Johnhw2

What service is typical on this vehicle at 20k miles? Just oil change and filter change or transmission fluid flush replacement? Also at 20k miles my yellow caution light goes on and maintenance due soon appears in the info box between tach and speedometer. I am about 100 miles past the mileage setting for oil change service interval is that what this is about?

I get the sense Lexus and Davenport, a Toyota only independent service company in DFW areas both push more service at this point than the manufacturer. Anyone else seen this? What do you recommend be done if driving is a good mix of city and 160 mile trips on freeway? My plan is to keep this car long term so anything this group of experts recommends beyond manufacturers recommendations is something I would consider. The dealer and service ompany's have a built in conflict that renders their opinion biased in my view.

One additional question for the experts here. I have not found rotating tires to be cost effective. Is that something required for warranty? If so why? My car drives like its aligned properly and only I drive it and not had any rough curb hits to take it out of alignment. Am I missing something on this on either the warranty side or on how this impacts long ownership of car, that is if I don't do an alignment and tire rotation as manual suggests? I see nothing about changing transmission fluid in manual as Davenport said they recommend.

comotiger

Based on other recent threads, you don't need to do a transmission flush at such low mileage. I am attaching the service record for my vehicle (previous owner) for 20K service.



BTW, looks like we have very similar vehicles . Please post some pics!

Johnhw2

I think we basically identical Mine is L with AWD, Black/black with same options. Low tech here so have not put pictures up yet. Thanks for the response on your vehicles 20k serrice. I bought mine new here in Dallas in November 2014. Running right under 1000 miles per month on mine. I think the L was about $1500 and well worth it in my view that extra 5 inches makes a huge difference in back seat room without negative drive or looks impacts. I am paranoid about hydro planning on water and about driving on ice so AWD was a must for me. We go to NM mountains often, usually in my Infiniti full size AWD Suv but wanted to protect that option with this car too with AWD.

I thought the 20k service included cabin filter change and alignment of all four after rotation but did not see it on the post if I read it right. I don't think mine needs the alignment and I am not a fan of rotating tires, prefer to get on a replace two at a time schedule as a more cost effective option.

SW17LS

Do you have the manual? The recommended service intervals are in the manual. If you don't have the manual you can download it online at www.lexusdrivers.com

I just had my 20k service done. It was just an oil change and tire rotation.

As for tire rotations, the alignment has nothing to do with tire rotations. You rotate the tires to ensure that they wear evenly since the front tires wear faster than the rear tires. Not rotating your tires on a big heavy car like this will cut the life of your front tires probably in half, which means you'll be spending $500 on new front tires twice as often, and if you're paranoid about hydroplaning and traction as you say, having worn tires or mismatched tires is contrary to that goal of having a vehicle that resists hydroplaning and loss of traction as much as possible.

comotiger

Agreed, the extra legroom in the back is greatly appreciated by my teenagers on long trips. I also expect to average <10K per year. I bought my car used in NJ in Feb 2016 with 43K. It was built in Nov 2013, bought in Jan 2014 for corporate use in NY, and piled up 43K in 2 years! The car will be more gently treated out here! Here is the link to pics of my car on another thread.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...t-now-108.html
Go to post # 1608.

superdenso

I stopped rotating tires a long time ago. Both MB and Honda refused to align my vehicles...they said it was a waste of $$, time and effort on modern vehicles without damage. My Honda p/u has 195k, no alignment, and no weird wear; tires last forever on that thing.

Johnhw2

Not rotating extends the life of the rear tires. The question is does that offset the loss of life in front tires from not rotating enough to offset the cost of rotating them? I think it does so don't rotate. I have had mixed experience with alignment. Too often the results seemed to degrade the ride not improve it. I assume not taking this step, rotating tires, does not impact anything in warranty or longevity of car life.

SW17LS

Its not just a matter of extending the life of the tires. If your front tires are wearing faster than your rear tires, at some point you're going to have front tires that are significantly worn while the rear tires are not, then you replace those front tires and the cycle starts over again. Especially in an AWD car those differences in traction between the axles is not good for overall stability or traction, and potentially could be bad for the AWD system. What if you can no longer get the same tires and have to mismatch models or brands? What if you want to install better tires than the crappy tires the car comes with?

Why would an alignment have any impact on the ride? I do agree though, no real reason to do an alignment unless theres some issue.

I want my tires to be equally worn so that my traction and handling dynamics aren't affected more than I want to extend the life of the tires.