My wife's 2007 red Prius has 17,995 miles on it and I finally got around to replacing the transaxle fluid. I used 4 quarts of Toyota ATF-WS fluid as it's recommended and nothing else that I've found, including Redline D6, has as low a viscosity. The job was fairly easy, but I did have to buy the 24mm socket and 10mm hex head. The old factory fill fluid came out looking still bright red and the new fluid went in easily with a pump. I reused the washers as they were in fine shape and torque both bolts at the 29 ft-lbs required. I took a sample of the old fluid and will send to out to Blackstone for an analysis on Monday. Will post the results when I get them. Rumple
Is it permissible to re-use those washers? I have always understood that they should be used once then replaced.
The Toyota repair manual specifies that the washers should be discarded after one use, but some owners have successfully reused the washers without noticing a leak problem. I think it is reasonable to reuse the washers once if you don't happen to have replacements available. I've noticed some deformation on the surface of the washer from the steel plug where it contacts the washer.
Changed simply to get the break in wear particles out. All of the used oil analysis' that I've seen on early oil show elevated wear metals and silicon. The washers looked perfect to my eyes, so their reuse didn't appear to be an issue. I will keep an eye for any leaks going forward, but I don't expect any. Rumple
