Steve2424

Hey guys. I know this horse has been beaten to death numerous times with both sides proving valid points, but I've been considering on whether to do a drain and fill on my transmission as well as rear differential since I am currently at 60K miles for my '08 350awd. My mechanic recommended against it although he did say he would do the work and get the necessary machine for the job. His reasoning is that the job itself doesn't "extend the life" as it's perceived and my gf's father whose worked on many cars also said the same thing.

Along the lines of also performing the transmission drain and fill, he mentioned that the tranny itself has little bearings inside of which can move around, however with the current (older) fluid in there, over time certain parts cease moving. When adding in new fluid to the tranny, the parts that were not in motion can become 'unlocked' causing irratic behavior from the unit.

Does this seem logical? I ask because obviously as cars get newer technology and advanced working parts, that maybe the information believed can be a bit outdated in a sense?

My previous car was a 2001 Maxima with original transmission until I sold it with 116K miles and I tend to think that the way you drive a car and actually pay attention to the way it drives translates to the life of the overall vehicle. I warm my cars up even in warm weather until the needle passes the 'C' mark; although the GS is a bit different where the RPM's need to come down to about 600-700 before being primed for driving without having to baby it. I do a variance of driving style depending on my mood, but usually don't accelerate too violently often, or whip it around turns like it's a rally car -- it still shifts perfectly and pulls like crazy when hitting that sweet spot between 2nd-3rd gear.

What I'm asking is that the people who have done the aforementioned drain and fills, was there any noticeable effect AFTER doing it?
For those that didn't: was there any detrimental result to your car, and if so what exactly?

It's not the cost of the service as the reason that I am posing this -- it's that I would be completely beside mysef if the service was done, and more harm then good came from it.

gr8fulRed

I shared the same concern that you have prior to replacing the tranny fluid in my 09' GS. I debated between flushing and multiple drain and fills, even calling my local Lexus dealer and Toyota dealer. That...only confused the situation, honestly. Why? Because Lexus said they "normally don't change until 100-120k miles and use the drain and fill method". Toyota...said they use a "flush machine for Toyota WS ATF" to remove the old fluid. Lexus acted like they just did a single drain/fill as the service which was alarming..because only about 3 quarts come as during one drain cycle...but it holds about 9.

I had right at 75,500 or so when I performed the service (multiple drain and fills) myself...using the excellent tutorial here on this site. It was a bit of work but I enjoy "projects" and didn't like the idea of waiting to 100k miles or so. So far, after about 300 miles, I'd say I do notice a modest difference in shift quality since the fluid change...especially the shifts at lower speeds under lighter excelleration. Now, does it guarantee me more life from my transmission?? I don't know...but with every car i've ever owned and maintained, and from what all i've ever read and been told by tech's...new fluids help reduce heat, wear, etc..which makes failures less likely.

If you have not read the tranny fluid change DIY thread here...you should. Lots of information about the process and why you MAY want to do it without waiting until 100k miles. The author of the thread had his fluid checked by a lab to see if it were still in good enough shape to protect his trans and there was evidence that it was starting to lose some of those qualities. He was just at 100k I believe.

I changed out my rear diff fluid as well, again...following a DIY tutorial on this site. Super easy and cheap. I did that because when I looked at the cars Lexus service history (I'm not the original owner) it showed where the Lexus service dept had been "recommending rear diff fluid changes" every 30K miles, even though Lexus doesn't call for that in the warranty manual. It's easy..it's cheap...so I did it.

Steve2424

I too read the thread on the member who had the fluid tested and what the results showed which piqued my interest to consider doing this sooner as a precaution. I would do a drain and fill as opposed to a flush because of the sediments and dirt that a flush can push into hard to reach areas of the unit which then unhinge and mix in with the new fluid creating other sorts of annoyances down the line. The drain and fill method would need to be done about 3 times to completely remove the old fluid and mostly have new fluid in the unit, but to my undersanding is that once you begin doing these, it becomes necessity to do each year. Again, not worried about the cost as it's a couple hundred bucks for an entire year's worth of peace of mind. My concern is mainly the "quality of care" that goes into this process. I live near Bay Ridge Lexus and have heard horror stories outside of this forum which would cause me to only go there for TSB or recall work since it's cut and dry from Lexus HQ (I hope my thinking this way is legit lol).

I guess I'll run it by my mechanic again and see his take.

A friend of mine has an Infiniti M35x with about 120K miles and hadn't done any rear differential service or tranny service and the car runs great -- 5spd tranny though. To me, while I love the 3rd gen all around, it seems like Lexus used it as a platform to showcase their capabilities in that car segment rather than execute on a well finished product and deliver it to market.

Thanks for the input and I'll update this as I get more information!

BinaryJay

Bottom line as I always say is LEXUS themselves in CANADA have a scheduled transmission fluid change every 60,000 miles on the GS right in the factory maintenance schedule. I do mine every few years regardless.

Further, almost everybody that has come on here complaining about transmission failures has admitted to never servicing the transmission per the "don't need to do it" US schedule.

Drain and fill is not expensive at all if you don't do it at Lexus, just do it at least as often as Lexus Canada says you should. That's my take.

uberEJ

iTrader: (2)

where is the damn DIY for the tranny flush? i been looking in the DIY section and dont see it.

BinaryJay

If there is no DIY yet, you are welcome to create one.

Gotcha350

I agree....i haven't heard of anyone who has done at least a drain and fill complain about any transmission issues. When I bought my car new in 08 and I talked to the service manager I told him that's was BS and that I wanted to know if they were competent enough to service one...he laughed and said only when there is an issue and I told him at that point it's too late. Granted, I'm not close to 100k and I really don't think I will get there but I had it done at 60k on my 08 without knowing about the Lexus Canada service interval. That was back in 11/2013 and I currently only have 63k but I will probably get another drain and fill done in December. An ounce of prevention makes me feel better...

gr8fulRed

why do you have the idea that ONCE you change your fluid....that it "becomes a necessity to do it each year"?? You're taking out old fluid and replacing it with new OEM fluid. Not sure why that would start a "yearly cycle"!!?! I mean...if that were true..then Lexus service would have you change at 120k...and then every 14k thereafter?!?!!! No..that's just silly. Just follow the tutorial or pay a quality independent shop to follow the tutorial and be done with it. Just make sure they follow the "fluid level check procedure" at the last fill cycle at the correct temp. (that's why you need to make sure the tech reads it...if they're not already a Lexus tech).

gr8fulRed

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...iy-w-pics.html

Steve2424

Valid points here so looks like the drain and fill will be getting done. I intend to keep this car until it dies and want to keep it in top shape. A few other modifications I want to do along the way to it as well, so best to err on the side of caution. I'll look up the drain and fill procedure along with the fluid level check as it's been mentioned and present it to my mechanic.

BinaryJay - it was your post in another thread about the Canada 60K tranny drain and fill procedure as recommended by Lexus Canada that got me interested about this whole debate. I don't get why the same car is sold in various markets, but has different recommendations. Oh wait, I do: to make $$$ from the average consumer.

Wealth of knowledge here on this forum-- I appreciate the responses, guys!

BinaryJay

Honestly I think it is marketing. They must have figured that the US market hates paying for service and thus advertising cars as being maintenance free as far as transmissions or anything else is concerned must have been decided was a reasonable trade off to get cars off the lots even if it means that they won't last for those second and third owners which honestly the company has no reason to care about. The customers that they want to please are the new car buyers and people that buy new Lexus are on average not the same people that keep their cars into high mileage. Perhaps it is BMW's fault selling cars with those detrimental bare bones included maintenance schedules so Lexus feels pressure to eliminate as much maintenance as possible rather than offering similar programs (costs a lot less to say the transmission does not need service, than it does to include service for the transmission). I have no idea if BMW actually includes any transmission service with new car sales but there you have it.

A less cynical opinion may be that they figure on average the climate in most of Canada is significantly rougher on the transmission or fluids but this is a stupid assumption. The most populated areas of Canada in the major city centers tend to have climates that are no different than the northern states directly below them. When I visit NJ and NYC, I don't feel like I'm visiting some strange far off land - the weather is identical.

For me I wouldn't have believed the no fluid changes line no matter what the service schedule says, but clearly a lot of people see the lack of it and simply see it as an opportunity to save themselves some money even when they are driving a car with 120,000 miles on it. I am becoming a big believer in EVs and will hang on to this GS as long as I can and hope that good EV options continue to come out with better value. It isn't so much that I'm concerned about burning gas - we use the car so little that it really is not a big expense to keep it fueled - but rather EVs eliminate so much mechanical nonsense.

krava

I called them about that today, have 180K on the transmission don't see any problems at all with it. They told me they need to inspect it to see the color, if still red leave it alone as like people probably said, do more damage then good.

burny

it aint gonna be red bro, lol, more like do-do brown

Gotcha350

That fluid stopped being red a long time ago...about 150k ago...lol

All this lifetime fluid looks like crap around 30k...Nissan too...S-Matic or whatever it's called...

XxGoKoUxX

beaten to death is darn right OP, just have your fluids changed like it's suppose to, I haven't had issues since my car's been d&f'd. shifts became a bit smoother and I haven't regretted it since I paid Lexus to do it.