[cary]

Originally Posted by njpaguy

2001 TLC. Drained/replaced tranny fluid every 30,000 miles w/Mobil 1 ATF. Truck now has 165,000 mi and counting. No issues.

I believe the 2001 still calls for Dexron II/III, so that would be the proper oil.

[cpcc]

Dealer wont even change the fluid in an 04, they say it is life long. So after you slip the Lead tech $50 he is able to find the drain and fill nuts. Go figure.

BMW used to have life long ATF fluid, the only problem is that you would have to change the transmission at 60-80k. Is toyota going down the same path!??

[viper501]

Originally Posted by cpcc

Dealer wont even change the fluid in an 04, they say it is life long. So after you slip the Lead tech $50 he is able to find the drain and fill nuts. Go figure.

BMW used to have life long ATF fluid, the only problem is that you would have to change the transmission at 60-80k. Is toyota going down the same path!??

yep. By having 'lifetime' fluids, the manufacturers have better ratings on cost of ownership statistics. You started seeing these lifetime fills from MB and BMW about the same time they were getting dinged by JD power for maintenance expenses and about the same time they started providing 'free' maintenance.

It also increases their profit margins by being able to charge the second owner in most cases for a 3 to 4 grand transmission.

[cary]

Originally Posted by cpcc

BMW used to have life long ATF fluid, the only problem is that you would have to change the transmission at 60-80k. Is toyota going down the same path!??

BMW has since stepped back from the lifetime interval to 100k. They should probably do 60k intervals, I know when I had the fluid done on my wife's X5 at 90k (we bought it at 89k), my mechanic said it looked used up, and said that the other x5s he did looked the same.

[NMuzj100]

100k is past the initial lease time frame and when most first owners will have traded up. For those who plan to keep them longer a shorter interval may be wise.

In the 100 the fluid cooling is good and there are few reports of bad looking fluid so I doubt there is any reason to panic. A few UOAs for the "Lifetime" fluid when it's changed out would be great info for the board.

[LandCruisers4Life]

Anyone heard of oil manufacturers making WS ATF yet???

I'd like to switch to Royal Purple or Redline if they put it out.

[100 TD]

Not sure if it is mentioned in this thread but (IIRC) at least one manufacturer said their oil meets WS standard, however, I personally would pay the premium and stick with Toyota WS

[LandCruisers4Life]

Royal Purple got back with me on this quickly, and stated that it wasn't feasable to research it because manufacturers keep changing things around too quickly. They recommended staying with the Toyota WS ATF.

[NMuzj100]

Redline is recommending their new D6 formulation for Toyota WS.

Recommended where the latest Dexron-VI is required, as well as where Ford Mercon SP, Toyota WS and Mercedes Benz NAG-2 fluids are specified

Red Line Oil: Gear Lubricants

The WS is no longer new and Toyota is generally conservative with fluids so I imagine this is up to snuff. Is it cheaper than the dealer though ?

Also notice that the Chevron Multi-vehicle ATF in my post above (from 2 years ago!) was claiming Toyota WS and still is. This fluid meets a lot of tough standards (Mercon V, ect...) and is probably good stuff.
Chevron Multi-vehicle ATF - Product Datasheet

Castrol is still claiming T-IV but no WS as yet.
Castrol Import Multi-vehicle ATF - Product Data

They are all claiming to meet "JASO A1" as well which may be a "roll up" standard for the Japanese that will include T-IV.

Google provided this nice translation from a Japanese Castrol site -

"JASO 1A" is the property of AT domestic cars to pull up the Japan Automobile Engineering Society of Japan (JSAE: Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan) will set standards and butter domestic automobile. 尚、JASOはJapanese Automobile Standards Organizationの略です。 Also, the Japanese Automobile Standards Organization JASO stands.

Penrite from Austrailia is a little clearer -

here are no API standards for automatic
transmission fluids. Indeed, it is only in recent
times that the Japanese have released a draft
general industry standard that stands alongside
their individual requirements. (JASO M315-1998,
now called JASO-1A).

[LandCruisers4Life]

Thanks, I must have missed that on Redline. I go there occasionally to check on things to see if they change but I must have missed that about D6. I might point that out to the Royal Purple guys.... lol

I just want a heavy duty replacement when the time comes. I'm getting ready to change all fluids now, except the transmission. I want the dealership to do that as I want the torque converter evacuated of all old fluid as well.

I can just ask that they put the Redline in there (Take the fluid with me to the dealership).

[Jim_Chow]

Originally Posted by cpcc

Dealer wont even change the fluid in an 04, they say it is life long. So after you slip the Lead tech $50 he is able to find the drain and fill nuts. Go figure.

BMW used to have life long ATF fluid, the only problem is that you would have to change the transmission at 60-80k. Is toyota going down the same path!??

They certainly did with the front wheel bearings on the Prado/4Runner/FJC/GX. Instead of the repackable inner/outer needle bearings, they now use a pressed in sealed bearing. You replace the entire unit (bearing and the thing it's pressed into). They got rid of the 30K repack intervals, so on paper, there's less maintenance for the first 90K mi or so, but after that, you need to replace the entire bearing unit. Anyone know how the 200 is constructed?