Hello dear fellow Lexus owner,
This is my first post here after joining Club Lexus. I have in a problem that I can't figure out. I had a transmission fluid change done as a part of my 70K maintenance. Well, after the change, car lost significant power and will not go into 7 or 8 gear when I try to paddle shift in S+ mode. It shifts to 7 and 8 gears under normal mode and no scan codes are received from the car either.

So, I took the car to a local Lexus dealership and they were more bent on charging me $650 for another transmission fluid change citing they cannot duplicate the problem. So, I did the next best thing since Toyota owns Lexus and they did a fluid level adjustment. I figured they would know what was going on. Well, seems not really since I'm still having the same problem. I called the same Toyota service back, letting them know my problem still persists, to which they referred me back to Lexus. At this point I'm at a loss and already spent over $700 on for the work described.

I'm afraid to add more fluid to the transmission and Toyota thinks the level is correct. Should I reset the ECU? Should I set the car on fire? I'm at total loss of what could be the problem and any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks a ton,
Chubacca

 

What is the exact fluid they used? Toyota WS?

 

Yes tentatively, the mechanic who originally did the work said he used OEM fluid but I didn't check with my own eyes.

 

Did they perform a Transmission Flush or Drain or refill? $650 for either is ridiculous. I paid $160 for a drain and refill.

Did Lexus do the fluid service? Go back to the place that performed the service and have them correct the issue.

 

Some people may not agree with me here, but I never do a transmission fluid exchange on these cars. They are very finicky and I have learned my lesson from a previous Toyota that I had. It basically made my transmission go bad. I vowed never to do it again. I have owned many Lexus vehicles since then and drove some for over 150,000 miles without a single issue. Just my opinion.

 

Thank you for the replies. It was a fluid change and not a flush, as part of my 70K maint job. And local Lexus service here are the worst and they charged me $189 as their "diagnostic fee" which is ridiculous itself. I'm supposed to stop by the mechanic who initially did the change but not sure what he will do since nothing registers on a scan tools. I will keep you guys updated after seeing him next week.

But yeah, I'm learning the hard way about not changing the transmission fluid and best transmission fluid is the old fluid. I essentially paid someone to break my car.

 

given that you are having problems and it sounds as though you had the drain and fill performed by an indie shop, although it's a bit unclear, so if you went to a toyota dealership, my apologies. anyhow, it may be very well worth it to pay the lexus dealership to attempt to fix the problem because it'll almost surely be less expensive than purchasing a new vehicle. i know the market is nuts right now, but it's going to be easy to sell a car with a mechanical defect that is significant.

the adage that the least expensive car to own (when discussing mechanical problems and such) is the car you currently own.

just food for thought, although you know your car best, so do as you see fit. best of luck from a guy who is having transmission (i think?) problems currently and am going to lexus tomorrow to try to resolve the issue.

 

Hello davyjordi,
That's the thing, I took my car to a Lexus service and they said they can do a fluid change again but couldn't even replicate the problem. I don't mind spending money to fix the car but I don't have any confidence in these people as they seem only want to just rip me off ($650 for a fluid change is unheard of). And don't be sorry that I went to a Toyota service instead afterwards, since Lexus is made by Toyota if you didn't know. My last resort after going to my regular mechanic next week is to try another Lexus service in different city.

Good luck tomorrow with your car.

 

Well if you went to an indie shop and it seems they didn't follow the correct procedure or level setting. Would pay Lexus now and have them do it over again and hopefully correct the issue.

But, what doest make sense to me if that you say you cant go into 7th or 8th gear in Sport+ in manual mode, but it does in automatic and the dealership seems to get the car into those gears. What speed are you trying to engage in these gears? Is the car making a beep noise when trying to shift into 7th or 8th?

Either way best of luck.

 

Taking a car to a Toyota dealer cause "Lexus is owned by Toyota" does not make any sense. But what's done is done. This is a matter of finding a better dealer. Ask for references or read reviews. Larger dealers might be better. Remember "dEaLerZ" are mostly filled with low skilled inexperienced kids--don't worship a dealer thinking they're perfect. Often times jobs like fluid changes are handled/mismanaged by the lower end service employees (kids/teens) and something like a trans fluid job likely has procedures that have to be meticulously followed. This usually takes care/meticulousness that a young kid does not have.

To me sounds like not enough fluid or air in the fluid.

 

Sorry to hear about it, but do keep us updated on your situation... If a fluid change is what is suggested by the dealer, then IMO, there is no harm trying it again, but do it under your watchful eyes this time. Coz unless they took off the transmission oil pan and somehow messed up the solenoids or used wrong transmssion fluid, there really is very little that can go wrong with a fluid change, given your mileage is only 70k, There is also no harm in trying the battery reset procedure, by disconnecting the battery for 15mins and reconfigure back the radio. And in the event that the fluid level is too low, better to get this done sooner... Good luck!

 

Maybe they didn't properly fill it with enough fluid?


The above video shows the correct way to fill the transmission, and then check the fluid level by getting the transmission fluid up to a temperature range and then letting the excess fluid (which has expanded due to the heat) drip out.

 

What speed are you at when you try to manually shift from 6 to 7 and 7 to 8?

If you’re not going fast enough the car won’t up shift even in manual mode.

 

Unless you left the car overnight or if they have a way to quickly cool the trans fluid, there is no way they would be able to accurately check the level at the recommend temps. For the 200t, the fluid adjustment temp is under 100 deg F; around 130 deg F for the other engines.

 

In my experience, 8th gear is locked out under 53 MPH. 7th is in the low 40's I think? Will need to test.

I'd say using manual mode is only advisable if you're driving spiritedly.