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I just did the drain and fill #1 on my 08 GS 350 AWD with 134k miles. My first to second shift was noticeable, but now after the fluid change, it is smooth. The entire transmission feels smoother. I will continue with doing 3 drain and fills, and I will do the transmission filter on my 3rd time.
So being the owner of an 09 GSh w 66k miles, do you recommend even bothering with tranny fluid change at some point?
My wife has a 400H, which is CVT as well. With 66k, it's not really a big worry. I just changed my wife's 400H at 162k miles. It came out dark, wheras the rear motor is still red. I would say 100k miles is a okay time to change the CVT fluid.
My wife has a 400H, which is CVT as well. With 66k, it's not really a big worry. I just changed my wife's 400H at 162k miles. It came out dark, wheras the rear motor is still red. I would say 100k miles is a okay time to change the CVT fluid.
Nice, sounds like I got 30-40k miles before I should even think about it. Do you or anyone on here have a guide for switching out the tranny oil on our CVT hybrids? I’m sure it differs a bit from the standard 350.
Nice, sounds like I got 30-40k miles before I should even think about it. Do you or anyone on here have a guide for switching out the tranny oil on our CVT hybrids? I’m sure it differs a bit from the standard 350.
First, thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I read it several times and then did the transmission drain and fill (3 times, about 3.5 qtrs each time) on my wife's 2007 GS350 AWD with 104,500 miles on it. Here's what I did based on what was in this thread and other threads.
1) Got 12 qtrs of Toyota ATF WS (on ebay for about $100), 14 mm socket for drain plug, 10 mm socket for 2 bolts for cover over the fill bolt, 15/16" socket (24 mm) for fill bolt, 5 mm hex bit for overflow bolt, torque wrench for tightening bolts (29 ft lbs for fill bolt, 15 ft lbs for both the drain and overfill bolts), bucket with pint and quart markings to determine how much drained and gloves. Since the Lexus has a forward slant, I put a 4 foot level on the driver door handle and back door handle to see where the level bubble would be when the car is level. The level bubble was not between the two level lines. The left side of the level bubble was just touching the right line of the 2 level lines (car has a forward slant). Laser Temperature tool.
2) Jacked up front of car using a low profile 3 ton jack positioned on center of cross beam that runs from front wheel to front wheel. My Lexus had a slighty raised level spot in the middle of the beam. Then I put stand jacks on each side of the car on the front jacking points just behind the front wheels. I eventually jacked up the back of the car but not yet. Since the drain bolt is in the back of the fluid pan, I read that jacking up the front but not the back would result in more fluid being drained from the pan.
3) My job got easier right away since 1) the plastic undercarriage guard protecting the transmission was missing and 2) the cover on the fill bolt was also missing. This made my job easier since I didn't have to remove either one or put it back. The missing covers are probably a good reason for doing these jobs yourself since both are missing and would cost money to replace.
4) Used 15/16 " socket (similar to 24 mm socket) to loosen 24 mm fill bolt (WS on it) on driver side of transmission above the fluid pan. I got it lose fairly easily. I took it out so I would get a better drain from the pan. If you can't remove the fill bolt you are done. Do not drain the fluid out of the engine before being sure you can get the fill bolt out.
5) Used 14 mm socket to remove drain bolt from bottom of pan. I drained 3.6 quarts from pan into a bucket with quantity markings on the side (pint and quart markings). Let it drain for awhile to get as much out as possible. Put drain bolt back into the pan
6) Procedure for filling fluid. If not already removed, remove "WS" fill bolt that was already loosened. Using a funnel and 34" of a 1/2 OS 3/8 IS clear tubing. (34" tube will go from top of plastic engine cover to just below the fill hole). I feed the tubing from the right back side of the engine compartment down to the fill hole area. From under the car put the tube into the fill hole. Using the funnel and tubing, poured 3.6 qts (same amount removed from the transmission) of Toyoto ATF WS into the transmission. Put "WS" fill bolt back in hole and tighten. Unless you have a nice pressure fluid pump, this made the job of filling the transmission so much easier than having to hand pump the fluid into the transmission from under the car.
7) Started the car and let it run for 30 seconds between the first and second fill. I read in one of the posts that the transmission exchanges 1 quart from the pan to the transmission every 7 seconds. So for 30 seconds of running the engine, the new 3.6 qts of fluids (probably a little over 4 qts total in the pan) would be pumped out of the pan and into the transmission. Between the 2nd and 3rd drain and fill, I ran the engine for 50 seconds.
I repeated steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 twice more for a total of 3 drain and fills. Besides the 3.6 qts removed the first time, 3.3 qts and 3.4 qts were removed on the subsequent drains.
8) On the final fill I added a little more than I had drained out. I drained out a total of about 10.3 qts. I filled a total of 10.6 qts.
9) Jacked up back of car to make car level. The rear jacking point is the flat bottom of the rear differential which is in the middle of the car in the rear. The rear differential has some fins on it if you are looking for it. I made sure this was the jacking point and a thread on this site had pictures and re-stated that the bottom of the rear differential was the jacking point. After jacking the rear end, I put the rear end on jacks stands on the each side of the car at the side jacking points just in front of the rear wheels. Be careful when you do this.
From # 1, I leveled the car on jacks so on a 4 foot level rested on the driver door handle and the back door handle the level bubble was just touching the right line of the 2 level lines (forward slant to car).
10) Check ATF WS fluid level in transmission: Started car. Let it run. Using a laser temperature tool I keep shooting the temperature of the transmission pan. The temperature of the fluid has to get to 104 degrees to test for over fill ( and remain between 104 and 116 degrees) . From reading 2 different threads on this site, both times the laser temperature readings were 3 degrees less than the OCB readings done by the car. As a result when the laser temp reading was 101, I removed the overfill bolt with the 5 mm bit. Fluid started to drain out. After a short time it slowed to a trickle which is the sign to put the overfill bolt back in. About 1 pint total drained out. This was about .2 of a quart more than I expected but certainly a reasonable amount.
11) Tightened all bolts to spec with a torque wrench. Fill bolt 29 ft lbs, drain bolt and overflow bolt to 15 ft lbs. I reused the gaskets for each bolt because I didn't have the correct gaskets on hand and they all looked in good shape. The 24mm fill bolt has a rubber o ring, the drain bolt has a crush washer but smaller than the ones used on the differentials and the overflow bolt has some type of gasket that is different than the others. I will check for leaks and if there is a leak I will replace the gasket.
Glad I did this. Even though records (my wife bought the car with 78k miles on it, now has 104.5 k miles) didn't show the transmission fluid as being changed, it appears it must of been changed at some point. The undercarriage plastic transmission cover was missing. The cover for the fill bolt was missing. And the transmission fluid while very dark and smelly was not as bad as I expected. But before the fluid change I could slightly feel the the transmission shifting gears. After the changes, I couldn't feel any shift changes at all - none. So I think it was worth doing.
Also the 1 pint of fluid I drained from the overfill drain was very, very pink. So I think the fluid in the transmission is very good and should protect the transmission for a long time.
Last edited by Folski; Oct 31, 2019 at 07:19 AM.
Reason: clearification
Thank you for the detailed write up. I did this once already. I need to do it 2 more times.
why did you decide to not change the transmission filter? Right now, I am thinking of changing the filter on my 3rd guild change. I have 137k miles now.
I didn't change the filter for a several reasons. First, my wife's transmission was actually running fine with no issues. I did the drain and flushes as more of a preventive maintenance measure. Second, I had changed the differential oil on both the front and rear differential and the oils were in very good shape. So I speculated that the transmission fluid would also be in pretty good condition which it was. Third, I've read a lot of threads and watched a lot of youtube video's on changing transmission fluid and changing the transmission filter on a Lexus GS350. In some of the videos people actually cut open the filter they removed. In just about every case, the filter was still in very good shape and working fine. Fourth, this car had only 104,500 miles on it. Most of the filter changes were done on cars with a lot more miles. Bottomline, based on these reasons, I just didn't think it was necessary at this time.
With 137k miles on your car, changing the filter wouldn't be a bad idea.
Last edited by Folski; Oct 31, 2019 at 07:28 AM.
Reason: grammar
Folks i am looking for place where to find more information about which parts from gs300 or gs350 fit the gs450h third generation. any ideas? suggestions? need lots of them on my new 2008 gs450h
man you’r just an absolute amazing thanks for your time an effort to share your experience with such a details , I have 08 Lexus gs350 at 110mi and it seems like the car never performed any transmission service at all, so I’m planning to do my second drain n fill and decided to use Amsoil atf this time, I used Toyota ws fluid at my first drain n fill about a month ago 07/01/2021 and I only drained about 3qrts , so I like your idea of not introducing too much new fluid at once👌,,my second drain n fill will be on 08/10/2021, and by the way the car still shifts pretty good I don’t have any problem at all so far, I was kinda scared to do it because the first drain n fill the fluid comes very black which makes me think twice, I already got my filter and filter o ring , pan gasket, would you recommend me buying trans bolt/washer/gaskets all these kind stuff or the shop will provide it for me? Or the old ones should do it? And if yes what exactly do I need? So I scheduled an appointment with a DR. Trans specialist transmission shop, hopefully they know what they’re doing lol, I also want to thank you again for sharing your thoughts and experience, if you don’t mind to share your experience as of now how many mileage you got on the car ? How often your next drain n fill? and when are you going to replace the filter again? How’s the trans acting? Cheers mate🍻👍🏼
Originally Posted by ZenDIY
Great DIY thread. Thank you, Alchemist and others for the info here!
I did not service my 2007 GS350 RWD transmission for 151,000 miles. For the past 4 months, the transmission was not shifting as smoothly as I'd like in slow traffic (10 - 30 MPH). I thought about replacing the fluid, but saw the controversies about doing this, so I held off.
The other day the check VCS check engine light came on. I used the Blue Driver OBD-II tool to read the trouble code, which was P0894 – Transmission Component Slipping (or in two gears at once).
I briefly talked with one of the Lexus service reps, and I asked if I should change the fluid, and he suggested that I should not. He said the fluid may be holding everything together and replacing it could cause the transmission to fail. Apparently, he was not an expert, but I thought about what he said because I have heard of transmissions failing after a fluid change.
But why the failures. Is this a myth? Should I be afraid to change the fluid?
I already had a transmission fail in a 96 ES300, costing me $4,000 for a rebuild, so I wasn’t sure what to do.
I decided to replace the fluid, clear the code, and see if the check engine light comes back on.
Using the DIY instructions in this thread, I replaced the transmission fluid and filter. Success!
There was virtually no metal in the pan, so I am hopeful that replacing the fluid will fix the problem. I replaced 3.2 quarts of smelly, black fluid with 3.0 quarts of Toyota WS fluid. I still needed a bit more fluid, so I ended up adding 0.3 quarts of Valvoline Max Life Dextron III/Mercon (which said it was compatible with Toyota transmissions).
The transmission shifts smoother again, and the check engine light has stayed off.
A transmission flush has two major factors that can cause automatic transmission problems;
· A transmission flush only changes the transmission fluid, NOT the filter, similar to changing your engine oil WITHOUT changing the engine's oil filter. Just as with your motor, transmissions generate fine metal debris that is captured by the magnet and filter and needs to be removed before transmission problems or failure occurs.
· New transmission fluid has a high percentage of detergent in them that keeps the transmission's internals very clean. If transmission maintenance is neglected, which I'm sure 90% of you reading this are guilty of, myself included, then transmission fluid breaks down. If the quality of the transmission fluid is allowed to continue to break down from lack of service it can leave a hard varnish-like residue that builds up on the internal parts. When that much new ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) is introduced all at once the detergents in the new fluid can cause the hard residue to flake off allowing it to travel throughout the transmission and become lodged between parts with close tolerances such as valves or solenoids. It is best in these cases to perform a regular transmission service where the filter is changed, the pan and magnet are cleaned of metal shavings and fine debris and only a 3rd of the fluid is changed at one time.
· If you have never performed maintenance on the transmission (like mine), and the transmission has 150,000 miles on it, replacing all of the fluid at once may be too slippery for the clutch plates to hold.
· For me, the transmission worked well for 140,000 miles. I should have replaced the fluid at this point.
Thank you for the detailed instructions on how to replace the transmission fluid.
I would refine the instructions a bit:
1) Check that you can loosen the WS fill bolt before you start (nice tip).
2) Hopefully, you can put the car on stands so that it is level.
3) Open the regular drain bolt (not the Check bolt), and measure how much fluid comes out.
4) If replacing the filter, remove the pan, and catch the other fluid. Clean the pan and notice if there is much metal in the pan (mine did not have any after 150,000 miles), which is a good sign. Replace the filter, the gasket, and reinstall the pan. Reinstall the drain bolt.
5) Using a hand pump, pump the fluid into the WS fill hole on the side of the transmission. There are two small bolts holding on a cover on the side of the transmission that hides the WS fill bolt. Remove the two bolts and cover, and you will find a large bolt with WS stamped on the bolt. I used a 24 mm wrench to remove the bolt.
6) I liked the idea someone had to feed a tube from the engine down to the fill hole. You can then use a funnel to add the fluid. I plan to try this technique for the next fill.
7) When adding fluid, add a little more fluid than what you took out. I needed about 3.3 quarts (with a filter change for an RWD transmission). Do not fill until fluid comes out of the WS fill hole (this would be way too much fluid).
8) I replaced the WS bolt for the level check.
9) Be sure to start out with a cold engine and be sure to test the temperature of the engine. Do NOT skip this step, and YES, it is important to know the temperature of the transmission fluid.
10) If you are attempting to do this with a hot engine, then the only thing you can do is to replace the exact amount of fluid as you took out, in which case you will not know if the fluid level is correct. When the engine is hot, a LOT more fluid will come out of the Check hole, and you would need a special tool that Lexus sells that you attach to the Check hole, which has an adjustable straw which you can set based on the transmission temperature. This complicates the process and it is not necessary if you can start with a cold engine.
11) To test the temperature, jumper pins 4 and 13 on the OBD-II connector (under the steering wheel).
12) With a cold engine, start the engine. If you jumped the pins on the OBD-II connector, the dash will show you are in the VCS Diag process. The engine will be faster, and several lights will be flashing. Follow the procedure already documented in this thread, shifting from P to D, then through all the gears, reverse, and then back and forth between N and D for at least 6 seconds. Then put the shift into P.
13) After about 5 or 6 minutes, the D light came on, even though the shift was in park (P). Note: as soon as I removed the wire, the radio came on, and it appeared to come out of the VCS DIAG routine, so I left the wire in place throughout this process.
14) Once the D light comes on (after about 5 or 6 minutes), with the engine still running, remove the check drain plug using an Allen wrench. Hopefully, some fluid will drain out. If no fluid drains out, then you need to stop, add more fluid, allow the engine to cool down, and do the check level test again.
15) If some fluid comes out, wait until just a trickle comes out. The longer you wait, the temperature will increase. So as soon as just a trickle comes out, reinsert the Check bolt (with the Allen wrench).
16)AFTER you have tightened the Check bolt, you can THEN stop the engine. Tighten all the bolts, and you're done. If you stop the engine before reinserting the Check bolt, then the fluid will drain out (oops), and you need to start over.
Overall, I am glad that I replaced the fluid once (after 150,000 miles). I wish I did it sooner (at 120,000 miles). On the next oil change, I plan to do another fluid replacement. I do NOT plan to replace all of the fluid at once for two reasons:
1. If you have not performed regular maintenance on a transmission (like mine), then there is likely a buildup of a varnish-like residue. Replacing all of the fluid at once can cause this varnish residue to get lodged somewhere causing a malfunction, requiring a rebuild.
2. There are several clutch plates in the transmission which will wear over time. If the new fluid is too slippery, then the clutch plates may slip.
I will try to find some balance, replacing 3 quarts at a time (maybe on the next oil change).
Last edited by User 122922; Jul 31, 2021 at 08:12 AM.
Did my first drain and fill today. Tools: 24mm to remove fill plug.14 mm to remove drain plug. New drain plug and washer. Fluid pump. Bucket with fluid measurement markings. Ramps. 4 quarts of Lexus WS ATF
Did my first drain and fill today. Tools: 24mm to remove fill plug.14 mm to remove drain plug. New drain plug and washer. Fluid pump. Bucket with fluid measurement markings. Ramps. 4 quarts of Lexus WS ATF
