Hi everyone! I posted here a week ago in regards to my Prius making a rattling noise along with having a very noticeable shudder in cruising speeds. My MPGs were way off from what the computer was predicting. 48.7 was what the monitor said, I was averaging 40ish. Long story short, I thought the trans was bad, so I went ahead and bought a trans for $300 with 104k miles. Then I thought to myself, perhaps I should change the fluid out one more time to get a little more time out of my current trans. It was @ 50K, so it was due anyway. Last time, I put something in that someone recommended to me, some Valvoline garbage. After draining and refilling with Toyota WS transaxle fluid, the shudder went away! On top of that, the rattle went away and my MPGs went back to where they used to be. Who would have ever thought fluid could cause so much havoc! I appreciate everyones input and hopefully if someone has the same issue as me, they can refer to this post! As far as the spare trans goes, I won't mind keeping it in my basement when disaster hits I also plan on buying a low mileage motor for when either/or goes out!
Well, on the one hand, you are undoubtedly very pleased that you didn't have to swap transaxles; while on the other not so much because you bought another when you didn't need it. As you unfortunately discovered, the Prius transaxle is quite finicky. You will think twice before acting on someone else's recommendations, won't you? Hope that someone wasn't a Priuschat member. And if so, shame, shame.....
Don't feel too bad that you've invested in a spare transaxle, and don't be in a rush to sell it away. One of the reasons the Prius tranny oil is special is that the Prius transaxle has high-voltage electrical windings in it, bathed in the oil. The recommended stuff is spec'd not to have a long-term degrading effect on the wire insulation. You might not find out for a while whether the Valvoline experiment has taken any life off your motor windings, but if so, you've got a replacement on hand. If I were you, I might wait a short while and do yet another drain-n-fill, just to get as much of the wrong stuff out as possible. -Chap
Yeah, there's adamant warnings in the Owner's Manual, against using anything other than Toyota ATF WS: where's the upside in arguing this??
Take the cash you save now on the four quarts of oil, sock it away in a really aggressive, high-return investment, and possibly it will grow to cover the tranny replacement if it fails. Which of course requires another four quarts of oil.... -Chap
When the time comes, make that "someone" help you with the transaxle swap. Hope that "someone" is not a friend. Friend's like that, who needs enemies.
I purchased a used car with a bad transaxle. I am the third owner. First owner had transmission issues and changing fluid resulted in the second owner (had no idea of trans issues) getting another 40K miles before the trans gave out. I put in a replacement trans, but changing the fluid one more time would have also been a good call.... might have saved me a lot of work.
