Question1995 Camry,4 Cyl Engine,Automatic Trans,120,000 miles. When changing the transmission fluid recently,I noticed the fluid in the transmission was black,but the fluid in the differential was clean. After changing the fluid in the transmission, I drove the car about 10 miles then checked the fluid again,to my surprise the transmission was black already. The car runs perfectly,transmission runs like it did from day one ,no transmission problems whatsoever. But I am concerned about the black fluid. Is this a common Camry problem? Is there something wrong with the transmission? Is there a solution for the black fluid?
AnswerThe transmission fluid should be changed evry 3,000 miles,the transmission and the differential do not share a common fluid supply, each is drained and filled seperately.
The reason the fluid turned dark so soon is that when draining the transmission a lot of the fluid will remain in the torque converter, valve body and internal passages. You can have the transmission completely flushed with a machine, if done correctly it will remove all of the old fluid and replace it with new, I recommend having the toyota dealer do this.
