Brake fluid bleeding or flushing
 

I DIY most of my vehicle maintenance (oil, brakes, coolant, filters, etc.) so I figured the brake fluid wouldn't be an issue on the GX. However, while searching for the proper DIY proceduire I found a number of posts that claim some Lexus models can ONLY be flushed at the dealer with Techstream.

Is this true for the GX or will the typical DIY work (pump brake and hold down, release bleeder valve to bleed fluid, close valve release brake petal and repeat)?

One thing i noticed on the GX is that the brake pedal will not presurize the lines if you pump it with the car off. That itself tells me I may be in for a surprise if I try the DIY method...

Hoping someone has done this before I start trying methods. Thanks!!

I have scanned every thread here at least once if not 2 to 3+ times. I don't recall seeing this posted for the GX 460.

Please let us know what your findings are.

Let us know. I'm interested of doing it as well.

Yes, It's possible. I did it once on my 2011 GX after I replaced the rotors and pads. There may be an old thread by Koz on the topic. The fronts are bled traditionally by pumping the brake pedal. The rears require the ABS pump to move the fluid (power on, hold the brake pedal.)

Thanks! I will give this a try. I did not find the post by Koz but i'll keep looking.

Do you also have to turn on power when you are using a pressure of vacuum bleeder?

Also in some cars they specifically tell you not to over-press the pedal when bleeding since it may damage the seal in the master cylinder, not sure about the GX, don't know enough about it; yet :-)!

Post your experience, mine is not due yet but still interested.

DIY Turkey Baster brake fluid change of GX460
 

Wonder if anyone has done DIY brake fluid change on a 2014 GX460?

After un-capping the brake fluid reservoir, there is internal cone-shaped plastic cover with a tiny hole in the middle of it.
Therefore the Turkey baster is unable to draw old fluid out of the reservoir. A thin needle is needed to draw old fluid out.
I searched and have not find a Youtube video on DIY brake fluid change of GX460.
Wonder if you guys has a better way changing the brake fluid?
thanks.

Honestly, pay the dealer or an indy $100 or so to properly flush/bleed the system including the ABS actuator which requires Techstream IIRC.

Will do, thanks a lot for the advice..

It's around $200 for me, but I agree on this one. I just let the professionals do my brake fluid flush.

I did a brake bleeding service on my 14 GX with 110K miles, the Toyota techstream software utilizes the abs pump to bleed each wheel. With new DOT3 Synthetic fluid and rotors and pads in good shape, I noticed a huge improvement. Almost as good my Camry Hybrid.

Did you post a thread on that? I remember this was discussed in another thread. I'd like to do this sometime myself.

I didn't, but it is really easy to do. Took me 10 minutes. Here is what I did.

1. Buy 1 32 oz of Dot 3 Synthetic brake fluid, and a turkey baster.
2. Use turkey baster to suck out old fluid in the reservoir
3. Add new fluid to the Full line
4. This probably isn't necessary and not part of the techstream process, but I connected a clear tube and cracked open the bleeder screw and the RR caliper, turned the ignition on and held the brake to the floor. This pumped the new fluid out into the system. Only do this for a few seconds because the fluid level with drop quickly.
5. Then I closed the bleed screw and filled up the reservoir.
6. Now I opened techstream and went to the ABS menu and selected Air Bleeding.
7. I started again with the RR caliper. The instructions say to open the bleeder screw and press Next, within 20 seconds the abs pump will push fluid out. If successful the next step is to close the bleeder screw and press Next again.
8. Repeat this step for the LR caliper.
9. For the FR and FL calipers you don't have to open the bleeders. All you need to do is follow the instructions. Once you select FL or FR to bleed press next and the instructions say to hold the brake pedal down and the pedal with sink to floor after the pump does magic. Release pedal and press next if I remember correctly and you're done.

It was the easiet brake service I've ever done.

I did the pressure bleeder method last night on all 4 corners without issue at 10 psi. I did not have to start the vehicle up or do anything special to get the brake fluid to bleed out of the rear calipers. I used a turkey baster initially to remove about half of the old brake fluid out of the reservoir prior to using the pressure bleeder.

I'm assuming if I had done the conventional 2-man bleeder or speed bleeders, I would have needed to start the engine up to perform the bleed on the rear calipers.

Video of fluid coming out of rear caliper using pressure bleeder:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...a3ea7ddf6b.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...5577853a64.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...c68679228d.jpg

did you bleed in a particular order? like passenger rear first (typically, bleeding from the farthest caliper from the brake master cylinder goes first). Your fluid looks clean, were you doing basic maintenance or troubleshooting something?