[wolfman420]

Was spinning wheels is snow on a steep hill. 1 of those cases where high wheel speed was the way to go.Heard a scwalling noise like slipping clutches. let off the gas a couple seconds & resumed & it did it 1 more time.I figured it was the diff or traction control. Made it over the hill & on my way. down the road a ways & is started shifting funny . Some times it would shift with a bang, some times it would momentarily slip into a false neutral. A couple times it was like it shifted with a bang & locked up a second. I was in the middle of a delivery so I kept going. as I drove it slightly improved. finally made it to O'Reilly . Checked the fluid & it looked nasty. Bought a quart of Lucas Trans fix. To my surprise it was almost immediately better & today much better.
Gonna order a Wix filter kit & change out the fluid next nice day
Fingers crossed
2009 Le 240,000 miles

 

[jzchen]

Good idea to change the fluid, sounds like it’s worn out.

 

[joelle king]

How often do you change the oils ?

snaptube vidmate​

 

[sixto]

If you’re doing drain and fill, you might repeat a couple of times a couple hundred miles in between to get more old ATF out.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 207K miles

 

[wolfman420]

Good idea to change the fluid, sounds like it’s worn out.

I do engine oil every 5,000 or so. I run Mobile 1. Have never change trans fluid. It had 130,000 on it when I got it. Always scared of it leaking out the seals after. That is what killed my last Sienna. Torque converter seal not worth the labor to repair. The VSC light has been on for months. Had a mechanic turn it off once but eventually came back on,

 

[wolfman420]

If you’re doing drain and fill, you might repeat a couple of times a couple hundred miles in between to get more old ATF out.

Sixto
‘04 LE FWD 207K miles

Thinking about unhooking a cooler line & try to do it all & a new filter.

 

[wolfman420]

Good idea to change the fluid, sounds like it’s worn out.

Sure would like to git another 60,000 out of it @ least. By then My motorcycle will be paid off😎

 

[siennadan]

Yep, do the full transmission fluid replacement using the correct Toyota brand spec for your transmission. Yep, follow the procedure someone has posted on this site where you pump out 1-2 quarts through the cooler line, replace 1-2 quarts, pump 1-2, replace 1-2, etc. until you are up to 9 or 10 and the stuff coming out looks fresh.

 

[BillG]

In a similar situation, I had a similar situation... I had just done a drain and fill, so my fluid was still bright red. Going up my hill, with fresh snow on the ground, I was spinning tires pretty significantly. After I got up, I had to walk back down the hill and put away my shovel. I noticed red drops on the fresh snow. Turned out it was trans fluid, probably leaking out with the tiniest of drips from the seals, but spinning the wheels released enough to leave a trace. If you have a similar situation, you might actually be low on fluid, which is why the Lucas fixed the issue. That said, I would DEFINITELY drop the pan and change the filter. If you go the trans-cooler route, do that first, then drop the pan and change the filter. Otherwise, I'd do a drain and fill, drive a couple hundred miles then drop the pan and change the filter. A drain and fill takes the same amount of time as an oil change and just requires a new crush washer and fresh fluid. Just make sure to source the correct Toyota WS fluid for your '09.