Posing this question since most of the posts I've searched seem to be people asking if it's OK to use Toyota ATF WS in their older vehicles spec'ed for T-IV fluid. I'd like to know if anyone knows or has experience doing the opposite - using T-IV in a modern transmission designed for ATF WS?
Was at the dealer (who I've generally had good prior experience with) a week ago for my post road-trip 120k service. (I'd considered doing this myself but my garage is about to be demolished and replaced so I'm trying to avoid doing any work in it which could potentially result in my truck sitting there immobile for any length of time for any reason). One of the things on the list was a 12 quart transmission flush.
The drive home was uneventful. After I got home I noticed on the receipt they had "00279-00ATF" listed at $4.79/quart for the service. Google doesn't turn up that part # for a Toyota fluid, though 00279-000T4 does come up as the older, non-synthetic A/T fluid. 00289-ATFWS is what shows up when I search for the (semi?)synthetic Toyota ATF WS and seems to run about $6.50/quart or more retail.
I haven't driven in a week but I made a run to the store this weekend and I noticed the transmission shifts felt "spongy" or kind of lazy. There wasn't obvious slippage (like the engine revving up during a shift), they just did not feel as defined as before. I flipped on ECT PWR and similarly felt as if hard throttle from off the line wasn't as tight or jumpy as before. This could of course be my imagination, or it could be the result of using fresh fluid over something that was ~30k old but had ~12-15k of towing on it, perhaps. I tried running the gears out (e.g. holding 2nd to ~45 and then manually allowing 3rd) and again it felt like the shifts were slow and soft. I also noticed what sounds like a slight high-pitched whine when I was holding 2nd at 40-45mph but the pitch changed after shifting. My initial thought was transmission whine, though I'm pretty sure they just used bulk 75 or 80W gear oil in the transfer case (not 75W LF) so perhaps that's related
I called the dealer and the service manager said he spoke to the mechanic to confirm but that "00279-00ATF is just their internal code for bulk ATF WS fluid and we only use WS in these transmissions". He said they avoid the 00289-ATFWS part unless they're just topping off and someone requests it because the single quart bottles are more expensive.
The service manager has always been pleasant and helpful. He said "if you think something doesn't feel right, bring it back and we'll take a look". I set up time Friday morning for them to check it out.
What I'm wondering is:
Was at the dealer (who I've generally had good prior experience with) a week ago for my post road-trip 120k service. (I'd considered doing this myself but my garage is about to be demolished and replaced so I'm trying to avoid doing any work in it which could potentially result in my truck sitting there immobile for any length of time for any reason). One of the things on the list was a 12 quart transmission flush.
The drive home was uneventful. After I got home I noticed on the receipt they had "00279-00ATF" listed at $4.79/quart for the service. Google doesn't turn up that part # for a Toyota fluid, though 00279-000T4 does come up as the older, non-synthetic A/T fluid. 00289-ATFWS is what shows up when I search for the (semi?)synthetic Toyota ATF WS and seems to run about $6.50/quart or more retail.
I haven't driven in a week but I made a run to the store this weekend and I noticed the transmission shifts felt "spongy" or kind of lazy. There wasn't obvious slippage (like the engine revving up during a shift), they just did not feel as defined as before. I flipped on ECT PWR and similarly felt as if hard throttle from off the line wasn't as tight or jumpy as before. This could of course be my imagination, or it could be the result of using fresh fluid over something that was ~30k old but had ~12-15k of towing on it, perhaps. I tried running the gears out (e.g. holding 2nd to ~45 and then manually allowing 3rd) and again it felt like the shifts were slow and soft. I also noticed what sounds like a slight high-pitched whine when I was holding 2nd at 40-45mph but the pitch changed after shifting. My initial thought was transmission whine, though I'm pretty sure they just used bulk 75 or 80W gear oil in the transfer case (not 75W LF) so perhaps that's related
I called the dealer and the service manager said he spoke to the mechanic to confirm but that "00279-00ATF is just their internal code for bulk ATF WS fluid and we only use WS in these transmissions". He said they avoid the 00289-ATFWS part unless they're just topping off and someone requests it because the single quart bottles are more expensive.
The service manager has always been pleasant and helpful. He said "if you think something doesn't feel right, bring it back and we'll take a look". I set up time Friday morning for them to check it out.
What I'm wondering is:
- Aside from sending an oil sample off for analysis, is there any way to tell what's in the transmission right now? I understand T-IV is heavier than ATF WS but is it easy to extract a few tablespoons and confirm the fluid, or is there no easy way to differentiate?
- Has anyone else in the group has any experience with using the non-synthetic T-IV fluid in their transmission, or has very similar experience with a fluid change like this? I'm wondering if my experience with shifting and/or slight noise is indicative of the wrong fluid, or if I'm just insane (which is entirely possible)
- If they did use T-IV, any serious/lasting damage after ~30 miles? (I'm thinking not, but figured I'd ask).
. But yeah, for as much heavy driving as I do I won’t be happy until it’s right. 
