Soo my car started acting funny (and not in a ha ha way.) Sometimes it doesn’t want to shift out of second or third. We decided that we should have the transmition fluid checked and it was time for an oil change anyway. The guys at the garage we went to told us that it was a “sealed system” so they couldn’t check or change it. Incidentally, this could lead me to a rant about engineering and deliberate complications in maintainence, but I’ll hold off on that.
Anyhoo, I looked on YouTube and found a very good video on how to do it. Now I’m avoiding another rant about dealers prices for maintainence.
So, I’m going to attempt to do it myself. It has many steps, and takes tools I didn’t have. I have them now. I really hope this will fix my issue, as I don’t want to buy another car right now. Of course this car will be paid off at the end of this month.
As you found out, sealed does not mean what they think it does. All it means is it has a drain plug and a fill plug not a dipstick. It’s one of those things where I probably could do it myself on my Highlander but I will probably have Toyota (or my mechanic) do it given the very specific fluid needed, the advantage of using a pump and that it is in their records that they did it in case there is a problem under warranty.
Bleh, it’s a 2016 and has had a lot of stuff replaced. I will try to do it myself to save the ridiculous amount of money the dealership would charge me. There is no warrenty to my knowledge. I will also not be using the dealer specific fluid recommended? Made by? Kia. I’m gonna use a general fluid that is recommended for Kia and a bunch of other vehicles. Seriously, if it isn’t the fluid, we’ll have to buy another car anyway. Hell, the heating/air-conditioning have only nominally worked since we put in a new blower motor.
I’m ready for a different car, but our finances would much rather we wait.
I cannot speak for a 2016 Kia, but on my new Highlander using fluid other than Toyota brand of cool-aid and tranny fluid is a very bad idea. Oil and filters on the other hand, get what works.
I know this sounds really dumb and naive, but the guy on YouTube (told ya) said the general one worked fine on his Kia, same make, model, year as mine. As this rings true with my cynical view of manufacturers, and dealerships, I’m gonna go with the cheaper option. And like I said I would like a different car. Hubster is not on board, if I was 4 square convinced the general fluid was a bad idea, I’d use the 25 dollar a quart option. You may have convinced me to look further though.Ok, almost 20 dollars a quart. As opposed to 22 dollars a gallon.
Not at all. The Toyota CVTs are highly engineered therefore the specialized fluid and honestly I could probably get away with the Xerex pink coolant but I’m still not 100% what the difference between the long-life and regular coolant except mine uses the regular AND it cools the hybrid battery so for me better safe than sorry.
I’m not familiar with that model, but there is another way for many transmissions:
On most (probably all) cars there’s a set of lines that go from the transmission to the radiator. This is how the transmission fluid is cooled. There is a machine that connects to those lines and instead of circulating the fluid, it collects the output and replaces it with fresh fluid. This is by far the cheapest and cleanest way to get the job done.
As I said, I don’t know that model, so maybe there’s a reason it can’t be used here.
I’m not all that mechanical. I’m only willing to try this 'cause the man on the YouTube video was very concise, detailed, and clear. He had someone fiming for him, and it was very well done. He showed clear, steady shots of tools, parts, and techniques. It was, step by step, instructions, specific tools (with sizes). One of the best how to videos I’ve ever watched.
Your description may well be a no brainer for a mechanic or a car tinkerer. Me? Just the thought of trying to figure out what your talking about gives me hives.
