Power steering and transmission fluid flush cost

It really depends on the vehicle. I just bought transmission fluid for my '18 Odyssey and it was $100 just for the fluids, to get the dealer to do it they expected around $500.

Tranny fluid change can range from $80 - $110+

I have added an image thoughts on whether to change or not?

carmaster wrote: ↑ I have added an image thoughts on whether to change or not?

The image won't tell you anything, unless it was really black. What's important is how many KM on the car and how old is it? What are the factory recommendations?
You can DIY for about $100-200 depending on fluid costs. Dealer might be 3-5x that. Indy shop could be closer to 2-3x.

So humor me for a second. I am on the camp that basically never in my entire life changed tranny or power steering fluid on a car...like EVER. Most tranny fluids are good for life of a vehicle unless you are doing towing, and power steering, well I never even removed the cap on one of those ever...and somehow all my cars are perfectly fine and I never had any failures with any of those things. My wifes current car, a 2009 Pontiac Vibe needed a tranny fluid change like 7 years ago according to the oil change place.....it was never done, still drives just perfectly fine now. These places are in business to make money, so don't just blindly go with it unless you have money to burn or you are really high milage.

Just throwing my 2c out there.

eblend wrote: ↑ So humor me for a second. I am on the camp that basically never in my entire life changed tranny or power steering fluid on a car...like EVER. Most tranny fluids are good for life of a vehicle unless you are doing towing, and power steering, well I never even removed the cap on one of those ever...and somehow all my cars are perfectly fine and I never had any failures with any of those things. My wifes current car, a 2009 Pontiac Vibe needed a tranny fluid change like 7 years ago according to the oil change place.....it was never done, still drives just perfectly fine now. These places are in business to make money, so don't just blindly go with it unless you have money to burn or you are really high milage.

Just throwing my 2c out there.

When OEMs say lifetime fill, they mean the lifetime of the warranty. Do you need to do it, depends how long you want the car to last. Replacing fluids is likely to extend the life of the component, but by how much is hard to say.

carmaster wrote: ↑ What is the proper going rate for the flush at most places? For Toyota.

What year and model of Toyota do you have?

It must be older as I have not used a Toyota with Power Steering Fluid in over a decade.

If you change the transmission fluid, make sure they do a full fluid exchange and not just drop the pan. I believe Toyota charges $250 for a full fluid exchange and you want to make sure you use the correct fluid.

booblehead wrote: ↑ Tranny fluid change can range from $80 - $110+

That would just be a pan drop and only replace 40% of the fluid

eblend wrote: ↑ So humor me for a second. I am on the camp that basically never in my entire life changed tranny or power steering fluid on a car...like EVER. Most tranny fluids are good for life of a vehicle unless you are doing towing, and power steering, well I never even removed the cap on one of those ever...and somehow all my cars are perfectly fine and I never had any failures with any of those things. My wifes current car, a 2009 Pontiac Vibe needed a tranny fluid change like 7 years ago according to the oil change place.....it was never done, still drives just perfectly fine now. These places are in business to make money, so don't just blindly go with it unless you have money to burn or you are really high milage.

Just throwing my 2c out there.

You do a tranny fluid change when high mileage and you never did one before, doing the tranny fluid change will wreck the tranny. You either do it at the recommended intervals or you leave it. However, you won't be reaching 300km on that tranny. Less if you tow/live in a mountainous area.

eblend wrote: ↑ So humor me for a second. I am on the camp that basically never in my entire life changed tranny or power steering fluid on a car...like EVER. Most tranny fluids are good for life of a vehicle unless you are doing towing, and power steering, well I never even removed the cap on one of those ever...and somehow all my cars are perfectly fine and I never had any failures with any of those things. My wifes current car, a 2009 Pontiac Vibe needed a tranny fluid change like 7 years ago according to the oil change place.....it was never done, still drives just perfectly fine now. These places are in business to make money, so don't just blindly go with it unless you have money to burn or you are really high milage.

Just throwing my 2c out there.

You can get away with it for sure. I follow the manufacturer's recommendations and change fluids because those components can operate better with fresh fluids - it's about longevity and performance. Plus doing it myself gives me the opportunity to check for the condition of the fluids that can give me clues about how healthy things like differentials and transfer cases are. I'm a car guy and wouldn't dream of not doing the right thing. That being said, if you have a beater and you're planning to drive it into the ground, the right thing might be to leave things be.

MrBungal wrote: ↑ You do a tranny fluid change when high mileage and you never did one before, doing the tranny fluid change will wreck the tranny. You either do it at the recommended intervals or you leave it. However, you won't be reaching 300km on that tranny. Less if you tow/live in a mountainous area.

That can happen with very old fluid, but I think that's more to do with an improper flush, where they just drain and fill rather than drain, flush, change trans filter, fill.

engineered wrote: ↑ When OEMs say lifetime fill, they mean the lifetime of the warranty. Do you need to do it, depends how long you want the car to last. Replacing fluids is likely to extend the life of the component, but by how much is hard to say.

Pretty much. I did the tranny, both diffs and the tcase last year, because it's a fairly inexpensive thing, that makes you feel better when it's done.

Did it extend life? Probably a bit, but how much, who knows.

Gutty96 wrote: ↑ Pretty much. I did the tranny, both diffs and the tcase last year, because it's a fairly inexpensive thing, that makes you feel better when it's done.

Did it extend life? Probably a bit, but how much, who knows.

I track my car so doing manual trans and diff is a no brainer. I also upgraded the fluid to something better for track use.

Regarding the why its a bad idea to change fluid on a high mileage car still on the original : https://motoringjunction.com/tips-trick ... fluid-bad/

quote :
"Transmission oil is really thin so that it can move around the crevices of the automatic transmission. As the oil gets old, it becomes thicker and becomes less slippery. Sometimes this extra friction from the old oil is what keeps the clutch working properly. The problem arises when a fresh trans fluid is added to the worn out transmission- The clutch might start slipping or the car might refuse to shift out of gear"

Not sure what year and model OP Toyota is but I had the transmission oil change for 2019 Highlander at 50K by the dealer and the cost was $120 for everything. This reasonable given on 8 speed automatic transmission there is no dip stick, the trans oil has to be heated to specific temperature where it starts to drip out of the fill port. A real mess. ( At least for me)
Also if you pay for this service ask for sample of the old fluid that way you see / smell the condition of the old oil.

Carcare nut show the diy process here :

engineered wrote: ↑ I track my car so doing manual trans and diff is a no brainer. I also upgraded the fluid to something better for track use.

I did all Amsoil, as with the discounts it barely more than the house brand stuff at CT.

This is good video to watch regarding transmission fluid changes

Just make sure they use either OEM ATF or an aftermarket that actually lists the OEM Toyota ATF fluid that it replaces (Ex, Toyota ATF WS or T4). Doing a ATF change with generic ATF will probably do more harm than good.

Also a drain and fill is fine. You don't need to change 100% of the ATF, just some new fluid and new additives on a regular basis is enough.

A lot of newer cars have no dipstick for the Trans and it's almost impossible to tell what the fluid looks like.

I know a lot of people who never changed their tranny fluid and got 200k - 300k out of their older car = which is basically the expected average life of a good engine.

If your car is older, running/shifting well and not worth very much, I wouldn't be changing much besides the engine oil and top up elsewhere, then run it into the ground. If it still has good value or is an enthusiast/towing vehicle, spend the cash as necessary upkeep.