silver250

i just did a search and i came up with nothing..........i was just wondering if anybody has changed their transmission fluid yet??

muzzman1

No can do, it is a "sealed" transmission. It will "never" need to be serviced. (As per Lexus)

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

if you want to change it that badly you can lift the car drop the tranny open it up and change the fluid

silver250

is it really a sealed tranny?? i remember reading a thread about this but wasnt sure about that.............

C280to250

Are you serious? That's Crazy!!
So Whats the life expectancy on this trans?

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

I highly doubt the transmission is sealed.

They just mean there is lifetime fluid in there.

I do not believe in lifetime fluid so I will change my tranny fluid at around 40k.

My dad owns a bmw/mercedes repair shop and both manufactuers have life time fluid and you STILL can change the fluid. A tranny CANNOT be completely sealed. For example the Mercedes ML class. In order to change the tranny fluid you have to buy a tranny dipstick from the dealer in order to change and check the fluid. The car does not come with a dipstick.

I do not have my IS yet but once I get it i'm going to put it on my dads lift and check how to change/check the fluid.

silver250

im going to do my oil change this weekend and im almost at 15k, ill check if we can change the tranny fluid................i sure hope its not a sealed tranny, i dont think the tranny fluid in there will last forever

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Are we talking auto or manual here? The A760E (IS 350) auto has a fill procedure in the FSM, complete with a table showing how much fluid to expect for different service procedures. So does the A760H (IS250 RWD) and the A960E (IS250 AWD). They are practically identical, and the locations of the drain and fill are the same. FWIW, removing what appears to be the drain will not do anything useful. You'll need to drop the pan at a minimum to remove any significant amount of fluid. There are 20 bolts holding the oil pan in place.

The classic trick of removing the oil cooler lines and doing a complete fluid swap is not possible with these autos. The oil "cooler" is an oil/water unit attached to the rear of the gearbox and it has water lines that go forward, not oil lines. Probably great from an engineering perspective because you don't have a pair of rubber hoses coming up to the radiator that can crack and fail, but it certainly limits the ability to flush the thing with a conventional flushing unit unless you have an adapter you can bolt on in place of the oil cooler. Have fun with those fluid changes.

The RA-62 (IS250 MT) has a normal drain and fill plug just like every other manual gearbox I've ever seen. No problems or issues doing a fluid change there.

IS_250

iTrader: (2)

Damn, i was hoping there was a tranny cooler. It makes the fluid flush much easier, and it also allows you to replace as much of the fluid as possible. Maybe they can use one of those T-tech machines to get as much fliud out? Or I guess i can start doing a drain and refill at every oil change and hope that I dilute the older fluid with new fliud at every oil change

socalJD

Must be very busy & profitable

You should get a M3 or 335ci, since you got free parts & labor for as long as you own the car . . .

Tammy

The newer automatics since 2004 have been using the new "WS" automatic transmission fluid. The transmission is filled by a fill plug from underneath.

It is indicated by no transmission dip stick and a WS label on the fill plug.

the fluid has a 100,000 mile change schedule, but I'm advised it could be changed sooner.

I'm attaching a TSB for Toyota for a reference.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

The fill plug is on the left side under a cover near the middle of the gearbox. The "drain" in the bottom is actually an overflow. You put fluid in the hole in the side and fill until it drains from the hole in the bottom, because it's not a conventional hole, it's actually a tube with a specific height. Just like most manuals. It is not intended to be used to fill the gearbox according to the FSM.

Yes the approved fluid is WS.

Koz

As Tammy posted the trans uses "WS" (Toyota ONLY) synthetic fluid. This fluid MUST NOT be mixed or substituted with ANY other type. This fluid should last 100K miles without any problem. Only under extreme stress (Towing, that is not recommended for the IS) should the fluid need to be changed sooner or at all. On the 4Runner there is a idiot light that will alert you when the fluid was damaged and needs to be looked at or changed (not sure on the IS). The 4Runner is rated to tow 7200 lbs. and I don't know of anyone who has has had any problems with this fluid. The IS holds a total of 8.3 qts. of the "WS" synthetic fluid and 1.8 qts. for the initial fill.

Koz

tgara

I'd be very careful about doing a transmission flush and fill on this transmission by yourself. My Lincoln has a sealed transmission that contains "lifetime" fluid good for 150K miles. The process for doing the change is NOT straightforward. It requires special equipment (some sort of pump) as well as special fluid and seals.

Several guys on the Lincoln LS board have attempted to change their transmission fluid on this sealed transmission. If it is not done correctly, transmission problems result (mostly in the form of "whining" at speed, but in one case a transmission got burned out). Before attempting to change the fluid on the IS, I would definitely do some homework about whether special equipment is required and what the procedure is.

The dealer may have better advice, but my own thoughts are that if your transmission is not giving you problems, leave it alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Koz

Good advice! The "WS" fluid is expensive and if I'm not mistaken it only comes in gal cans. If you have it flushed with a machine, the machine has to be pre-flushed with the "WS" fluid first. I would definitely have the Stealer do it.

Koz