Bozookah

To be honest, my mechanic is a great guy, good at many things with 200+ 5 stars review on yelp, and cheapest price in town but that doesn't mean he knows how to fix all the problems properly, especially on these sensitive lexus system. I think ill be going to lexus dealership from now on. Oil change price is not that much of a different between the two places +/-$40 and plus everything will be on lexus.com record if you do it at the dealer. Which I think could help out in the future if you decide to sell your car, future buyer will have all the records showing the car maintenance history.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Even on the 2004+ 430 it is a complicated job that involves getting the transmission to a certain temp and adding fluid until it overflows, shifting through the gears and repeating the procedure. These Aisin transmissions are very sensitive to being under filled with fluid and I bet this was what was causing the hard shift.

If you want to keep the additives up to par that are so vital to the clutch pack longevity then a drain and refill every 30k is a great habit.

Bozookah

Yes I was planning to change the transmission fluid every 30k miles, hopefully I'll keep this car for longer than that haha

tyrenfroe

Definitely the freebie, then. They provide a free subset of their whole lineup. I remembered from the last mass trial promotion that the TV cable news feeds were missing (Fox, MSNBC, etc.). So enjoy it while you can - I think you have until the 10th or so before it goes back to Ch 1.

Bozookah

Man I hate that you were right on this. Today Feb 10th my XM SAT doesnt work anymore

How did you know it was gonna end on Feb 10th?

tyrenfroe

I'm too lazy to skip through EVERY TV ad, so I inevitably collect detritus like this. Note that there are NO deals to be struck with XM/Sirius until the newbie rush from the freebie dies down (give it a few weeks before you give it a shot and NEVER, EVER give them a credit card!)

Nospinzone

Yup, what he said. I pay by e-check every year, and negotiate my rate every year. Here is a good source of info -

http://www.avsforum.com/t/918633/xm-...discount-codes

Fhobbs

So XM/Sirius is needed to make the transmission not be jerky and hard shifting.? (jk, it's been a rough day).

Nospinzone

Good one Fhobbs! Thanks for getting us back on topic!

lucyq

For our 2008 LS460, our dealer today changed the trans fluid for me at 81,000 miles. Said it needed it. Remarkable improvement!!!! In my opinion, Lexus has done a dis-service to their LS460 owners by recommending no changes. Will change every 30,000 miles from now on. I believe many issues related to transmission concerns, such as yours, would be remedied by trans service at appropriate intervals, assuming your trans has not been damaged due to a lack of trans fluid change.

1Putt

lucyq, were you having any prob's with the trans or just decided to change it out ?

Cost ?

Bozookah

Alright this really suck!

Problems freaking came back again after almost a week of driving it. Now it is doing it not all the time but I'd say 50% of the time. And the funny thing is that sometime when I turn the car off and turn it on it would disappear and vice versa.

This sucks big time. I will be taking the car back to the dealer again to do the full diagnose of the system soon. Ill keep you guys update.

roadfrog

It must be an American thing, because here in Canada (and apparently other countries as well), my manuals clearly indicate that transmission fluid changes are required at 60k miles or 8 years. . In fact my manual also indicates fluid changes for the diff as well - every 30k miles.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I don't understand it either. They did the same thing to us 04-06 ls430 owners. Maybe they are worried about things being too reliable and want owners to fork over thousands for new transmissions.

lucyq

In general, transmission shifts have been soft and somewhat irregular. The most notable problem has been a delay in downshifting when I attempt to pass (but it doesn't occur all the time, and therefore is difficult for dealer to reproduce). I have to put my foot down fast and far, such that when it finally downshifts the car vaults forward and I risk losing control of the car. It also stays in the lower passing gear too long after I release the gas pedal, continuing to rev high before it finally upshifts to a cruising gear.

After transmission fluid flush and change, trans shifts effortlessly, firmer, and more consistently. Have not attempted to pass, but while going up hills (for example) and pressing down on the gas it downshifts with ease as it should. When I say "effortlessly", it feels like a drag on the car from the transmission has been removed by the fluid change. The combination of firm shifts, apparent internal friction-reduction, and easy downshifts under light load situations leads to my assessment that there is a dramatic improvement in the functioning of the transmission -- it was well over due for fluid flush and change -- and, as the Service Manager has confirmed, it needed that fluid change.

I use Lexus of Mt. Kisco in Mt. Kisco, New York. Cost for fluid flush and change was $196 (parts and labor). Service Technician needs to follow the refill instructions carefully. I have attached a PDF file of the service procedure that I found on this Forum for your reference.

Service Manager at Lexus of Mt. Kisco is Sal Cirillo. For more information on the LS460 trans fluid change, contact him.