Doublebase

Personally I'm in the "change your transmission fluid", boat. I did mine at 70k. I know there is a poster on here from Canada and in his owner's manual it states to have the fluid changed at 60k. It is only a "lifetime" fluid in the U.S. I've read that people in the Middle East change the fluid every 50k miles.

For me personally, when I drained the fluid it came out dark brown/black....which made me think, uh oh. I then decided to go the extra step and drop the pan, change the filter, etc. It's been 30k miles since and I'm thinking of doing a simple drain and refill soon.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

Here's a link to a 4 page thread complete with photos, links to ordering, and how to find the filter by reaching under the seat and feeling for it. I'm not very mechanically inclined and was able to do it. It's under there and you can't see it. Have faith and you will find it

hms09

EDIT: I see the other post about the 07 now. Guess I'll just have to keep looking under there.

dlbuckls10

Your 460 have filters located under the front seats. They are easy to overlook and in a tight spot. The dealership changed my seat filters when I was having my car serviced. The service manager said all 460 have seat filters. You can contact Lexus.

roadfrog

+1. I'm the Canadian referred to by Doublebase.

As he stated, only the US market calls their fluid "lifetime". Same fluid in my Canadian vehicle as your U.S. vehicle. As he noted, every other market in the world has a change interval. Something to do with marketing no doubt.

DiggerJim

Anyone have a Canadian 600hL? I'd be interested in what that service recommendation is. The transmission is radically different than the 460 though (CVT with the inline electric traction motor) so it's not one of the things shared with the 460 that I can use 460 owners' experience to guide my own.

TIA

swfla

iTrader: (1)

If my memory serves me. Other threads mention US dealers turning away xmission fluid changes. There was also a rash of xmission repairs needed afterward. With the possibility of problems after fluid changes are done, I'd hesitate to have anyone but a dealer do it. At least with a dealer, you can hold them responsible for "botched" repairs and services. Did you experience any troubles? Do you remember threads with others having problems? I'm at 70,000 miles CPO and would like to do a change if safe to do so.

Doublebase

I have talked with a dealer regarding this, the problem is that some people have screwed up the refill level after doing the service and the transmissions fail within 700-1000 miles. So I imagine the reason why some places are turning customers away is that they're afraid of damaging the unit. I can't really blame them for that...imagine ruining a very expensive transmission and then Lexus would ask them why they agreed to the service, when in the U.S. It's a "lifetime fluid". But there are places/people that can do it correctly. I did it myself following the fluid level temp procedure, but I wouldn't advise people to try it unless they practice the sequence and feel comfortable with it first. In fact I'd suggest they take it to a Toyota dealer, they have a similar procedure with lots of their cars/trucks.

And believe me, Google Toyota WS fluid...it's not a lifetime fluid. And I've talked to Lexus techs that feel the same way.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

So, a Toyota dealer that agrees to do the fluid change and has done many of them would be the way to go it seems. I've got 70k miles on a LS460 with 3 years of CPO warranty. Here's a good question.... Because Lexus says it's a lifetime fluid, would a fluid change void any warranty claims on the transmission? Is it worth the risk? I'll call a Lexus dealer. I may want to wait until my CPO warranty is over at 100k miles. Perhaps the only way to avoid a warranty refusal is to have Lexus do the flush$$$$$ vs Toyota.
Any opinions???