I would think the shop foreman would be interested in the fact the mechanics have no clue on what they are doing....Maybe they should read the manual.

 

I just did my transmission fluid for the first time on my 2008 RX400h. It has 120k miles which is a little late according to all the Lexus dealers I have spoke with who say 100k is a good interval. Although the manual says to inspect and change only when needed but the Lexus dealers told me if I want to change on interval--100k is a good interval. 3,9qt without towing package and 4.1qt with towing package according to the vehicle specs the dealer printed for me. Lot's of good info on this thread but one thing I want to add. I did the change and noticed right afterward that the transmission was making a knocking sound. I put more fluid in and the noise stopped. Originally I drained a little over 4qts, and put back in a little over 4qts?? Not sure what went wrong there, but as soon as I added another .2 to .4 quarts the noise went away. I think the first time when I pumped the fluid in I was waiting for it to start running out just a little.
The second time I really pumped the fluid into the fill and it was running out more when I secured the fill plug back in. So I recommend doing a heavy fill where the fluid is running out pretty good up until you screw the fill plug back on. The only reason I was afraid to do this the first time is that one of the Lexus techs said if you overfill it could give you a "hybrid overheat warning code".
Not sure if that is true, and I wouldn't see quite why that could happen unless the overheat is a pressure sensor or something? When I first drained it I cracked the fill plug first and it poured out of the plug, so either the difference in the oil being hot made it higher and flow out faster, or the factory fill is higher than what you can normally get by just pumping fluid in aftermarket (which makes me wonder if it's even possible to overfill). If the factory fill is more than you can ever put back in the tranny by pumping fluid in then it seems you could never really overfill the fluid? It's annoying that I can't check the level because obviously the first time I filled it was low since it made noise, and filling it up more made all the difference (noise totally went away). But now I am stuck wondering if it might be a tad bit low and cause excessive wear even though I pumped more than 4.1 qts in and the rest ran out. Like I said, on the second fill I did put the plug back in while there was at least twice the outflow as one the first time, so that must have made the difference in the level. Just annoying that there is basically no way to check to see where the level is on a dipstick.

 

sometimes I tighten plug loose, start engine run through the gears, and back to park and then open plug to make sure it is full...

 

Yeah, that's a good idea. I ended up going on a test drive for a few miles right after. Not the best idea. Then got back and heard the noise. I hope it didn't damage anything. I guess there's really no way to know besides ripping the tranny apart, or if I hear more noises later on.

 

So the first time I didn't have anything to measure the amount of fluid that came out (big mistake) instead I just followed the specs the dealer printed me which said 4.1qt's with tow package oil cooler. I just measured the amount of fluid I got out and it was 4.4qt's that came out. I have learned that the easy way to do this is just to measure how much came out and put exactly that same amount back in. Specs can be wrong as I learned the hard way.

 

Should be fine, by the way thanks for great video....

 

I just want to clarify that you should change the transmission fluid when it's cold, not after you just drive it off the highway. Toyota WS fluid expands when it gets to working temperature. It's possible more fluid will pour out from the fill hole when it's hot, and you think the factory overfilled the fluid. Measuring the volume of oil drains from the transmission drain hole have to take into account the temperature difference with the replacement oil. Somebody suggest measuring weight of the old oil instead.

 

I have done this at least 7 times, have not had to measure etc. Just fill to the top of hole until it overflows, than run it through the gears, and recheck...Don't make it more difficult than it really is. note I do it at least once a year or every 15k miles. I have 240k on the RX now.

 

And you are doing it correctly. Fill to the top, run through the gears, and recheck. What I mentioned is for people saw fluid drain out when they open the fill hole. The factory didn't over fill the fluid. The fluid drains out due to the expansion of fluid when hot.

 

7-18-20:

Thought I would post and update from 2016 on the above. Well 90,000 miles later it was drain and fill time. Have done it before so was a breeze. I am at 182,000 miles now.
However, I put a pound or two and had to lift it this time. 😁
Very interesting neither the front or back WS looked bad at all. Honestly looked slightly darker than new. The magnet on the back CVT drain plug had virtually zero metal , tiny flakes at best. Got 4.4 qts out of front and 2qts back.
Ambient temperature was 90* CVT, new WS and garage. Same went back in. I add about 1-2 ozs. to allow for removing the NPT barb plug and putting the fill plug back in. You loose a little.
Sooooo either I am lucky or maybe 90,000 is to soon? Either way it’s cheap insurance.
See ya in 90,000 miles. 😂😂

 

2006 RX400h AWD

CVT - Toyota WS
Transfer Case - Toyota WS
Rear Differential - 75w-90

Is this right? Missing anything/incorrect?

 

rear is run by electric motor. Just use WS. Where did you get the 75/90 from? The guy told you exactly what/where to use. Do you think you have a driveshaft running to the rear?

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...l#post11008668

 

Good day sirs.. this thread has been most helpful so thanks to all involved for great pics and links. My 2006 RX400H is nearing 191k and i wanted to drain and refill the atf ws however my bolts are rusty and old looking..

was wondering has anyone replaced the 10mm bolts altogether? what are the part numbers? Is there a different part number for the drain and fill bolts? I have already bought the washers suggested but i can't seem to find bolts on rock auto..

Much appreciated.

 

For transmission - Yes (the same)


For rear diff - NO