LexBob2

With a car like the ES you won't find too many DIY'ers in the big picture. Which makes sense when you consider the demographics of buyers for it.

gmanusmc

Not sure about the ES300 but the ES350 takes 6.6 quarts I believe. But I agree that $125, even for a full synthetic oil change is excessive. I buy my own oil and filters and my independent service facility that has 20 years experience servicing the Japanese makes charges me 10 bucks to do the work. So it ends up to be about $55 out the door even if I use the TGMO (magical pixie dust as one very informed poster refers to it). I don't mind the 10 bucks - I don't have to crawl around under the car and they check the other stuff while the car's on the lift.

For those talking about the $50 toyota oil changes, I recommend confirming they are indeed using synthetic oil - the Toyota dealers near us charge around $85.

Bill G

lesz

I can't speak for all Toyota dealers, but my local Toyota dealer charges a flat $29.95 for an oil change with conventional non-synthetic oil. The price for a synthetic oil change varies depending on the vehicle and what its oil capacity is. As I said earlier, for the ES 350, it is $53.

gmanusmc

That''s a good deal - from what I understand, dealer cost for the TGMO is about $4 a quart so they should still be making about 20 bucks and also get a shot at any other servicing that might be needed. They probably make more if they are using another brand of synthetic.

Bill

azn103

OK I maybe pushing it by calling the additive that Synthetics have (MOLYBDENUM, MAGNESIUM, ZINC, PHOSPHORUS) "Magic Pixie Dust" but essentially most Synthetic has a blend of typically those minerals from what I've seen on VOA.

Point being, it's not necessary to spend $100+ on an oil change.

lesz

They are using the Toyota-branded synthetic oil. I think it also helps their bottom like that, like with many smaller city/town dealerships, the service department is not a union shop, and I'm confident that the hourly rate that they are paying their service personnel is significantly lower than it would be in a major metropolitan area.

Also, going along with what you said, I've always thought that it was a smart business decision to keep profit margins low on relatively low cost maintenance services because, once the customer has established the ongoing relationship with the dealership, he/she is more likely to go, without question, to that dealership for more significant and much higher-priced repairs.

jonmanch

I think that is why Lexus give you the first two services for free.

Brozee

That seems quite off. I don't see how a 3.5l V6 would take 6.6 for this Lexus. An accord I work on with the VTEC 3.0L V6 is only 5qts as well. Pretty sure its 5-5.5.

bc6152

I'm curious as to whether the Toyota dealer was in any way resistant to working on your Lexus. As the engine on an Avalon and our cars is identical, I would think they would have the oil and filter cartridges in stock to do the job. For $53.00 I'm in...

mrBillFL

I'd be very curious what the oil temps are on these cars... bet they run hot, 230+

I'll change my oil at least once... just to see how bad it is.

Canisters filters are probably messy.

bc6152

You drain it by inserting a flexible tube into the bottom of the housing first, then remove the housing to change the cartridge inside along with the O ring. Takes some practice Bill...

Universe93

OP, I would probably just go with 10k mile services. This is what Lexus recommends.

After the 50k mile mark, I think I will just go to the Toyota dealership or one of the good independent auto shops around here for oil changes. Anyone can do an oil change to a Lexus -it isn't a Boeing 747 or the Space Shuttle!

lesz

No, they are happy to work on the Lexus, and they have done work on all 3 of the Lexus vehicles that I've owned. Similarly, the local Nissan dealer had worked on the two Infiniti vehicles that I previously owned, and I know that the local Honda dealer will work on Acura vehicles. Obviously, though, they are not able to do warranty-covered work.

For me, if the Toyota dealer wouldn't work on a Lexus vehicle, I would not be buying Lexus vehicles because going to the closest Lexus dealer means driving 2 1/2 hours each way. While much routine work can be done at an independent shop, I want to know that for (most) more major work for which I'd feel more comfortable going to a dealer (whether it be a Toyota or a Lexus dealer), I'm not going to have to spend the better part of a day driving back and forth. Thus, I'll only make the trip to the Lexus dealership if there is some major warranty work that needs to be done, and I also would not be buying Lexus vehicles if their dependability was not such that the likelihood of needing warranty-covered repairs done was more than very minimal.

gmanusmc

Don't have the manual here at the moment - wife's got the car at work. But if I recall correctly, the ES350 takes 6.4 quarts when the filter is also replaced. Not sure if displacement always correlates with oil capacity in the sump - our IS250 required 6.6 quarts.

Bill

lesz just confirmed 6.4 quarts per owner's manual

lesz

According to the manual, it is 6.4 quarts for the ES350 and 4.6 quarts for the ES300h. Both numbers are with replacing the filter.