wopr

Found the following from Lexus service manual for another Toyota model. I'll be doing this for my 2006 Lexus IS350 with 136k miles.

Vehicle should be level. Remove refill and overflow plug. Add fluid into refill hole until fluid begins to trickle out overflow tube. Reinstall overflow plug and refill plug.

Using the pin 4 and 13 method described previously in this thread. AC should be off. Move shift lever through entire gear range to circulate fluid.

D shift indicator comes on for two seconds to indicate start of fluid check mode. D shift indicator will come on again when fluid reaches 115 F and will blink when fluid temperature exceeds 130 F. Once fluid reaches 115 F, remove overflow plug with engine idling. Wait until overflow slows to a trickle. If nothing comes out, you need to add more fluid and restart test.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

No vacuum, just fluid in all the places it needs to be. Same with the AA80E in the IS F. I shut mine off before putting the overflow plug back in place and it drained about a quart too. Bad mistake. Made a huge mess because it poured out so fast.

For all you guys worrying needlessly about this, I track my car. I tested the ATF with Blackstone twice. The results are in the F forum. Needless to say, even well over 120k miles, the fluid was still in good working condition and didn't exhibit signs of failure or need immediate replacement. It's not pretty, but I learned a long time ago oil doesn't need to be pretty to work correctly.

On the IS F, I guarantee you the D light will flicker when the temp goes too high. I've seen it. I also observed the AA80E needs more than 8 hours to cool sufficiently to perform the level set procedure. You really need to let the car sit overnight. I put it up on stands, level it (because this is critical too), and then work on it the next day. Once you've done it a time or two, it gets pretty easy. The other important note, these gearboxes are very sensitive to low fluid level. If yours is acting up, the very first thing to check is the fluid level. The AA80E will hang in gear after accelerating around a turn from a dead stop and will not upshift if the level is low. AMHIK.



https://www.clublexus.com/forums/att...120k-miles.gif

kolyan

So you are saying at 120k your fluid was OK? Why so many IS models with 130-150k start having tranny issues? And they dont even track their cars at all

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for the info lobuxracer! Yeah, I figured out my mistake and immediately replaced the 1qt of fluid that drained out due to my error with the procedure. I always used a drop pan, so I didn't encounter any messes.

Though you're not looking to flush the fluids, I do highly recommend putting a wrench on your trans pan bolts as two of mine were very loose. One had to be tightened TWO complete 360 rotations! Guessing this just happens over 11 yrs of time. At the same time I did a new shifter seal along the side AND a new trans pan gasket; the old pan gasket was brittle and the ATF began to weep out through it.

It was quite the internal struggle for me to decide to do the flush as I've read so many saying to do one or the other. But since I don't believe in a "lifetime" ATF, and for the fact that I want my car to be good for another 100k as my DD, I went for it. Though labor intensive, I went ahead with it since I've had the past 2 weeks off of work. As you mentioned, my car sat on a set of stands (leveled of course) to cool overnight and each trickle flush I did was during the later morning hours the next day.

His mileage was 73k when the testing was done. But just judging from the lack of any burnt smelling ATF and normal "aged" ATF discoloration, I'd say my ATF would have been fine if I had not touched it. But for how long is the $1 million dollar question! I didn't want to be one of those with a broken-down auto trans saying I wish I had flushed it.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

I had my IS350 at the Lexus service center over the weekend in order to have the transmission fully flushed with all-new WS fluid. Needless to say, many of the issues that GVille350 noted in his above post were occurring on my 11 year old transmission as well. One of the trans pan bolts was missing and some fluid was leaking from the left-side shifter shaft seal. Lexus charged me an additional $200 to replace the shifter shaft seal and without me knowing how labor intensive it is to perform that task, I'm not sure if I got shafted there.

Like GVille also pointed out, my trans pan gasket might also be in need of replacing but I'll wait to confirm if the trans fluid found in that area is coming from the trans pan gasket or if it was from the shifter shaft seal leak.

Anyways, I finally got my car back today and the shifts do appear to feel smoother but that was while the transmission was in auto mode and I haven't had a chance to feel how the car downshifts while in the gear limiter S-mode.

I also did request to have a small sample of the old fluid saved. I plan on sending this sample to Blackstone Labs for it to be analyzed at the 81k mile mark (which also includes several autox and track day events). Based on me swirling of the fluids around in the bottle, the color appears to be very caramel-like (similar to Coca-Cola) and still has a hint of being dark brown instead of solid black. I'll post an update once I receive a report from Blackstone Labs.

kolyan

Pour some fluid on a paper towel, it should give you the color better. Like here:

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

^^
Great video. I did the paper towel test and while the color was a tad bit darker than the "Needs Replacing" sample in the video, it was still brownish and not black like the "Burnt/Damaged" fluid sample that was shown.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Color might be convenient, but it is no substitute for a proper analysis. It is impossible to determine engine oil's service life by color alone which is why services like Blackstone's exist. BTW, forgot to add this last time - it's the 120k+ oil check:



Also, I finally dropped the pan and replaced the filter/gasket and about 5.5 US quarts of fluid in the process about 2 weeks ago. I can't say I notice any difference in the performance at all, but I know I've changed pretty close to 50% of the fluid, so it should be in really good shape. None of my pan bolts were loose at all, but the drain bolt wasn't especially tight which I found surprising. I also discovered the drain bolt still leaves a lot of fluid in the pan. When I dropped the pan to change the filter, it was pretty obvious there was still a lot of fluid left in it. So, all in all, I drained out about 5.5 US quarts and I put in a little more than that. I am still not sure it was necessary, but at the same time, when the Canadians have a 100k OCI for ATF, that tells me something is suspicious with Lexus USA saying it's a lifetime fill. I am inclined to believe a rant I saw on another website advising Toyota owners the only reason for the "lifetime fill" recommendation is to bypass an EPA requirement for per car fees related to reprocessing ATF. It could be all BS, but when Lexus/Toyota have recommended change intervals in other markets, it really smells fishy.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

^^
Thanks for uploading the 120k Blackstone Labs report. Funny thing is that I re-read your old post earlier today and you were mentioning that your transmission fluid was in good working condition at 120k yet the report showed 73k miles which had me scratching my head. Lol.

I requested a test kit from Blackstone earlier today so I'll soon be able to add more historical data to share with our CL folks.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Color was exactly like mine it appears. I assume the fluid gives off no burnt aroma. Yeah, they shafted you on that seal replacement. Takes 2 minutes to remove two 10mm bolts to gain access to the seal, and then a few minutes to pull it out. Like a minute to reinstall using your hand and another minute to tap it in fully. Oh, and you really should have went ahead and had them do that pan gasket while the fluids were draining. 2 birds, one stone kinda thing.

I'm also seeing a bump up in fuel mileage after two tanks after my trans flush. I drive the same route everyday and my driving style has not changed. After a while, the ATF flush will have paid for itself!

nkyrental

I did the pan drop and fluid and filter replacement on my daughter’s car this past weekend. I got 4 3/4 quarts out of it cold! Pan was tricky, there are 4 bolts that you can’t easily get to, and one is particularly difficult. Had to do ¼ turns with a 10mm wrench to get three of them out, the fourth difficult one loosened easy. Once I got the bolts loose, it was a piece of cake. Pan came off, very little mung on the magnets, color was still red but darker than the old fluid. Measured total amount removed with a pitcher I keep in the garage. New filter exactly like the old one, new gasket and some gasket seal and it went back on nicely, had to work at the 4 problems bolts though. One person here suggested the motor mounts would need to be removed and the engine jacked up to do this, but that is not the case if you have some patience. Put the 4 ¾ back in and dropped it from the lifts, let it settle during lunch, checked fluid and it was at the “hot” mark for a cold transmission, too much! So we went for a drive for about 45 minutes, daughter has her temps, and once we got back I let it cool overnight, and then let the fluid out. Put in 3 quarts then added slowly over the course of a couple of hours. Ended up at ~ 3 ¾ to get to the “cold” mark on the dipstick. You can tell a difference in the shifting, much smoother and quieter; I will do another remove and fill in a few weeks to get rid of most of the old fluid. I was pretty pleased with how clean the fluid was and how clean the filter pad and interior of the transmission was. I was really surprised with the lack of mung, (metal shavings), on the three magnets and the plug. Now, on to the spark plugs, then struts!

JeeKay

I bought my 06 IS350 last May with 109k miles on it. I have been reading threads on transmission fluid here pretty much since then never really finding a definitive answer to weather or not I should do it. I work at an automotive speed shop but we don't have a machine to flush these transmissions and this is the first automatic I've owned.

I've been racking my brain about this fluid for months now but after reading the beginnings of this thread a couple weeks ago I decided I should at least do a drain and fill as much as possible. On my previous cars I've done everything from mounting tires to full engine & transmission rebuilds but for some reason this simple task of changing the fluid has me really nervous.

To Kolyan's point I have noticed my car does occasionally hang in gear after a quick acceleration around a corner as I noticed the other day when turning onto my street from a stop sign so it seems I should attempt this just in case I am low on fluid. Also if it happens to result in better fuel economy as Gville noticed that would be great, I went from 10L/100KM in April to 14L/100KM, I'm chocking this up to the cold weather but who knows.

It seems all the info I need either in this thread or on this forum but the question I have is about the overflow and fill bolts, is it pretty obvious which bolt is which or are you guys looking in the workshop manual? (which I don't have)

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Very obvious. The drain bolt is a 14mm bolt, while the check bolt is a 5mm hex.

Make sure to get new crush washers and a new O-ring for the fill bolt.

JeeKay

Great, thanks

UnderCover

The Hang after quick acceleration is perfectly normal, mine does that too. If you quickly accelerate the car knows you're asking for power so it doesn't shift up immediately incase you need more power.