TLDR; two shops giving different opinions on fluid color for engine coolant, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Power steering is amber and not bright red, brake fluid is green/yellow and not clear, and coolant is orange and not pink/red (see pictures). Need opinions on whether I should re-flush each. Engine temp is fine, no issues braking or steering.

Reddish/amber power steering. I took this picture.

Green brake fluid. Taken by Indie shop 2

Coolant:
[img alt="Orange coolant. Taken by Indie shop 2.
"]https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clublexus.com-vbulletin/1480x2000/img_20260508_192534_c8e9adeddf1ac1088f38494a81a4d20d4c7bfc57.jpg[/img]
Orange coolant. Taken by Indie shop 2.

I took my 2003 LS430 with 160k miles to a highly rated indie shop (Indie Shop 1) near me (4.9 stars with ~1,000 reviews). I paid for power steering flush, engine coolant flush, and water-pump + timing belt replacement. I noticed after I got home there was a wire hanging right near the serpentine belt that didn't look right, but figured they broke a clip and I'd have to hide it somehow. See below:

Wire incorrectly routed by serpentine belt. Taken by Indie Shop 2.
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I also noticed a random bolt was loose near the front of the engine by a pulley. Like really loose, like almost completely falling out. I tightened it down but I didn't feel good about the work Indie Shop 1 did. It seemed apparent they were in over their head on this. Not to mention, they quoted me $12k total to replace the radiator that's on its way out, the AC clutch, the evaporator tucked under the dash, the front and rear struts, all 4 coil suspensions, and some radiator hoses. I denied those all since that was outrageous.

I recently took this vehicle to another place that specializes in Lexus/Toyota (Indie Shop 2) and again with very high ratings)) to pump all 8 quarts of the old transmission fluid out and replace it with 8 fresh quarts since the fluid was dirty, and Indie Shop 1 couldn't perform a tranny flush without completely dropping the pan and cleaning the magnet, resealing it, and then refilling it. Plus, Indie Shop 2 asked for $200 to flush the transmission and Indie Shop 1 wanted $850 to crack it open.

Anyways, Indie Shop 2 performed a free inspection, and they noticed the fluid colors seems off. The power steering is amber colored and not bright red, the brake fluid is green and not clear, and the coolant is orange. Indie Shop 2 saw I got the fluids changed literally 50 miles ago via the vehicle records and think Indie Shop 1 used cheaper fluids or maybe performed an incomplete flush service. They also confirmed the wire I saw dangling in front of the serpentine belt was definitely not supposed to be there and recommended I reroute it sooner rather than later so as not to harm the wire or serp belt. That's gonna be $300.

My instincts tell me Indie shop 2 is right, but I also have no idea what the fluid color is supposed to look like and technically I didn't pay for OEM fluids at Indie Shop 1. Should I give Indie Shop 1 a call to see if they actually performed the flushes properly with the correct OEM spec/equivalent fluid and also to call about the random serp wire? Should I get the fluids re-flushed? They warranty their work 36k miles or 3 years, whatever comes first.
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TBH, this is the reason why i dont bring my cars to dealer or other shops.
You dont know what fluids you are getting unless you actually do it.
Toyota/Lexus dealers around my area are starting to use aftermarket fluids such as "MP" Brand or "BG" so you just never know.
Do you wanna be sure the job gets done correctly? DO IT YOURSELF OR WATCH THE MECHANIC DO IT lol

Brake fluid any color is fine as long as its DOT3 or DOT4. Coolant im not sure but I only use pink or red toyota. ATF is tbiggest thing here, I would not put any aftermarket stuff on there. ATF WS ONLY
Power steering i use idemitsu PSF from car care nut. pretty easy, just use turkey baster and refill every oil change

 

Thanks for the feedback, I'll keep note of everything. I'm interested in doing these things in my own, but I have heard performing fluid flushes is more involved, especially coolant and brakes.
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I agree with the premise that if you want it done right, do it yourself, but this car is my daily driver so I can't afford to put it in an undriveable state. I don't have friends that are into cars to help me, so I'm at the mercy of interpreting Lexus' repair manual and YouTube videos that don't show precisely everything. Based on this, I'm not interested in touching the timing belt with no experience and risk destroying the engine (it would probably take me days to complalete too because of how careful I'd want to be), nor change fluids without having a professional do it with a warranty.

I have been doing what I can though, like changing the valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, spark plug tube seals, resealing half moons, replacing the PCV valve and gasket, hoses, etc. As someone who literally has never even changed the oil before then, that was plenty scary. I also replaced the side view mirrors, changed the oil, and other smaller stuff. Brakes aren't something I wanted to mess with, nor coolant, especially because I know coolant can be pretty hazardous and doing a flush is more difficult than just pumping stuff out based on my research.
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​​​​Part of owning this car is to allow me to learn maintenance on cars, but also I do need to have it driveable and so I have to balance between the two.

Indie Shop 2 used WS ATF for the transmission fluid, again they are very highly rated and specialize in Lexus. Indie Shop 1 was a "do all makes and models" shop.

Again, thank you for your input.

 

Coolant.
Drain from radiator (bottom of the car) > close it > put spill free funnel(amazon) on radiator> put pink/red coolant> start car, turn on HEAT Full blast Fan low> wait for Extreme heat from the vent > you done

I suck out brake fluids from master cylinder every oil change and I try to put same amount back. So fresh fluids everytime. This is a very easy to car to maintain fluid wise

 

That gives me more confidence, thank you!

 

I can say this much, 10 years ago I was baffled by the coolant. At any rate, it "is" pink (older vehicles it's red). But when the light hits it a certain way it looks orange. You can see prius forums with pics where the coolant looks orange. That puzzled me ten years ago.

The brake fluid does look amber at least to me and I've done it a gazillion times with DOT 3. On my other car which uses DOT 4,it looks clear. My wife's new GM, it's so clear you can't even see the level. So in my tiny sample of 2, DOT 4 appears clear, although it comes in colors.

Power steering not sure the only fluid I used was Mobil 1 and I didn't bother to look.

Brake fluid is a pet peeve. Go to a dealer they're only going to siphon it so that when you drive off, it's nice and amber. 2 days later it'll be black lol

edit It's amazing that dealers don't respect the customer enough to actually bleed at the calipers.

 

Maybe I'm not hip to new products and/or formulations, but when did brake fluid become green?!?

 

see that's what I'm saying. Apparently coolant is red/pink, same with power steering, and brake is clear. There's not a whole lot of consensus out there other than use the right spec, but what I am learning is you can't tell the spec off the color which is annoying but makes sense.

 

Please do not listen to people that quote car care nut and never wrenched on a car. You 100% can tell by the color of fluids that is how you tell the overall health and condition of them.

Brake fluid is green when it has been exposed to oxygen moisture, copper brake down etc and has degraded. That looks like coolant bradland raises and excellent point.

Your power steering system is transmission fluid dex/merc III only do not use standard power steering fluid regardless of what anyways tells you. I use valvoline have used it for over 10 years in multiple 430's and have had 0 issues, I also use in in my wife's LX570.

Coolant is red or pink it is the same thing the pink coolant is longer life than the red coolant both are for Toyota/Lexus.

There is a diagram of the belt routing on the hood at literal eye level.

You need to back to the first shop and get your money back they took you for a ride hard. All they did was take the PS fluid out of the container and put new fluid in they never flushed the system that is why the fluid is so dark red. They also just put whatever fluids they had laying around in your car. Make sure the trans fluid is correct type amount it is a lengthy procedure that requires a scan tool to do correctly, to make sure you do not get flares with shifts etc.

 

Thanks, yeah shop 2 that specialized in Lexus did my tranny fluid, and they were the ones that called out that the fluids in the car are wrong, so I'll need to call the first shop and see what's up then.
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Absolutely when I had my shop If there was an instance like this I would write out for the customer what the issues found where so they had it as physical proof to bring to the other shop to call them out. See if shop # 2 will be willing to do that for you, most decent shops will.

 

Thank you very much. Luckily I printed both shop 1 and 2's inspection reports and what I paid them to do because they both use tekmetrik.

 

I also have my old receipt I just found from shop 1. They stated they used maxlife universal coolant and VPS cooling system cleaner and conditioner which I'm almost positive nobody recommends on LS430s. I think I remember hearing universal coolant is terrible for the LS430, or at least it is very subpar.

A "power steering flush" with no comments on what was used. They charged me $15 for the fluid itself which seems kinda cheap.

A "brake fluid flush" whose comment is "Dot 3 & Dot 4 brake fluid".

They charged me a disposal fee for all three.

 

That's crazy, possible I guess. Pretty sure there is yellow and blue, colors that assist when flushing.

 

I've seen green in my mom's acura's brake fluid, after 20 years of never being changed. However, it was not a neon green. More like a moldy green.