Hi Guys/Gals, a little help here. My 2013 has about 62K mikes on it and I am bringing it in for spark plugs replacement this weekend. I have been doing oil and brake fluid changes myself. So I am just wondering, other than these two, are there any other fluids I need to replace at this time or ever? Thanks!

 

Those spark plugs will last beyond twice the mileage you currently have, and be just as good as they are today. Many car owners go over 200k miles and never replace the spark plugs with no issues or decreased fuel mileage.

Replacing the spark plugs at 60k miles is 'Required under the terms of the Emission Control Warranty'. Therefore, if you are not concerned with voiding the Emission Control Warranty, then there is no need to replace the spark plugs. I personally would not replace the spark plugs and save the $500-$600 that is usually charged.

At 60k miles you will want to change the engine oil and oil filter. Also, replace the brake fluid if you plan on keeping the car for many years to come. You should have the cabin air filter and engine air filter checked to see if they need replacing. Everything else will be inspections, which may find other things that are needed, e.g. brake pads, etc.

► http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/MY1..._GS350_WSG.pdf (See Page 55)

 

A local Toyota dealer is quoting me $220 plus tax to change the spark plugs, which I think is a reasonable price. I know the manual says just 'check' differential fluid, but I don't recall it ever requires to be replaced. Same for transmission fluid. So I am just wondering if I ever need to replace differential, transmission fluids (any other fluids I am not aware of) etc. Thanks.

 

Personally, I'd save the $220. It will be money just thrown away. If you just want to spend $220, go buy yourself something you'll use or enjoy.

If you are planning on keeping the car well past 100k miles I'd replace the transmission fluid sometime just before 100k miles. The differential gear oil is fine.

 

Thanks! I guess I will table it for now and change everything at around 100K. Love this car so I plan to keep it for a long time. Just took a 2K road trip...enjoyed every bit of it. Thanks.

 

The problem is not that the plugs don't last, it's that if you keep them in there for too long, they are prone to seize. Then when it comes time to actually have to replace them, they will be next to impossible to get out.

I don't disagree on postponing it a bit, maybe 96k-100k miles, but don't skimp on this.

 

Mileage alone is not the only determining factor in which there is a higher probability of having a seized spark plug. An engine may have a seized spark plug after only 10K miles, whereas most engines will not have a seized spark plug after they've been used for 250k miles.

It is almost exclusively the DIYers that sometimes run into problems with a seized spark plug, because they don't have the proper tools and/or the know-how. Lexus technicians have the tools and are trained to know how to remove spark plugs.

 

Cooling system flush and fill should be considered too!

 

I did my automatic transmission fluid at 61,000 miles. I was only able to get 2 quarts out at a time, so I changed it 3 times in the last 2 weeks. The original fluid was very dark coming out, but it was still acceptable. It was not burned. If going by color alone, I would say that it needs to be changed. I didn't want to wait for 100,000 miles. I have a few observations:
1. I bought a scanner that would let me monitor the fluid temperature. I checked for overfill at 104 degrees F as recommended.

2. When I changed the fluid, the transmission was hotter than 104 degrees, so I knew that the level would be lower with new cooler fluid being installed. I took out 2 quarts and less than a pint more. When I put that extra amount in, it was overfilled at 104 degrees, so that extra must have been the expansion amount when the fluid gets hotter.

3. I noticed that when driving, my fluid temperature is about 190 to 200 degrees normally, which I thought was high. When I changed the fluid, the temperature was about the same temperature as the old fluid when driving the same distance. I also wondered about installing an auxiliary transmission cooler, but I can't find where the transmission lines connect to the transmission. Since they are not on the sides like normal, I assume they must be on top. I don't know at this point.

4.I watched quite a few YOUTUBE videos before I got the courage to change it. My dealership would not do it at 60,000 miles, and I heard stories ranging from waiting until 120,000 miles, or it never needs to be changed, or the first fluid has an additive in it, and will smell funny. All I saw was dirty fluid that needed to be changed. I noticed that when I removed the second drain plug. the little straw inside the pan did not come out like in the video. That is the upper level of the fluid when it gets hot. In the video, it takes a 5 mm allen wrench to remove that straw, but on my newer car there was no place for an allen key to go in. That told me that the straw was not intended to come out anymore. That must be an improvement over the original design.

5.Each time I change the fluid, it comes out cleaner and cleaner, and the car shifts better as well. I must admit that I made an error when I did the job the first time. I had no fluid leaks before I opened the drain plugs. I thought I could reuse the washers like on old drain plugs, but I learned quickly that you cannot. Within 2 days after the change, I noticed a puddle of fluid under the car. I knew something was wrong. I bought extra fluid and decided to buy the 2 small crush gaskets for the drain plugs just in case. I was also hoping that I didn't overfill it, but was fairly sure I hadn't. When I tore it all down again, I discovered that the main drain plug was merely hand tight again, and all fluid was slowly dripping from that crush gasket. I lost 1/2 pint, but it hadn't affected the shifting at that point.

6. The crush gaskets have 2 different sides, meaning one side goes to the pan, and the other side mates with the plug. One side surface is very flat, and the other side is designed to bend when it is torqued down. It collapses and never springs back when the plug is removed. I know now that these drain plug gaskets have to be replaced every time the plug is removed. They are about $3.50 each at the dealership, and well worth the price. I put the crush side towards the pan, and flat side near the plug. So far, I haven't had any more leaks.

I learned a lot from doing this, and I'll do a better job next time.

 

Thanks for the writeup and will be doing this soon on a 2013 GS350.

Are there crush gaskets for the fill plug and do you have the part numbers?
I found 2 "gaskets" for the transmission and the different part numbers are 35178-30010 and 12157-10010.

Thanks for anyone's input.

 

Update: Did a drain and refill on a 2013 GS350 non Fsport, 6 speed auto, ~58k miles.
Pretty straight forward, here are a few pointers and will do it again 2 more times @ 2500 mile intervals.

I did not use Toyota WS but Amsoil Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid. It is compatible with Toyota WS and is synthetic. I do not believe Toyota WS is a full synth, but I will most likely be keeping the car for at least another 60k miles and might as well not do this again for awhile.

1) Put the car on ramps overnight. Cooled down for over 12 hours, so the trans fluid cooled too.
Yes, the car is at an angle due to the incline on ramps, but I was putting in what was taken out, and wasn't going to purchase a ScanGauge, TechStream, or short the ODB2 to monitor the trans fluid and open the check valve.
2) Exactly 3 quarts of old trans fluid was drained out.
The fluid was dark, did not smell burnt and still had a little bit of red. The car never had the trans fluid replaced before in the past 58k miles. That tells me the fluid was still decent judging by the color and smell, but only an oil analysis will be accurate.
3) The fill plug did not have a metal gasket. It had a rubber o-ring. So left the o-ring as is and did not replace it.
4) Drain plug metal washer is part number 35178-30010.
5) Pumped back exactly 3 quarts of trans fluid.

The only issue I really had was removing and reinstalling the plastic cover covering the transmission.
I had to unbolt the passenger side "crossmember bolt" in order to remove that side of the plastic cover. That allowed the metal crossmember to be moved down a little so that the trans plastic cover can slide in/out.

 

This is far from the truth.. I thought the same thing u tim my spark plug in cylinder 1 failed at 74k miles. One brand new short block and a brand new head later I'm here to tell you..... change your spark plugs at 60k like recommended.

 

A spark plug failing and actually causing engine damage is unique and extremely rare to the nth degree - probably less than 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance. Of the over 1 billion vehicles in use in the world on any given day it is highly unlikely even a single spark plug will fail which causes engine damage. You have a better chance of winning the lottery every month for the rest of your life, getting a hole-in-one on each par 3 hole for the next 100 rounds of golf you play, being hit by lightning every single day and surviving to be interviewed on your local news, and having sex with your choice of super models until you die of a prolonged erection...

 

Usually I'd agree, but there have been two GS350 at my dealer (albeit 3rd generations) that have needed serious engine work after spark plugs basically imploded

 

I planned on doing my spark plugs at 60k miles as well, not sure if it will be DIY'able, but generally speaking is $220 that OP posted a good price for spark plug replacements? I know the plugs themselves are pretty inexpensive, I guess its the labour involved and the tuning process afterwards?