sincore

Hi all,
I recently purchased a 2005 RX330 from my Mother-In-Law. It has 116k miles on it and runs great. She has had it serviced every 5k miles up until 110k. I was looking at all the receipts and noticed aside from the oil NONE of the liquids have ever been changed. I have a Haynes manual for it and according to it the Antifreeze should have been changed at 100k and brake fluid / transmission fluid should have been changed at 50k and then again at 100k (I may be wrong on these).

I went ahead last weekend and changed the air filter, Cabin Filter, Spark Plugs (This was a pain), and the PCV valve.

Now my question. Firstly should the fluids have been changed? If yes am I missing any other fluids that should be changed and how often should they be changed?

Thanks Guys!

RX330inFL

Welcome to Club Lexus, sincore.

Yes, you have more work ahead of you. Did you have a look at the Scheduled Maintenance Guide section of the Owner's Manual? Would be looking at the various service intervals and what was recommended at each of those.

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do...ch/51r3smt.pdf

First, you will want to register your vehicle here with Lexus. Will give you access to Lexus service history along with any recall information which may have been missed over the years. Have your VIN ready:

http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/my-lexus/home.do

One of the first I would change out would be the power steering fluid. Actually, this is DEXRON II/II ATF so be sure to check your Owner's Manual. This is probably black and long ready for replacement by now. We have seen some issues with power steering rack failures and I sure many are due to the fact this fluid never gets changed. If you are flushing you can use most anything of the right spec. Many of us here end up using Mobil 1 ATF after the system is cleaned out.

Next would be the brake fluid. The transmission should at least have a drain and fill if possible. If it looks well used then you might consider doing this a few times over the next year to get some good fluids in there. Flushes are not recommended as you are not sure what all you might break loose in there. There is a current write up if you want to drop the pan and replace the filter as it sounds like you are a DIY type person.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...iy-w-pics.html

Is your RX FWD or AWD? If FWD by doing the transmission fluid you have dealt with the front differential. If AWD then you will want to deal with the rear differential and front transfer case:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...sfer-case.html

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do...6U/pdf/6-3.pdf

As for the coolant, did she have the water pump replaced at 90K or just the timing belt? Many shops do both at the same time. I might guess they would have provided new coolant if they replaced the water pump.

Finally, there are a number of DIY threads posted for your viewing. Those and using the search features of the forums here at CL will get you to most answers you are looking to find.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ate-links.html

RX330inFL

BTW, please have a look at this posting for getting at those rear spark plugs. Let us know if you have anything additional to add to that thread.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...with-pics.html

sincore

Man this is some great information thanks!

I created an account on Lexus Drivers and I see the following:
90,000 MILE SERVICE
100,000 MILE SERVICE

and so on and so forth. Are these inclusive of all the things listed in the Scheduled Maintenance? So does that mean the timing belt has been replaced and the fluids as well? Sorry if this seems stupid but I guess I am a bit confused.

Thanks for the help!

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

Timing belt is recommended at 90k. Once you put in your VIN on that site, you can see what has been done. I would also do tranny fluid asap.

RX330inFL

I would double-check that stack of receipts you have and look for the 90K service receipt. Look to see if the timing belt and/or water pump were changed. The 90K should be a very expensive repair bill. If you cannot tell I would call or stop by the dealership and ask if possible.

sincore

Yes I looked at receipts again and they are extremely unspecific so I called the dealership that did the work and they looked in to it for me. Looks like everything was changed for the most part. Brake fluid, Transmission fluid, Tranaxcel fluids, Timing belt was changed at 90k and so on and so forth. This was a massive weight off my shoulders as it was just me being a dummy and reading things wrong.

At this point Im going to take the time because its been about 30k since the 90k and go ahed and do the Tranaxcel again and may be a good idea for me to do break and power steering as well. I'm gonna take care of that this weekend.

Now for my larger question it seems as thou the Water pump was not changed only the timing belt. So should I get the water pumped changed? Or should I wait until 190k when I will most likely do timing belt again?

Again thanks so much for the help!

gusar

Well, if it doesn't leak, why change it?

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, their standard procedure is to 'inspect'. Therefore, I would not worry about changing it. With that said when I do my wife's timing belt at 120k, I plan to go ahead and do the water pump.

RX330inFL

Many dealerships were just inspecting the water pump when doing the timing belt. If it looked good then they left it alone. Unless it is leaking or acting up otherwise there is no need to deal with this until the next interval of 90K miles. You can do the next timing belt and water pump at the same time if you are lucky.

Did you find out the last time the coolant was changed out?

sincore

I did it was at 90k when they did the timing belt. So its at 30k at this point Is it time for a flush?

mandyfig

You did an excellent job for your mother in law. You must care for her a lot....

gusar

No, he just PURCHASED this car from her She did the job keeping receipts

sincore

This is true. She also gave me a deal for it! So I would say she did a good job for us. hehe