I just took my car into a independent Lexus shop to get my 45k maintenance done and they told me that my transmission fluid was looking a bit black and I should get it changed. After doing some reading on here it looks like its not supposed to get changed out until at least 100k miles and its supposed to be sealed. Are they trying to get me to spend more money for something I don't need? Also did they damage my car by checking on the transmission oil?

 

I'm curious how they did this, as theres no dipstick.

The only way for them to check this is to remove the test plug in the transmission pan.

Sounds fishy to me.

 

I would only go to a technician who specifically works on Lexus.

 

I went to a independent mechanic that works mainly on Lexus cars. They were quoting me 175 vs 315 for the 45k maintenance that the Lexus dealer was quoting me. Checked their yelp reviews and they seemed legit. But after hearing about the transmission fluid and reading up on the forums, it has me a bit worried. Since supposedly tranny fluid is sealed, will it damage my car?

I was reading up on another forum called Lexusownerclub. A user on there decided to get their transmission flushed at around 30k miles. Apparently the fluid was really black but its supposed to be more of a pink/purple color?

And IF hypothetically speaking, damage is already done since they unsealed the transmission. Should I just get it changed anyway?

 

I'm wondering whether to change as well with 114,000 miles on my 07. Dealer says not necessary buy I'd still like to do it.

 

I don't see why it would hurt to change it though. They say you don't have to but I would imagine it would be nice to have fresh transmission oil in there. Just a thought.

 

What's the worst that could happen? That dog probably wasn't happy sleeping anyway, why not kick him...?

 

I would have the dealer do the exchange. I would do it at 90K or earlier if you like.

 

There is an old school thought (may not apply anymore) that, with age, the clutch pads in the transmission weaken and when you exchange with fresh, more potent, fluid,it tends to eat away quicker on the pads. The thought was to only change the fluid when absolutely necessary.

 

My 07 has 114,000 and I don't see the harm. I've never heard of a fluid lasting forever. If you've ever priced a transmission for a 460 you'd want to take every precaution possible. My mechanic suggests checking the existing fluid first which can be done by removing the plug marked 'check'.

 

It is hard to imagine trans fluid being black at that low of mileage, however it is definitely possible...

There is nothing "sealed" about the transmission, just the fact that it doesn't have an easily accessible dipstick...

It definitely wouldn't be a bad idea to exchange the transmission fluid at any rate, but it may not be necessary...

The note about new transmission fluid causing added wear on the clutches is not true, that may be partially referring to reports of exchanging fluids and transmissions going out soon after - this is not because of new fluid causing wear, it is generally caused by people waiting way too long to exchange fluid and the transmission already in need of repair - the new fluid flushes out any material that was actually adding friction that was suspended in the old fluid, causing an even worse than before condition...