Axio 2007 CVT Oil Change

[Khurram26]

Axio Owner's Manual says the CVT oil quantity for the 2WD model is around 8.1 litres. I got the service interval page translated from japanese to english, thus I know.

However when i got my CVT oil changed, i did not know about this. So i did as the mechanic suggested. Filled the transmission from the side port till oil overflowed from the 'overflow plug'. The total amount of oil that went in after engine starting and shifting between various gears was approximately the entire oil can, that is 4 litres.

The car drove alright after that, no problems apparently were noticeable. But i did feel sometimes that as soon as i pushed the accelerator, even a little bit, the engine RPM used to climb much more than required and then the car would pick up speed. That is, the car would downshift more readily than required.

Anyway to settle my curiosity, i researched a lot and everywhere it was mentioned that the CVT oil quantity is 8.1 litres. So i went to the mechanic again, got another 4 litre can and asked him to fill it from the side port with the drain nut plugged in. This time around another 3 litres of oil went in till it started overflowing from the side port. So the total amount of oil in my CVT was now around 7 litres.

I immediately noticed once i drove the car that it had become smoother, and now it held on to its gear ratios when acceleration was mildly required, and would downshift only when pushed hard, as it should do. The overall fuel average also improved after this.

If you search the net for toyota's parts catalogue, you would be surprised to see that the 'overflow plug' you mentioned is called the 'oil filler tube'.... Maybe in japan they use some oil pump to force 8 litres of CVT oil up this tube and then shut it close with the drain nut. But in the absence of a service manual and any other reference, i cant be sure about this.

The bottom line is, ive been driving around with 7 litres of CVT oil in my transmission for over one year now. Gone to murree, lahore etc and there are no problems so far. Done around 25000 km like this and the way its going, i am forced to believe that maybe this transmission actually runs on 8 litres of oil.

[Xulfiqar]

you are overfilled to the point of disaster, the whole ATF cannot be changed out as its mostly trapped in the torque converter, valvebody and upper case. That is the case of nearly all automatics in the world. Only MB, BMW etc have torque converter drains to remove the oil, still about 10% of the capacity still remains trapped in the clutches etc.

The correct way is to check level in this transmissions at the overfill port (little plastic thing inside drain port) with engine idling at correct temperature of CVTF.

This transmission does not shift or kickdown it simply shuttles the pulley stack.

At this moment your transmission is holding 11 litres of CVT fluid - and the link provided in the title post shows the exact way to check CVTF.

[mashriqain]

Axio Owner's Manual says the CVT oil quantity for the 2WD model is around 8.1 litres. I got the service interval page translated from japanese to english, thus I know.

However when i got my CVT oil changed, i did not know about this. So i did as the mechanic suggested. Filled the transmission from the side port till oil overflowed from the 'overflow plug'. The total amount of oil that went in after engine starting and shifting between various gears was approximately the entire oil can, that is 4 litres.

The car drove alright after that, no problems apparently were noticeable. But i did feel sometimes that as soon as i pushed the accelerator, even a little bit, the engine RPM used to climb much more than required and then the car would pick up speed. That is, the car would downshift more readily than required.

Anyway to settle my curiosity, i researched a lot and everywhere it was mentioned that the CVT oil quantity is 8.1 litres. So i went to the mechanic again, got another 4 litre can and asked him to fill it from the side port with the drain nut plugged in. This time around another 3 litres of oil went in till it started overflowing from the side port. So the total amount of oil in my CVT was now around 7 litres.

I immediately noticed once i drove the car that it had become smoother, and now it held on to its gear ratios when acceleration was mildly required, and would downshift only when pushed hard, as it should do. The overall fuel average also improved after this.

If you search the net for toyota's parts catalogue, you would be surprised to see that the 'overflow plug' you mentioned is called the 'oil filler tube'.... Maybe in japan they use some oil pump to force 8 litres of CVT oil up this tube and then shut it close with the drain nut. But in the absence of a service manual and any other reference, i cant be sure about this.

The bottom line is, ive been driving around with 7 litres of CVT oil in my transmission for over one year now. Gone to murree, lahore etc and there are no problems so far. Done around 25000 km like this and the way its going, i am forced to believe that maybe this transmission actually runs on 8 litres of oil.

How much was drained though? or it was not measured?

This guy removed the CVTF oil pan as well as the filter inside and only managed to drain about 5.6 or so liters (can be translated from Russian using Google Translate):

?????? NZE-144 ?????? ????? ? ?????????, ????????, ?????? ???. - ???????? 4

The information taken is from Toyota's own website, link provided in my first post.

[mashriqain]

Update 14-Jan: Wanted to verify the CVT fluid level one more time so this morning, did a cold start*** and waited for the CVTF to reach the optimum temperature for checking the level, as listed on the link above. It was noted that no overflow happened once the temperature was reached so we poured more oil until overflow started, we stopped filling and waited for the overflow to finish, drain nut closed as soon as it changed to drops. The approximate amount added today was between 600-700 ml, in addition to the 2.3 liters added yesterday.

(*** yesterday it was a hot start, the engine and oil temperature were high, we had to wait for it to cool down to optimum temperature)

So to recap:

The total amount of CVT fluid which drained = 3 liters
The total amount that was filled back in the transmission: 2.9 - 3.0 liters

[Xulfiqar]

that more sounds correct, cool down will take a long time as compared to warm up.

[StrikerX]

Update 14-Jan: Wanted to verify the CVT fluid level one more time so this morning, did a cold start*** and waited for the CVTF to reach the optimum temperature for checking the level, as listed on the link above. It was noted that no overflow happened once the temperature was reached so we poured more oil until overflow started, we stopped filling and waited for the overflow to finish, drain nut closed as soon as it changed to drops. The approximate amount added today was between 600-700 ml, in addition to the 2.3 liters added yesterday.

(*** yesterday it was a hot start, the engine and oil temperature were high, we had to wait for it to cool down to optimum temperature)

So to recap:

The total amount of CVT fluid which drained = 3 liters
The total amount that was filled back in the transmission: 2.9 - 3.0 liters

Told ya you should check again

[Khurram26]

Okay i'll remove the excess CVT fluid as per your recommendation.

Now please correct me if I'm wrong... What i have to do now is to simply remove the oil drain nut (leaving the overfill pipe as it is) and drain off whatever comes out. So i will be left with the desired oil quantity, correct?

you are overfilled to the point of disaster, the whole ATF cannot be changed out as its mostly trapped in the torque converter, valvebody and upper case. That is the case of nearly all automatics in the world. Only MB, BMW etc have torque converter drains to remove the oil, still about 10% of the capacity still remains trapped in the clutches etc.

The correct way is to check level in this transmissions at the overfill port (little plastic thing inside drain port) with engine idling at correct temperature of CVTF.

This transmission does not shift or kickdown it simply shuttles the pulley stack.

At this moment your transmission is holding 11 litres of CVT fluid - and the link provided in the title post shows the exact way to check CVTF.

[Xulfiqar]

yes - do it after starting a dead cold engine and wait till the engine warms up, then remove the drain bolt and let it drain while the engine runs, - when the oil becomes a trickle - its correct.

The temperature is very critical here. Read the original post.

[Khurram26]

Got it done! Thanks

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[mashriqain]

As mentioned previously and confirmed from the link in my original post. The optimum temperature of CVT oil for checking its level is between 36C to 46C.

With the obvious disclaimer in these images, if there's no method of optimum temperature check for CVT Oil level then these MAY BE used as guide but please note that this will not be 100% accurate but it should be better than nothing. I may please be corrected if this will result in a bad temperature reading.

On a cold start in Islamabad, around 11:30 am on a cloudy day, it took the car 10 minutes of IDLE (idle meaning just start and let the car be, no taking out for drive or revving the engine) to reach the optimum temperature of CVT oil, for checking its level, which is 36 C - after this point, one has about 6 minutes to check the level (and add if no overflow happens, then wait for it to change to drops). After 6 minutes, the temperature of CVT oil will be above 46 C. The timing will obviously change depending on weather so I took snaps of the temperature gauge, which are self explanatory. I could be wrong but I think this will give a close enough temperature for CVT oil as well since the radiator coolant circulates to cool CVT oil:

on [Normal Operating Temperature: 36 to 46?C (97 to 115?F)]: Immediately proceed to the Adjust Fluid Level procedure (Step 7).

[nawaznakeem]

Brothers
I have a Nze144 4wd. Can you please advise how many litres it will take to get my transmission fkuid changed.
Thanks

[mashriqain]

Brothers
I have a Nze144 4wd. Can you please advise how many litres it will take to get my transmission fkuid changed.
Thanks

I will say it depends on the method you follow. If you follow the method I went with, simple drain and refill then it should not be more than 3/4 liters - which again, you cannot tell definitively. Just drain and refill according to the method above until the over-flow happens.

As a precaution, you can measure the CVT oil which comes out. The fill-in for me was almost the same as the drained fluid but then if a previous owner doubled the fluid in it, won't be a good idea to refill the same amount.

If you go by method of sump removal then the following site should help you. It is in Russian, use Google Translate.

?????? NZE-144 ?????? ????? ? ?????????, ????????, ?????? ???. - ???????? 4

[nawaznakeem]

Thanks bro.....now the question is which oil to use....should i go to toyota dealer to change it? Some also say it is a gel system. So not sure the type of oil.....does genuine toyota corolla have the same oil as they have cvt gearbox also. Thanks

[mashriqain]

Thanks bro.....now the question is which oil to use....should i go to toyota dealer to change it? Some also say it is a gel system. So not sure the type of oil.....does genuine toyota corolla have the same oil as they have cvt gearbox also. Thanks

CVT transmission only takes CVT. LOL. Gel system? Which genius told you that??? Make sure you don't go to him for this work.

For Toyota, use the Genuine Toyota CVT fluid available. It comes in tin pack of 4 liter. One tin is enough for simple drain job as performed above. Following is written on the tin and it is Made in Japan.

Toyota CVT Fluid TC
08886-02105

You can buy this from Saddar in 3700+. Check with Ejaz Autos/Hamza Younas Autos/Mehran Autoa for price.

Pakistani Corollas do not have a CVT transmission so do not put gear oil meant for non-CVT transmission in this! As for who you should go to for change then I will say if you know a little about vehicle and have the tools to do the job, do it yourself.

If you cannot do it then the next best option is Toyota 3S, @strikerx (which 3S did you use for the job). They charge high. Another option is go to your regular mechanic shop with printouts of this topic as well as the Toyota guide in link above. Then make sure he does it properly and does not overfill.

Toyota and some mechanics actually go for the CVT sump removal. Clean it, fix and then fill. If you hear they want to do complete sump removal then please check before hand for the genuine seal which goes on the sump. Search before doing the job!!

A simple drain and refill works fine. I felt the change clearly in drive. I will personally do complete sump removal and cleaning after 100-120k on the odo. Before that, CVT fluid change every 30k.

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[nawaznakeem]

Thanks brother. I have just spoken to a mechanic and they say they will have to flush the old oil from the converter....and if they do this, then it will take 9 1/2 to 12 litres oil.......Is this correct? Or should I just go with only drain and refill after sump removal i.e. refill of 8.1 litres.....please advise. Thanks

[mashriqain]

Thanks brother. I have just spoken to a mechanic and they say they will have to flush the old oil from the converter....and if they do this, then it will take 9 1/2 to 12 litres oil.......Is this correct? Or should I just go with only drain and refill after sump removal i.e. refill of 8.1 litres.....please advise. Thanks

What is a converter???

A simple flush job of CVT will take less than 4 liters. The mechanic you spoke to sounds like a "Genius", best avoid him.

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[nawaznakeem]

Thanks but I think he meant the torque converter as mentioned in this thread earlier.

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[StrikerX]

Why would you want to go that route? A simple refill/drain will work just as well or you can go via sump removal/clean route but with that you will have to replace the sump gaskit, this method will require around ~4L of oil.

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[Xulfiqar]

What is a converter???

A simple flush job of CVT will take less than 4 liters. The mechanic you spoke to sounds like a "Genius", best avoid him.

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full capacity of the transmission is about 8 litres, flushing the converter will require 3 drain and fills over a period of 2 weeks as this transmission's torque converter has no drain and neither does the transmission have ATF cooler lines.

[tyrone_40]

Was just reading your post - very interesting!!!

Just a couple of questions. In a previous post here on PakWheels re transmission oil change for CVT vehicles, there was no mention about 1) checking the oil while the engine is running and 2) waiting for the engine to reach the required temp mentioned above.

In my case a Toyota Belta I did not do these two things but replaced the refilled the CVT fluid just as per the procedure mentioned above.

Hmmm...now am wondering if this is the case for Belta / Vitz too???

Here is the link https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/d-i-y-projects/168298-transmission-oil-change-toyota-vitz-belta-passo-toyota-k410-transmission-7