Curious to know if anyone has done it themselves? Difficult or impossible without special tools etc.

 

OKAY, sooooo it MUST be easy!

 

A lot of good information in this thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...id-change.html

Dave

 

It helps to have a jack and at least jack stands, just be sure when you add the new oil that your car is level.

 

Thanks for the link!
I read both post and still unsure regarding fluid recommendation.

Toyota fluid or the expensive factory fluid?

 

They are the same spec.

Dave

 

Are you suggesting that the Toyota fluid meets BMW/Mini's 75W90 MTF-LT4 spec? The MTF-LT4 is what makes the difference, I've been told that the MTF-LT4 spec has to do with the viscosity. I have also been told that teflon is not recommended for the R56 transmissions, I got tired of searching and researching and just bought the BMW 75W90 MTF-LT4. I sleep well at night.

 

Both Toyota and MINI use the Aisin TF60-SN Automatic transmission.

Same transmission, same fluid

Dave

 

That's interesting because I did some research on my transmission and it's manufactured in Japan, who would have thought?

 

Thanks for the info!

I haven't checked yet but it will be no surprise if MINI/BMW tranny fluid will be twice the price as Toyota's

 

some may remember around mid 2011, mini started offering a $500 rebate/discount to anyone that bought a m/t car. that's b/c production at the aisin plant was affected by fukushima. so yes, the a/t is made out in japan!

to that end, i asked the dealer once how much a tranny fluid flush would run. the service rep told me that the fluid is good for the life of the car. ugh. 52k miles and still the original fluid.

 

Had no issues with my transmission but changed the fluid with Royal Purple Max-ATF full synthetic about six months ago. Couldn't help but notice the smoother shifting up and down. Not slippage just smoother gear changes. Any fluid that meets the spec will do. Your mainly flushing 50k + miles worth of metallic particle buildup out of the transmission. I'd recommend going full synthetic though.

 

If you are doing this, I recommend that you take the extra time and drop the pan and replace the filter/screen in the trans. This will drain the most of the old fluid. The drain plug is not at the bottom of the pan, and dropping the screen will release additional fluid. The gasket is reusable.

I used redline fluid, others have used amsoil. My trans also shifts better and more consistent after the change.

I filled it from underneath, also.

Have fun,
Mike

 

+1 on dropping the pan to change the filter.
The filter is not particularly expensive ($35-ish, IIRC), and neither is the gasket (though I could have reused the old one).

I had removed both, finger tightened the pan and removed it again 3 days later (car was on jack stands for suspension swap). Net-net, I had drained out full 3.95 quarts of fluid. Nearly a full flush.

I used OEM fluid, and it was around $18/quart. Difference in price vs. Toyota's wasn't enough for me to justify the extra headache of shopping around and keep track of the fluid names.


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