Dramon

rule #1, dont trust dealerships.

joshoowa

iTrader: (1)

for the gs300 its only 2.5qts thats like 10-12bucks.. i do a tranny fluid change about every 6k miles at my home... too bad i dont have a pix of my garage i have a shelve full of toyota fluids and oil filters

doing it every 6k miles might seem a lil over kill but i can feel the difference everytime... its smooth like butter

i have never had a tranny flush and i probally wont because i feel that every 6k is adequate enough for me to opt out of getting a power flush.

about the original question: i would not recommend getting a power flush or anything of that sort... i would do a series of sequential fluid changes over some short period of time... probally like 2-3 changes within the first day of doing so.

pingu

I was curious, is there an actual filter that you change like in other ATF trannys? I just inherited a 2001 GS300 and doing matience on it that my grandmother did not do. Luckily there is only 31k miles on it. Autozone shows an ATF filter but it says that you can only change it by removing the tranny from the motor.
Link should be here
Is the filter just a mesh screen that I have been reading? If so it doesnt seem worth it to change or even bother with.

thanks

Tammy

You should not have to open the pan or change the screen filter at 31K miles.

As the previous posting suggests, multiple drain and fills over a few hundred miles safely replaces most of the fluid.

Recommend you use the fluid installed, Toyota Type Four (IV), purchased at Toyota dealers at $5 per quart.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Don't do a power flush. Instead, if you go for a complete tranny fluid flush, go to a shop that uses a TTec machine. It uses the tranny's own pressure to move all the fluid through. A power flush has the remote possibility of dislodging buildup and causing trouble in the smaller pressure lines.

I personaly do a drain and fill once a year. keeps the fluid clean and fresh without a need for a full flush.

pingu

Thanks for the sugestion. The fluid only looks a little burnt. I think I will just drain the 2 quarts and then do another drain in another 1000 miles or so to get the rest of it out.

platinumLS

98 and up lexus trannies can go 100k with out doing anything with the tranny after u change or do a flush at 100k after your 100k tranny fluid change after that u do it ever 50k

platinumLS

hey buddy i work for the lexus dealership and i can say that my own is very honest...

VVT-i

Are you sure about that? Lexus started to used the WS trans fluid in the 04 LS with closed unit type transmission( no dipstick). The 98 to 04 still used Type-IV fluid with the drain plug and dip stick to fill up the trans.

Cadd

Is this "special" Toyota T-IV fluid synthetic?

Does anyone have any experience with Mobil1, RP or Amsoil ATF??? Would those be "better" than the OEM T-IV fluid?

Lexmex

No, not synthetic. We actually had a debate about that in our RX300 forum a while back. Amsoil ATF has been tested in a few RX300s and no issues, in fact some have reported improved performance. If it were offered down here, I would get it.

Cadd

How about M1 or RP? Do you guys think those are better than the OEM T-IV fluid?