Rebel22

I'm sitting at the lexus dealership now. Getting a transmission drain and fill at the moment. They were persistent on the phone while making the appointment that this is a 120,000 mile service (I have 51,000 miles currently). I told them that I am big on maintenance and it seems to have a flair every now and then and I would feel better if i did this now since I just got the car used about 8 months ago. It is supposed to be a $160.00 charge to do this, so a no-brainer to have this done for the piece of mind alone.

s4chico

I have 53k on my 2011 and am noticing flares every so often. I should get mine taken care of. Let us know how it feels after the service.

sedition

A lot of us have 3rd gear flares when the transmission is cold. What symptoms were you noticing?

Rebel22

I'm still here waiting for them to be done. I'll update when I can. My symptoms were a small flare in the morning (maybe once a week). It seemed to hold the gear a good bit when it was in normal drive mode.

s4chico

I have noticed the same as others have reported. Even when warm and I hit certain on-ramps with a little speed, the trans will hold a gear and not up-shift in either auto or manual.

Rebel22

For future reference, The car has to be below a certain temperature for this procedure to be done. I've been here for over three hours waiting for the car to cool. Not complaining, but I wish I knew that before I planned on staying here, I would have dropped it off the night before so it sat!

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Curious how you're getting this service done for $160... 2 local friends of mine and other F owners each recently had this quoted over $400 for this service. Seems like you're getting a great deal.

Rebel22

That is why I jumped on it! I do believe it is just a drain and fill though. They do understand using Techstream to cycle the fluid the proper way. I wanted to make sure they weren't just going to drain a little and add it.

And the fact that I'm still here waiting for a long time for the car to cool down tells me they know what they are doing

mahcah

iTrader: (3)

Yep seems like it

semnosNSX

$160 for this service is insane! I just had this done and was charged $480. I know several others who paid the dame price. Are they draining and refilling12 qts of fluid?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Isn't the fluid and gasket $100 or more? Killer deal OP... assuming they are doing the full drain and fill.

RCB

iTrader: (18)

It's 3-4 quarts for a drain and fill which is the only fluid service that should be performed on this transmisson IMHO.
You don't have to drop the pan to do it. You let the car cool down, drain the fluid, replace what drained, warm the car up until you see it within range for a level check in techstream then top it off as needed.
It's best to do this over the course of 4 oil changes or 4 times after a short drive if you have that kind of time on your hands. This way you cycle most of the old fluid out and keep the TAN numbers in check.

Let's not get into the lifetime fluid convo, that's been beaten to death. I think it's a good idea to change the trans fluid a few quarts at a time and I'm sure some of you will agree. For the people who don't agree then that's ok if you feel confident in that decision. We all have the same trans in out car but we each only have one copy and everyone can treat it to the level of care that they prefer.

Rebel22

I'm done and gone. Total cost was $165.00 which included 5 quarts of fluid and two gaskets. They did exactly what RCB stated above. I only had a short drive and it was mostly highway, but I didn't notice any real change so far. I'm just glad its done and I know the correct level is in the transmission now and that 4-5 quarts are new.

empathy

Newport Lexus quoted me 250. Will be scheduling it next week.

ping83

iTrader: (8)

Had mine done two weeks back. I was very fortunate to sit next to the shop foreman who performed the fluid flush at my Lexus dealership. He dropped the transmission pan and basically did a double flush after he rowed the car through the gears at the proper temp to get the fluid that was in the bowl of the torque converter out. Our transmissions take a took of 12 quarts to do a complete fluid change. Lexus charged me $396 otd.

My car had 120,000 miles and had never had this maintenance performed. I am very meticulous about maintenance on my cars in general and I happy to report that the fluid that came out of the transmission did not smell burnt at all. The fluid was dark, but you could still see a hint of red in the world standard fluid. The magnets in the transmission pan had super fine metal partials, to be expected after break in and normal wear. Nothing was alarming or out of the normal.

Overall to me this is money well spent for peace of mind on my F! I have no doubts this car can run through 200.000 with the same performance as the day it rolled off the show room floor! My recommendation is talk specifically to the shop foreman at your dealership to gain a level of comfort before you have the procedure executed.

Matt