Hello, this is my first post here. I have the following question:

I have F56 2016 Gen3 Hatchback, 2doors, hardtop, 1.5 LTR engine, automatic transmission. Has anyone did a transmission flush on this (not ATF change). Is it recommended to do a complete oil flush on this vehicle. I have changed the ATF at 30K (from drain plus) and added the exact same amount to refill from the engine bay. Car ran just fine after this oil change even though all the oil is not drained from the transmission. it now has 65K but I was wondering if I can do a flush this time instead of change. Any issues/risks with that? Thank you

 

Conventional wisdom on a generic automatic transmission that one *can* drain almost completely then refill has long been (as in for decades) not to do a flush, for fear of stirring things up into various places and various ways and... you get the idea.

If one accepts that conventional wisdom, and then adds to it that you are talking, in the case of the F56, about an automatic transmission that (1) can only have 46%-ish of its fluid drained without disassembly, and (2) that the manufacturer says "leave alone do not attempt drain/refill as regular maintenance," the takeaway will likely be "absolutely do NOT attempt a flush unless you just want to see what kind of gremlins you end up with."

I have done a drain/refill on mine (that 46% figure is from the math on mine -- I got about 2.7 quarts out, and total capacity appears to be 5.5L aka a smidge over 5.8 quarts). I have a 2017 F56 S, and at the time of the drain/refill, I had just over 101K miles (I acquired the car at just over 72K miles).

I do intend to get as much of the old fluid out of there as I can by doing another drain/refill at just over 131K. And from there on I will use either a 30K or 60K recurring interval depending upon what seems wise. But my own take -- given how many "don't mess with this" signs there are around this particular automatic transmission -- is that even if I could find someone willing to implement a flush on my car, I wouldn't chance it. If there were a clear upside beyond the partial drain/fills, maybe. But barring that, nope.

Just my opinion. I suspect the only folks who can speak to issues/risks of a flush would be those who have done them personally or who have exposure to/involvement with shops that have done/do them.

Very interested in other responses.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I’ll just stick with drain and refill to be on the safe side. As I said in my first post that I did do a drain at 30K and car ran fine all this time, it now has $65K and I’m thinking to do drain and refill again just for peace of mind. It is very helpful to hear other’s opinions and personal experiences. Cheers 😊

 

I haven’t done the flush/change being talked about since my MINI is a manual. However, the Aisin-sourced automatic in the pre-2020 (i.e., pre-DCT) F55/F56/F57 is a bit ubiquitous in the FWD vehicle world, including many, many Toyotas. Maybe look there for guidance since it’s a Toyota transmission? The later 8-speed auto found in the Countryman and Clubman, and the F56 GP, is also from Aisin and is also found in a ton of FWD-based vehicles.

 

I didn't realize the Aisin automatic transmission in the pre-2020 F56 non-GP was also in Toyotas and other vehicles. Interesting. Well, the part number for the AT is GA6F21AW, might help in Googling around and any needed cross-referencing.

Also, here's an interesting read -- a very short Reddit thread, "Aisin GA6F21AW Transmission Fluid Analysis", Blackstone oil analysis taken from from a drain sample at approx 69K miles (mileage is buried in one of the thread comments) is posted and briefly discussed.

And here's another, which looks to be a 2nd drain analysis at 103K.

 

Can someone please guide me as to what is the color of wire for the reverse light on F56 2016 2door 1.5 LTR engine, hardtop North American. I’m trying to install a reverse camera from Seicane which is just a regular reverse camera that I need to wire to reverse light wire. Please help. Thank you all.

 

Based on wiring diagrams I can find:

Left side: Grey/Blue (pin 4, 6-pin connector to tail lamp assembly)
Right side: either Grey/Blue or Green/Blue (either one color pair or the other, pin 4, 6-pin connector to tail lamp assembly)

The other ends of both wires are at the Body Domain Controller (separate pins on one BDC connector, these two wires do not combine to a single point before the BDC).

 

This image is for the driver side back light and purple wire is on the top side of the connector. Same question, which wire is for the REVERSE LIGHT to install a rear camera. My earlier post has the same question and has the image of the passenger side rear light in which yellow wire is on the top side of the connector. Thank you all in advance for your support. I really like this forum 😊

 

@rubeenc , unplug your connectors. The pins are are numbered, but the numbers are on the end of the connector that is jacked into the lamp assemblies. You will not be able to read the pin numbers on the connectors without unplugging the connectors.

Once you have unplugged your connectors, see what color wire is connected to pin #4 of each.

 

@cjv2 Thank you so much 😊 I’ll unplug the connector and look for pin 4 on both sides and connect the rear camera’s hot wire in to these pins. I really appreciate your help. Thank you again 🙏🏻😊

 

One thing. Well, three.

(1) You probably only need to connect your camera to one of those two wires. When you put the car in reverse both lights come on. As long as neither bulb is burnt out, that means you really only need the electrical connection of one of them as signal (which is what your rear camera is going to be looking for to "know" the car is in reverse).

(2) There are a lot of reports of the left plug/assembly overheating and melting the plug. Seems to be a design thing and when it happens all the heat/melting seems to be at the ground pin (pin 3). So given a choice between left side and right side tinkering, I would leave the left side alone and tinker with the right.

(3) Given item (2) even the right plug's electrical might well be, shall we say, "sensitive." So be very precise and careful, maybe more precise and careful than you might be otherwise, to ensure that electrical connections remain as good as possible.

 

@cjv2 you made an important point here, I really appreciate that as I wasn’t aware of it. Can you please clarify when you say the left side, dees that mean when facing the front of the vehicle and looking at the left side which would be the passenger side (North American) models and right would be the driver side? Thanks again.

 

Left and right are as-marked on the vehicle.

See the first of the two photos you posted: the lamp assembly in the photo is clearly marked "RH" -- as in "right hand" -- as in right-hand side.

You won't find these markings on all parts in the car. But when you do find them, things marked "LH" or "L" will consistently be on one side of the vehicle, and things marked "RH" or "R" will consistently be on the other side of the vehicle. These in turn correspond to "left" and "right" on literally any documentation you will ever find about the car, its manufacture, parts for it, or its operation. There will never be a variance.

 

@cjv2 Wow! Perfect and clear explanation! I just have to remove the connector and look for these markings. Thank you again 😊