Lust4Lexus

So Ive started to research my 60K service early to gain info to make an educated decision.

I have read the 430 tranny thread that turned into a debacle, and I still feel like I will have it done anyway.

Now- I bought my car certified through Lexus, and it had a little over 45k. I have since put about 6K on it since I bought last december. Just now, I was giving my car a once over, decided to use some detail spray and dust the inside and outside, and also popped the hood to wipe down the engine cover.


Don't ask me why, but I never looked at the PS fluid. I saw it today as I was wiping the fill tank and I was horrified at what I saw! The FLUID was black! not Only was it black, but the black seemed to be seprated from the base fluid. think of oil and vinigar. the oil just did not look right. I had my car in my garage with low light, but I took a picture of the dipstick with my phoneso you can get the idea of what's doing in there.


Now, how the heck could this fluid pass a certification process 6-7k ago. I feel like calling the dealer to find out what exactly was done in the certification process for my car. I also feel like it should have been changed prior to me purchasing it. Lexus may have another answer though.

Not to rehash from another thread, but as you can see by the picture below, it turned to crap We all know that the PS fluid is nothing more than tranny fluid. This is the garbage that this fluid turned into in only 50k. WS fluid or not, the tranny, as far as I know is exposed to much higher heat, so can you imagine what my tranny looks like? OR better yet, YOURS?

I'm actually a little bothered by this finding. 100k on fluids? I cast my vote for the "NO WAY" club on this forum.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

so let me get this straight,, its not supposed to look like that ^ ^ ^

sucks man, good luck getting the stealership to admit any sort of fault in their certification process though,, just be sure you remember the excuses and come back and write them in this thread so i can get a good laugh,, seriously...

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

power steering fluid does get pretty nasty.

abs

That is terrible. My 2005 had the original fluid but did not look that bad. I just changed mine out using my MityVac suction device and then refilled with Mobil1 Dexron III synthetic fluid using the Turkey Baster method (detailed elsewhere). Your fluid looks really, really bad, almost as though someone topped it off with the wrong thing (brake fluid or water perhaps)? If I had that same situation, I'd try to suck out the layer on top first, then remove as much of the rest of the fluid in the reservoir as possible, then refill with clean fluid. I'd probably do this a few times over. I did notice that the reservoir capacity is quite low.

As a side note, it may just be in my head, but with the new fluid, it feels like the steering is a little lighter and has more of an on-center feel. Go figure.

Good luck, I hope it works out okay for you.

Andrew

Lust4Lexus

I have done a little more research, apparently I cant seem to find in the maintenance schedule when it is time to replace the fluid. I could always do the small subsequent change method until it gets good as new. seems simple enough.

http://www.hondaclub.com/forum/artic...ng-system.html

Stu

Compared to the cost of Lexus ( or any other OEM part ), oil is very, very inexpensive.

I am at 50,000 miles and bought my car privately ( not CPO ) so I also read the entire transmission thread. I agree, 100,000 or more miles on any fluid has never been my personal idea of proper maintenance for my car, especially critical, complex moving parts that are big money to repair/replace.

I was going to take my car into Lexus, because I have no idea what, if anything was done to the car in the past 5 years. I expect not much at all. When and if I do, I now expect Lexus to say it does not need anything, and I don't know how to respond.

wow, do I follow Lexus service guidelines or do what I have always done ....

Tough decision.

EDIT : just went and checked mine .... it also had dark gray "gunk" on the top or the dipstick .... I wiped it clean and put it back, for now, but not sure what I will do about it ... too dark to see the fluids color, but if it's black, its gone !

Lust4Lexus

Whats the story about getting air out of the system by turning the wheel with the car off? Im supposed to force the wheel left and right without the motor running? I don't like the sound of that. I read this in another thread. Can't I just take the fluid out and put thenew fluid back in several times? easy peesy? What would I do that would cause air to get into the system. I surely don't want to do that. What if I only do 3/4 of the resevior at a time. then I would imagine I would be fine.

elite7

No one said that the power steering fluid was supposed to last 100k. Dexron II and III is different than Toyota ATF WS.

Still have no clue why people want to do things their own way and go against what Lexus advises or recommends in the form of Maintenance Guides, Service Bulletins, and Lexus Service Advisors...... After all i am positive Lexus engineers don't just pull these numbers out of thin air. A lot of testing and study goes into setting these guidelines.

Anyhow you are correct the PS fluid is transmission fluid. However it is a completely different fluid than what is in your Lexus LS 430 transmission.

Dexron is commonly used as a General Motors transmission fluid. The reason why the sealed transmission doesnt require a transmission fluid flush is because the WS fluid in our "sealed" transmission is a synthetic fluid. The older LS 430s prior to 2004 use non-synthetic fluid require fluid replacement at 30k.

Also please keep in mind you are never replacing all the transmission fluid. What do you plan on accomplishing by changing 2.4 Liters out of 11 total liters? Please realize you still dont have 100% fresh fluid even after 4 transmission fluid drain and refills. It would take you until the FIFTH transmission fluid drain and refill to have 100% fresh fluid.

Dry fill: 10.9L transmission fluid
Drain and refill: 2.4L transmission fluid (With only 20% of fresh fluid making a difference why bother?)


According to the owners manual they are both transmission fluids but they are two completely different fluids.:





Noticed in the 60,000 service on a 2005 Lexus LS 430 it says to replacement of the Transmission fluid is Required only if you are towing. Obviously 99.9% of the Lexus LS 430 owners are never going to tow with that vehicle:


Also i stumbled upon a Toyota Service Bulletin which states "100,000 Maintenance Interval - Inspection only; ATF-WS does NOT require any flushing or changing during the life of the vehicle.":



***Note it also states:Containers storing Toyota ATF-WS should always be sealed - If exposed to the atmosphere, ATF-WS may absorb moisture and potentially cause shift concerns if used in operation.

Isnt your transmission a container? Also i would be concerned that the new ATF-WS fluid that they would be putting in your transmission may have been exposed to the atmosphere.

By the way i dont know how they go about changing out the transmission fluid when its sealed and there is no dipstick. Take a look for yourself this is what the transmission looks like:

warminwisc

CPO is bunk just another way to lure you in for sales and then provide a warrantee. The 100 point or whatever inspection and really any turnkey car operation is spend as little as you have to to "move steel". Bset off to do the inspection also and hold them accoutnable before the sale. Human nature do as little as you have to for some people.

I just buy from private owners and you can tell a meticulous owner a mile away, or keep looking.

caddyowner

How about we talk about JUST PS fluid in this thread?

elite7

OP brought up both PS fluid as well as Transmission fluid being the exact same thing. I was just clarifying and at the same time asking what his motive is for changing approximately 20% of the transmission fluid.

Maybe he thought that with a drain and refill he was getting 100% new transmission fluid. Many people dont know that you are getting 2.4 liters of new transmission fluid out of a total of 11 liters. With the power steering fluid you can just take the old stuff out and fill it with 100% new fluid. We are on topic.

Also please compare the costs. If your power steering goes it's most likely a $200 fix. Lets say your transmission fails thats a $4,000 fix. You are telling me you are going to worry about a $200 fix more than a $4,000 fix?

Makes no sense in worrying over a $200 fix....

Lust4Lexus

To each his own. I just ordered 4 quarts of genuine toyota atf T-IV to do the incremental flush of the PS system. I also bought a fluid siphon. Weather its a 200 dollar fix or not, looking at that nasty fluid in my car just doesnt sit right with me, and she deserves better. 27 bucks and it's done. Sewell Lexus for FTW.

Jabberwock

Yep you should just be able to drain the reservoir and fill it back up with new fluid. Takes 5-10 min max. Do that a few times until the fluid turns clear and stays that way. You certainly don't get an absolute total flush of the system using this method but it will be way cleaner and ready for another 40-50k miles.

offroad200

Did you try calling the selling dealer and see if they would take care of it? Or are you just assuming they are trying to hose you? I guarantee you more goes into a CPO than just checking off a list.

Stu

Please advise how do I drain the power steering reservoir ?

by removing it somehow ? with a liquid siphon ?