2003 Corolla Toyota Corolla Owners Manual Change Radiater Fluid

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Owners of other Toyota or relatedPontiac vehicles with similar automatic transmissions such as theMatrix, Vibe, Voltz, RAV4, Celica, Camry, Yaris, Tacoma and Avalonmay also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

Toyota claims that the ATF fluidshould last the 'lifetime' of the vehicle under normal drivingconditions. So by doing a quick drain and refill of about 50% of theATF fluid at least every few years or every 15,000 to 30,000 miles,your car's preventative maintenance will be far ahead of the average Corolla.

The items needed to complete thisprocedure include a 14mm socket with a 3/8' drive ratcheting wrench,a used oil catch container, a gallon jug marked in quarts, anautomotive funnel a new crush washer & 4 U.S. quarts ofgenuine ToyotaATF Type T-IV.

Optional items include a floor jackand two jack stands or automotive ramps to raise the vehicle foreasier access to the drain plug.

If the engine is very hot, allow it to cool a bit to prevent from burningyourself on the underside of the engine bay or when you drain the ATF fluid.

The first two steps are to open the hood andthen pull up the red plastic handled transmission dipstick an inch or two.

The dipstick is located at the front right(driver side) of the engine bay next to the 12V automotive battery and belowthe air intake hose.

Lifting out the transmission dipstick willhelp prevent a vacuum from forming and allow the old fluid to drain out morequickly.

You may be able to reach the transmissionfluid drain bolt with out raising the vehicle.

I found it easier to lift the front of thecar with a floor jack at the jack point under the center of the engine bay.

Then securely support the vehicle with the twojack stands.

I'd recommend wearing Nitrile rubber gloves tokeep your hands clean during the next steps. Used automotive oil may becarcinogenic (cancer causing).

Slide under the front driver side of theengine bay and locate the black metal transmission oil pan. The transmissionoil drain bolt is located near the rear edge of the pan with the bolt headfacing down towards the ground.

Loosen the transmission fluid drain bolt in thecounterclockwise direction with the 14mm socket and ratcheting wrench.

The best practice would be to replace thecrush washer, but you may be able to re-use the washer if it appears to bein good condition.

If the washer appears to be falling apart,use a new one. The part number is Genuine Toyota Gaskets 90430-12031. (These are also the same washersfor the 14mm oil drain plug.)

Allow the old transmission fluid to drain outfor at least a few minutes or until the flow slows to an occasional drip.

This is the first time I have 'changed' thetransmission fluid on our 2005 Corolla with 115,000 miles on the odometer,so I wasn't surprised that it was a very dark brown or black color with aslightly pungent burnt odor.

Fresh ATF fluid is a translucent bright redcolor and just smells like most other new petroleum based automotive fluids.

I bought the new Toyota T-IV ATF fluidat my local Toyota dealership parts counter but I plan on buying it onlinein the future.

Make sure that the old crush washer is notstill attached to the transmission pan.

If necessary, attach a new crush washer tothe drain bolt.

Spin in the drain bolt by hand a few turns inthe clockwise direction to prevent it from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the drain bolt in the clockwisedirection with the 14mm socket and ratcheting wrench to just past hand tightor about 13 ft-lbs (156 in-lbs) of torque if you have a torque wrench.

Double check that the ATF drain bolt is tightbefore moving on to the next steps.

(To create a measuring jug, just pour in twocups of water from a kitchen measuring cup and mark the level with apermanent marker. Every 2 cups is a half quart and every 4 cups is a quart.)

I was able to drain out about 3.65 U.S.quarts of old ATF fluid. Ford ikon service manual pdf download. That is consistent with what I've read on Toyotaforums of other Corolla owners draining out about 3.5 quarts for a drain andrefill procedure.

(If you would like to clean the metalshavings from the transmission pan magnet and replace the filter, here are afew filter kits with their part numbers: Wix 58040, Beck Arnley 044-0330, Purolator P1296,GKI TF1242 and Toyota 35330-12040.

If you raised the vehicle, lower it from thejack stands using the floor jack.

The owner's manual for the 2005 Toyota Corolla Sstates that the automatic transaxle's fluid capacity for a drain and refillis 3.2 U.S. quarts (3.0 Liters or 2.6 Imperial Quarts).

Slowly pour in only about 3 to 3.2 U.S.quarts of the new Toyota ATF T-IV in to the transmission fluid dipstickhole. How can i download the files for ford sync gps system.

It is far better to have slightly less fluidthat necessary in the transmission than to overfill it.

1. Turn onthe engine.
2. Engage the emergency / parking brake and firmly press down on the brakepedal.
3. Move the shifter knob to cycle the transmission through all the gearswhile pausing in each gear (e.g. 'P' Park, 'R' Reverse, 'D' Drive) for a fewseconds.
4. Place the transmission in 'P' Park and leave the engine running.
5. Pull out the transmission fluid dipstick, wipe it clean, re-insert it andpull it out again to check the level.

The ATF fluid level should be somewherebetween the two notches that indicate the 'HOT' range on the dipstick.

If the fluid level is far below the 'HOT'range, turn off the engine and slowly pour in more ATF fluid and repeat theprocess until the level on the dipstick reaches the correct range.

To keep things simple, I just poured in about3.6 U.S. quarts of new ATF to replace the amount that I had drained andmeasured with the gallon jug. Luckily, the level on the dipstick was almostin the middle of the 'HOT' range.

I'd recommend checking the ATF fluid levelagain after your next trip.

Be sure to record the ATF fluid change inyour vehicle's service records.

For more, check outmy other Corolla DIY tutorials at the links below -

2009-2013 Toyota Corolla Repair & Maintenance Guides

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