Fern

Just wondering how often the older (cars that is) Rx owners are servicing the transmissions?

The mechanic at Lexus told me I should drain and fill the trani every 30,000 km or 19000 miles.

I am aware of the importance to use the proper Toyota trani fluid which is specified in the manual. How is this proceedure done, as I did not see the Lexus Tech doing the work on my car last time.

Has anyone performed a drain and fill? If so what was the quantity of the fill and proceedures.
I have found instructions on another Lexus website but no instructions for the Rx.

I notice what appears to be two drain bolts on the trani (one upper and one lower). Is one the fill bolt?

Thanks in advance

rxdriver

I did it once on each of my RX 300's around 30,000 miles.

I don't recall the difference between the two plugs on the bottom. I know the drain plug required a big hex key - it's not a normal bolt. I found the right end for a socket wrench at an auto parts store. Of course, it's metric. (That's a big deal in the U.S.)

A book will never tell you how much fluid you need to put in, because you never get it all out. You should measure how much comes out, and then put that much back in. I've got an old washer fluid bottle where I put in 1/2 a quart at a time and kept making marks on the side. I pour the contents of the drain pan into the bottle to find out how much is there.

A Toyota dealer sold me the T-IV ATF in a 4 liter can for about $40 US. As luck would have it, the RX 300 drained exactly 4 liters! Any more, and I would have had to buy another whole can. I had a second on hand anyway, because there are other Toyota products in the family and I knew I would use it.

I filled it back up through the dipstick hole. The auto parts store came through again with a funnel that had a long, narrow neck on it.

The dealer also supplied me with new washers for the drain plug. I remember that I tightened it up, but then I had to tighten it a little more a couple of days later.

Lexusfreak

I go by the 'severe service' recommendations in my Lexus manual. You are also safe if you want to use Amsoil synthetic ATF.......it's compatable with Toyota type IV fluid.

Lexmex

I flush every 30,000 miles (not drain and fill). I once did the flush every 30K then every 15K drain and fill until I found out that this does not removed nearly enough fluid.

Many Lexus dealers have flushing services. At the end of next year I will come close to the 30K internval (25K or so), but I can tell you that in the last 20K the fluid is still red.