I have had my car about 2 months now, all I have done is change the motor oil and filter, cabin filter, air intake filter.

I am taking my 2005 into an independent garage next week that specializes in Lexus vehicles. They are going to balance ( if needed ) my snow tires, put them on the car and do an alignment.

I really have no idea what service was done to the car in the past 5 years, by the previous 2 owners - probably very little.

My question is .... do I ask them to inspect the whole car and tell me what they feel is needed, or are there items at 50,000 miles that I should request they do ?

Thanks, in advance, for any advise

 

Register your car on the Lexus web site. it will tell you what services have been done at the dealership or reported by previous owners.

https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...-lexus/home.do

 

on my 06 all i did at 53k was change the plugs.i got mine as a cpo.i will change the coolant and rear end and oil at 63k which is the next oil change.i do all of my maintanance myself.

 

Thanks, but unfortunately, this site will not work for Canadians ... USA only.

I was thinking of asking them to change the spark plugs and do a transmission fluid change, not sure, ....the car runs great and am not trying to spend money, lol. But I am not opposed to spending it on items that are needed.

Any other suggestions would be great. Thanks.

 

The Canadian recommended maintenance schedule is available at http://www.lexus.ca/lexus/experience...enance_oms.jsp

You can also register your car at https://www.lexus.ca/lexus/experienc...club_index.jsp and see your vehicle maintenance history (although it's very non-descript).

At 50000mi (80000km), this is the Maintenance Service interval. Attached is the Canadian maintenance interval PDF for 2002. I don't recall where I got it from. It may have come from the owner's section of lexus.ca but it isn't there anymore. If anyone has the 2005 version, please post it.

The 2002 factory-recommended change interval for the LS430's iridium spark plugs is every 192,000kms (120,000mi) and rear diff fluid is every 2 years or 32000km. Brake fluid and coolant should be changed every 3 years or every 48000km, whichever comes first. Oil is every 8000km.

Regarding engine air filters: "Engine air filters are designed to actually increase their efficiency by using this initial layer of dust as an added filter layer. Initial filter efficiency is usually approximately 98% but increases to more than 99% by the end of the service life of the filter. Therefore, changing an air filter before the useful service life is achieved can result in premature engine wear."

Source: Section 2.3, Page 14 of http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/...02_26_2009.pdf

 

Hi Stu -

When dealing w/ auto service specialists (or for that matter, specialists in any field) where they have more knowledge than oneself, I usually ask what they would do if it were their car. Once they give you a suggested service list, weed out whatever you're uncomfortable with or see no need for.

You're on the right track by going to a mechanic/shop where they SPECIALIZE in Lexus's as many don't have access to one other than their Lexus dealer.

 

It may be a large initial cost, but if I just bought the car with 50k miles and I had doubts about previous service, I'd change all the fluids (unless a specific fluid(s) looked perfect and fresh). To save money you can do the PS fluid yourself with the multiple drain and fill method.

If you have all the fluids done now than you have a fresh base and know exactly when the next change intervals will occur for each fluid type.

 

i change my plugs every 50k,there soo easy and inexpensive to change.i will change the tranny fluid at 100k.

 

are all of the plugs on this car easy to get to? on my last 99 gs400 all but 2 of the plugs were easy to get to but those last 2 were a pain in the a$$.

plugs also don't need to be changed till like 100k+ anyways but that's up to you.

 

i owned a 1998 gs400 and these on the ls 430 are not any more difficult then the 400.use a 3/8"swivel on the right side aft .it take about a hour to change all 8 plugs comfortably.i just like to change them early.30 years working aircraft i am used to changing parts that are good(time change items)i owned a 77 corvette that took me 4 hours to change those plugs.

 

If you imported your car from the US, you can still register it on the American Lexus Owners' web site. Just make sure you pick an American state and zip code and you should be golden.

It worked for me at least.