Chem1

ThumperPup, I am asking the same questions. It seems odd that there is no consensus on what is the "right" thing to do for these cars.

jcat_350

Lexus will tell you it's a sealed system and should never need to be replaced.

That's a complete and total farse. All lubricative fluids will deteriorate with time. What that amount of time or mileage interval is, meh, anyone's guess.

Best bet is to get it on a lift and sample some fluid if you can, to see how it looks. It should be bright red/pink. If it's brownish, it's time to replace it. The fluid is more expensive, but not as expensive as replacing a transmission. A competent mechanic can find a way to do it right, just like Dreyfus has done in his thread about this topic. His method is spot on.

A machine flush is a TERRIBLE idea. Usually causes more problems than it solves, hence why you see them at grossly overpriced Jiffy Lubes and the like. They charge you to flush, they charge you to diagnose, and then charge you to repair. It's a revenue generator.

ThumperPup

But if u only get a few quarts out with the pan dropped how can they get the rest or most near the rest if the fluid out ?

garsarno

They will pump out a quantity and add the same quantity, kind of like dilute the old fluid with new until it is close to fresh fluid. It is the better way to do it versus flushing.

iceblast

I got my tranny fluid changed at the dealer a few months back. I would ONLY go with the dealer as they use the appropriate fluid and change method.

I have 1 more year on my powertrain, so I figured if anything went wrong after, it would be on them.
Car had 47K miles (66K) and 5 years old. The tranny 'slipped' slighty for the first few days, but after that regained all traction and is smoother than before.

Definitely a great maintenance item to do.

dreyfus

It's only common sense. No fluid can last that long.

Lexi66

... Although it only had 66,000 miles on it!

MadMark

My ES350 is my first Lexus, but my dad had two different ones in the past. A 93 ES300 that he put 240k on before selling, and a late 90's GS300 with the 2JZ inline 6 that he put 273K on before selling. He never did change the auto transmission fluid or filter in either one, but that's not to say the previous owners didn't. He bought both of those at around 120k miles. (I hope this attests to Toyota's level of quality) As mentioned in this link https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-s...ion-fluid.html one member already has 250k on his ES350 without any transmission fluid flush. These cars hold 12 quarts of fluid, which is a lot more than the 4-5 quarts I'm more accustomed to. Also, Oil in general has become much more advanced and durable. My thought is, as long as the factory oil cooler does it job and you don't leak fluid, you shouldn't need to mess with flushing it completely or changing out 4 of the 12 quarts by dropping the pan every 30k miles. Again, these are my thoughts and past experiences, so don't burn me at the stake because I'm not telling you what to do, just asking you to think. Good cooling system + 12 quarts of ATF should equal a long life IMO as long as you drive your car in a sensible manner.

garsarno

It can't hurt to replace old fluid with new fluid, so long as it is the same kind.

Universe93

I asked my dealer about transmission fluid changes on these cars, and they also said we don't do transmission fluid changes because they are sealed and "you don't need to." He also said I would be wasting my money but they still would NOT do the job.

So I'm not sure of what to do later down the road when the mileage is around 50-60k? Not replace the fluid?

I'm making a big deal out of this one because I have kept all my cars to 200k miles with regular maintenance and want the ES to make it there also!

iceblast

My car manual says to change the automatic transmission fluid at 72 months or 59K Miles (96 000 km). This is what I did, dealer had no issue.

RandyIS250

Whoever thinks Trans Fluid does not need to be changed is an idiot, ALL FLUID AND OIL need to be changed in time every 15k mile or 25k km , i just changed for a lexus IS350 guy in my friend shop, the fluid was darken like Chinese Seasoning sauce mixed with sugar, he said he never changed, you want to spend 40$ for fluid or 4000$ for a transmission ? you choose !

hisstojay

LexBob, thanks for that. Here is my curiosity or confusion: Is it to (1) flush or (2) drain the transmission fluid out (see Garsarno quote above). what actually is the proper procedure for changing the fluid, what are the pros and cons....thanks

Lexmus

Recently had my mechanic do two drain and fills on my 2009 ES (6 qts total) at 80,000 mi. I have to say the shifting is smoother and I haven't had the gear hunting at the lower gear that was present previously. Also the fluid that came out was dark. I plan to do another two drain and fills in a year.

It's crazy that Lexus maintenance manual says no ATF service is required.

chuyrobles

My wife's maintenance schedule for her 07 ES350 states, "The transmission and transmission fluid are a completely sealed unit. Therefore, periodic checks and replacement of the transmission fluid are not required..." (pg 69) However, in the maintenance log pages, it states that every 60K miles, for the ES only if towing, replace the transmission fluid with ATF/WS or equivalent. (pp 53 & 61)

ATF, like any other oil, will not last a lifetime. All oils become contaminated from the breakdown of the moving parts they are designed to lubricate. Oils also oxidized with time. Contamination and oxidization are accelerated from the presence of moisture and a breakdown of it's lubricating and detergent additives due to exposure to heat and cold extremes.

If you have over 200K miles and have never changed your ATF, and your trany appears to function properly, consider yourself lucky. That is the exception, not the norm. This being said, I subscribe to the the school of thought not to do a full flush if the trany has over 100K miles. The detergents in new ATF may dislodge too much crud, leading to blockage and increased filter restriction. It is best to do a couple drain/refill every 5K miles or so with a filter change before doing the flush. If you do decide to do a flush, don't take it to a trany shop who are likely to use a high pressure machine to flush out the ATF - this also can dislodge too much crud.

You don't need to use WS fluid. Amsoil and Valvoline MaxLife are two reputable and proven WS replacement fluids.

It's difficult, without doing an oil analysis, to say when to flush the ATF. You can't go wrong going by the 60K recommendation by Toyota for an ES that tows.

For the Toyota products in my household, I do an ATF flush every 80K with Valvoline MaxLife, including the Tacoma and ES350 which came with WS. A retired ATF mechanic with a high reputation over on the Tacoma Forums has a lot to say about WS fluid.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/...on-now.331521/
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/141
http://www.upmpg.com/lubricationnews..._deteriorates/
https://www.quora.com/Should-you-cha...smission-fluid