I just had some work done at a very reputable independent shop. They didn't try to sell me anything, but on the inspection page they give when you pickup the car, they had circled as a "yellow/suggested" condition -- Trans Fluid Condition: Burnt (circled). I did a search before posting this topic and my takeaway was that transmission fluid is supposed to be lifetime. There are no smells or anything else that would suggest a problem. 45,000 miles on the car, six years old. OTOH, this car is my baby so I want to do right by her. I'm not a DIY mechanic by any means and only know enough to get myself in trouble, so I turn to this forum for opinions/advice on this. Thank you.
i highly doubt they pulled the tranny fill plug and stuck a finger in there. a lot of people like to change the tranny fluid, so it wouldn't be a bad idea. should be around a hundred bucks. otoh, i would want to know exactly how they found the 'burnt fluid'. nothing should be burnt on a 45,000 mile prius. it might look black, but a pro should know that doesn't mean anything. are they hybrid experts?
There is no dipstick for the transmission so unless they went underneath the car and took out the fill plug then they didn't check it. Many people change their fluid at around 60k miles for "insurance", not a lot of trouble and doesn't cost much....but yes Toyota says it's "lifetime" fluid. That means as soon as it fails, that was the lifetime, lol.
Toyota documents recommend an interval of 100,000 miles. There are no clutches in the Transaxle case to burn. It is a straight forward drain and fill, doable DIY and about $100 at a reputable dealer. Your 'location' makes it impossible to recommend a reputable dealer.
AND.....a dark color of the fluid does NOT mean that it is "burnt". I think the condition probably was mis-diagnosed. Did you ask them why they though it was "burnt" ??
No idea where your located, but you should run from that shop! They are liars! "Lifetime" means, until the warranty expires. With only 45,000 miles on a 2015(?) Prius, it's extreamly doubtful there is anything wrong with the Transmission fluid. "IF" you want it changed, take it to Toyota where you know they will use the correct fluid. But as JimboPalmer said, you are good to at least 100,000 miles. Look at your owners/maintanence manual for scheduled services.
All the shop’s possible subterfuge aside, it IS a good idea to change it. My take: do first change around 1 year or 10k miles, then 30k miles, 90k miles (maybe), and THEN maybe dub it “lifetime”, from there on.
And my "take" is that is just a waste of time and money. I intend to not touch mine until around 90K miles or so.......and I bet mine will be working just as good at that point as yours is. Just like the tens of thousands of other similar vehicles will be.
Yeah changing it isn't a bad thing, probably unnecessary but the bigger deal is that there's nothing in there to burn. The Prius transaxle has no clutches. It does not use friction as a power transfer method full stop. That right there makes it very different from any other car that ever burned its transmission fluid. Doesn't feel right. I'd ask the service writer to explain that one again. If you do go for it, make certain they use genuine Toyota WS fluid.
If you let them do it (and I would not) I would recommend that you ask them if the fluid that they use is OK for stator windings. If they ask you what you are talking about....I'd strongly recommend you not let them do the service. As others have excellently stated above I would question their motives if not their ability for listing a fluid as "burnt" in a transaxle (it's actually neither a "transmission" nor really a "transaxle" or even a CVT) since there's not much in the way of combustion nor are there any clutches. Most people in this community recommend replacing the fluid (WITH OEM!) somewhere on the front nine, and maybe once again before hitting the 19th hole. Actual mileage will vary. The only reason I recommend using the OEM fluid for this particular job is that your transmission [sic] DOES have stator coils, and one presumes that the OEM fluid will not damage them. Good Luck!
Better; supply them four quarts of: Toyota ATF WS Fill and drain bolt washers Should be available at dealership parts department. torque value: 29 ft/lb if I’m not mistaken correct level: fill with car level, till overflow
