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2015 LE RAV4 Transmission Drain and Fill

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1000MPH

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
I did a transmission drain and fill on my 2015 LE and took a couple pics.
Mileage is just under 56,000 so it’s close to the severe service recommendation of 60,000 mi.
I decided to give it a shot after waiting 100k on my 4Runner and it looked like that was longer than optimal.
I decided to use Toyota ATF-WS and bought 2 cases of 6 qts ea.

Toyota Part numbers:
WS-ATF: 00289ATFWS
Drain plug gasket: 90430-12008
Fill plug gasket: 90430-18008

Torque specs:
Plastic oil filler tube = 7 in-lb
Drain plug torque = 29 ft-lb
Refill plug torque = 36 ft-lb

Hopefully you are able to find a dealer not too far away that charges significantly less than list if you use the Toyota Parts website here…

00289ATFWS - Genuine Toyota Automatic Transmission Fluid-WS. ATF – WS - Genuine Toyota Part

Genuine Toyota Part # 00289ATFWS (00289-ATFWS, 0888602305) - Genuine Toyota Automatic Transmission Fluid-WS. ATF – WS
parts.toyota.com

I reused both the drain plug and fill gaskets/washers since they’re just aluminum crush.

Tools used:
ScanGauge
Motive Power Fill fluid transfer pump.
Two 2-1/2 qt buckets from Home Depot
Ratchet/Breaker Bar
Socket extension
6mm Hex Socket
24mm or 15/16 socket
Small and regular size flat blade screwdrivers to remove plastic clips

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Discussion starter · #2 · (Edited)
Make sure your car is on level ground. The car was left in the garage overnight, the fluid was cold and had time to drain as much fluid into the pan as possible.
In front of the driver’s side tire is a plastic cover that hides the transmission fill plug.
Use a flat blade screwdriver to pop out the plastic fasteners and remove the cover.
4 fasteners, two on the side and two on the bottom.
The front one can hide a bit behind the fender liner.
Behind the cover you will see you’ve got easy access to the 24mm fill plug.
It has “WS“ (or “SM” if you prefer) on it so there’s no question what it is.
Loosen this plug to make sure you can refill the trans after draining.

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Discussion starter · #3 · (Edited)
Get your drain pan or buckets ready and use the 6mm hex to loosen the drain plug.
Drain the fluid until it’s only dripping out, about a quart, and then you can take out the green plastic level setting tube that is hiding inside the drain hole.
Unscrew this tube with the 6mm hex, you should probably only use your fingers for this. There is a video on YouTube that says there’s an o-ring but this is incorrect. No o-ring.
You will get another quart or so of fluid after removing this plastic tube.
It seems some people get more or less than the two quarts I got so make sure you’ve got an extra bucket ready just in case.
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Discussion starter · #4 · (Edited)
Now you need to decide if you’re going to do several drain and fills or just the one.
If you’re only doing the one drain and fill then re-install the green plastic tube now. Fingertip tight to 7 in-lb.
If you’re doing multiple drain and fills there is no need to replace the tube, just re-install the drain plug now.
 
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Discussion starter · #5 · (Edited)
Time to refill the fluid using the Motive fluid transfer pump.
First you need to set a baseline in the pump bottle.
Fill the bottle with a quart of ATF and pump it back into the bottle. You’ll have some left at the bottom that the pump can’t deliver. This is your baseline.
Now pretty close to whatever is put into the pump bottle will be delivered.
Fill the pump with whatever amount you drained out and pump it into your fill hole.
Again, if you’re doing multiple drain and fills then reinstall the fill plug and start the car and cycle through the gears. If it’s cold out, you can take it for a drive to mix the new fluid with the old, and do the draining steps again.

If you’re ready to set the level then add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 qt of fluid, reinstall the fill plug.
Hook up your ScanGauge to read the transmission temp.
Start the car, cycle the gears or take it for a drive, whatever it takes to get to 103°f.
If the fluid exceeds 113°f then you’re going to have to wait until it cools down.
When it gets to the correct temp, leave the engine running in Park, crawl back under the car and remove the drain plug. If nothing comes out then you’re going to have to stop the car and add another 1/4 to 1/2qt of ATF.
If fluid comes out, wait until it starts to trickle out. Not streaming, not dripping, but a trickle.
Replace the drain plug and shut off the engine.
Torque the drain and fill plugs, replace the covers and you are done.
Take the car out for a test drive to make sure you didn't screw it up, check for leaks.

Torque specs:
Plastic oil filler tube = 7 in-lb
Drain plug torque = 29 ft-lb
Refill plug torque = 36 ft-lb

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Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks. I know there’s probably a dozen or more threads on changing the ATF but I like to do my own to document what I did for future reference.
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
Yes, this was the first time doing the ATF on this car. I did two drain and fills. I’ll probably switch to a 3 year 30,000 mile interval and maybe just a single drain and fill depending on what it looks like. I don’t think I’ll be keeping this car long enough to worry about a pan drop.
 
#11 ·
I have done my first drain and fill, it was shy of 50K when I did it last fall. I was surprised of how dirty the oil came out, I regret not doing another drain and fill shortly after. What I'm thinking about doing now is before draining the fluid, remove the return hose after the "cooler" (the one that looks like a hockey puck) and clamp a piece of clear tubing going to a bucket, then turn the engine on and let the oil drain as I pump fresh oil... continue this process until clear oil starts coming out of the clear tubing. I expect to use 6 quarts of oil to do this, but I may get 2 cases of six. That will give me piece of mind for another 50 - 60k milesa
 
#13 ·
I didn't use a jack, the only thing I did was turn the wheel all the way to the left, that gave me all the space I needed to remove the plastic cover and loosen the fill bolt, the clearance below is also sufficient to allow removal of the splash shields, once those are removed the drain plug is fairly easy to get to
 
Discussion starter · #17 · (Edited)
crossroad said:
Good post!

Drain plug torque = 30 ft-lb
Refill plug torque = 36 ft-lb
Click to expand...
Thanks, I just found official specs for our transmission:
Torque specs:
Plastic oil filler tube = 7 in-lb
Drain plug torque = 29 ft-lb
Refill plug torque = 36 ft-lb

tomato123 said:
Are you going to do the transfer case and rear differential oil change?
Click to expand...
I‘ve done the transfer case once and my rear dif twice, I‘ll have to see if I saved pics.
Super easy to do. I used Delvac 75w-90
edit: I do have pics of the transfer case service. I‘ll do another thread when I have a chance.
And I can show off my homemade fluid transfer pump.

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#20 · (Edited)
I would think that the warmer the temperatures is outside the better it would be to do a drain and fill. As far as adjusting the fluid, you have a temperature range of 104-113. How long the transmission fluid takes to go from 104 to 113 I don't know. But this is the temperature range you need to adjust the fluid.
 
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