('09 Sienna, FWD, 200k, last ATF change unknown) Been goin' in circles about whether to use anything except Toyota's almighty W$ ATF for my splash'n'fills. I understand the "use what's made for it and nothing else" argument, but also know folks who used MaxLife and/or Idemitsu for years with no issues and saved quite a few pennies... what to do?! 🤔
🙃 Knew ya'll would say just that... W$ here I come! 👍
I would not take a chance when it comes to transmissions, esp. at that mileage. Unlike an oil change, you are not changing the ATF every few thousand miles so I would spend the extra money for piece of mind.
Saving money on maintenance, especially on a 200k mile vehicle, is going to bite you. You wind up spending thousands to save pennies. That's all I'm going to say since you already know what you need to do.
If you calculate the per-year cost of using Toyota ATF versus another, is the difference really that much?
Thanks... and is a 'crush washer' for the tranny drain-plug absolutely necessary?
it's worth the $1