Hi all. I checked my trans fluid today. It is a gray color but does not smell burnt. It is a 2005 Camry LE 4cyl with 80K on it. I have never changed the trans fluid. I need to know if this is my sign to trade this car in ASAP or just give it a good flush and fill on the trans.

What does it call for? If ATF, then it should be bright pink.

Some auto transmissions use something other than ATF; yours may be that kind. Check your owner's manual.

If you do change it, you'll need to change it 3 times to get all the old stuff out. After the third change, clean the pan and magnets, and replace the filter.

Well, toyota dealership told me no filter change, just pull a drain plug and fill it back up. Can you believe they want $100 for that. No way. I know that they said every 60K to do this, and that 2006 has 100K fluid. I have a 2005, so I am thinking regular fluid. I need to confirm this.

maybe they wanted to do a flush. anyway..still a rip off. you can do it yourself for about 50..the cost of a case of fluid. first...make sure what kind of fluid it should be...prob dexron.... then drain whats in the pan, should be about 2 to 3 quarts. while it's draining, yo will need to pull off the cover which is under the radiator to get access to the transmission cooler lines. remove the return line...on others its the bottom one on drivers side but not totally sure on your 05. get an old piece of garden hose to slip on this line so you can direct it to a bucket in front of the car... put plug back in and add 3 qts. now, this is where it's handy to have a friend helping you. start the car and the transmission will start pumping the fluid out into the bucket, and while it's doing that you need to start adding oil down the dipstick tube at the same time. it will come out as fast as you can pour it in, so have the oil ready and caps already off. run 7 qts into it and then stop the car. during this time you should see the oil going into the bucket get cleaner and should be pink by the time you've poured the 7th one in. now put the hose back on and the lower cover. now , you should have 2 qts left of your case to check the oil and bring it up to the proper place. at this point your tranny will love you and you should be good to go for another 80 k.

Warning: 05 Toyota's use a special trans fluid, NOT type A or F. You probably need to get it at a Toyota dealer. I've heard there are after-market brands which can be used but haven't found any in local auto supply stores. I recommend using original trans fluid. Each type has different "slip" characteristics; you can't mix them. Your owner's manual and the trans dipstick will tell you which one to buy. My 05 trans has a drain plug, allowing 5 quarts to drain out. I did that at 80k miles. The color is still off at 88.5k miles. I'll redo it again at 90k when I change the timing belt. It's expensive, but replacing a ttransmission is even more expensive. Good luck. Hy