and 'it won't hurt a thing'. I really don't want to add any additives at this point. So I bought OEM Toyota tranny fluid and will give it a go! I feel really good about this, i'm sure this will fix it.
I say that i'm in a grey area because of the mileage at 165K. In the FAQ it says not to bother at 150K and over and especially if it's acting up. The color is quite good, it's a dark purple, not brown and no smell.
Toyota doesn't have as much danger of causing trouble changing the transmission fluid as do domestics that shed clutch material.
I got my 05 matrix at 190k, and it was supposed to have the transmission fluid changed around 100k, but it may have been a drain and fill. I started doing drain and fills a week apart, 5 of them. Now the fluid is pretty red like it is supposed to be, instead of as you mentioned, more of a dark purple. Is five drain and fills overkill, probably, but I want as much changed out as I can.
Shifting great 10k miles later.
wow, now that's some good advice! no one ever talks about doing several in a row, but that makes total sense. I will most likely just do this one and see how it changes my shifting around 35 mph, that's the only time I notice the shutter. And thanks for the positivity, Doc said my tranny is most likely shot and but I don't think so.
it's definitely overkill, and in may even bankrupt you. Every drain & fill costs me $100 in fluid if I do it myself (and I really hate doing it). It's at least double that if I get it done at a shop.
@mmj actually I got the transmission fluid on sale for like $20 a gallon, I did use valvoline max life, for the first 4 anyway. The last one I used amsoil ATF. I did them all myself, and total cost was about $150.
If I had a friend readily available, I might have done a fluid exchange, but always a little safer just doing the drain and fill.
Believe me I looked everywhere. $100 was the cheapest fluid I could find.
@mmj maybe your vehicle takes more, but my matrix, and likely his corolla will drain about 3 quarts at a time. Here is the valvoline I mentioned, but I got it on sale for less than $20 a gallon. The amsoil was like $50 a gallon I think.
It says $55 and I would need two of those so yeah that sounds about right.