Been 36K miles since any fill or flush has been done.

My local Lexus dealer wants ~$150 to the service. Includes changing the filter. Not a bad price.

So I called a local shop I trust who want $109 to do the service. They said they use a "cleaner" and "conditioner" and that I WOULDN'T need my filter changed. (Does the filter NEED to be changed?) But they use a semi-synthetic Valvoline fluid. I keep hearing about how important it is to use the Toyota T-IV fluid. Any problem there? Local shop quarantees they'd do a better job than Lexus. Gotta love the confidence I guess.

 

You don't need to change the trans filter. I've never seen any problem with the Lexus filter yet.
I think $150.00 is wasting the money for drain the fluid, remove the tranns pan and replace the filter, then reseal the pan and fill it up with only 2 1/2 qts of tranny fluid.
Find a dealer that have the flush machine that hook up to transmiission cooler lines, then let the car run to exchange the old fluid with 14 qts of new fluid from the machine. You probably have to spend about $200.00 for 1 hr labor and 14 qts of Type-IV. This way you will get all the old fluid out of the torque converter too.
I stay away from the semi synthetic fluid or you want to take a risk of $7,000.00 transmission on your LS.

 

Ok, both claim they are doing complete flushes I thought (14-15 qts.) and have the machine to do it. Maybe I need to ask better questions to be sure...

 

i would stay away from MOC, Wynn's or BG chemical flushes in a transmission.

 

I agree totally with VVT-i. Why not get 100% fluid change including the torque converter. I just did the same on my 01 ES (43,000 miles) & I used type IV fluid (Not sure what the LS owners manual calls for, but I used what Lexus suggested which was the Type IV). The only thing I got the shop to do was clean the filter mesh screen & install a new pan gasket (Lexus part). The transmission shifts even more smoothly than before & it was pretty smooth then. Good Luck!

 

I have heard rumours that some Lexus dealers were also using this Valvoline ATF, but if that is true it must be for older models of Lexus.

To my knowledge, the Lexus dealers I talked to on the phone confirm they will only use Toyota Type-IV on my 99 RX.

I recently got a flush of my ATF fluid and it was about $200 back in the states.

Unlike oil changes which you can do anywhere, this is one service I would only let a Lexus or a Toyota dealer handle.

The transmission was much smoother, the fluid clearer. Before it was a pinkish/silverish color.

 

Thanks for the replies. I did just confirm that my local shop does the full change, all 14 qts. (or whatever is in there) and has a machine to get the torque converter as well. They have done good work on my other cars and are runnig that $109 special this week. Think that's what I'm gonna do. I asked him again about the Toyota fluid and he told me the Valvoline will work at least as well on my car ('97 LS 400). Think I'm gonna take a chance there.

 

Hmm, maybe just me, but I think I'd fork out another $41 to make sure that I get the specified fluid in my car.

You might be fine with the Valvoline ATF, however, I don't know if it's compatible as a replacement for Toyota T-IV. Toyota doesn't release their T-IV specs, so we might ever know. However, this is something worth noting: T-IV ATF is a replacement for D-II and D-III ATF (and T-II, and T-III), however, according to Toyota, it does NOT work the other way around. Something to check with your mechanic.

Anyways, for me, the extra $41 at a Lexus dealership would be a good piece of mind knowing that I got the proper fluid in there, and not having to worrry about it later on.

 

I would stick with the T-IV fluid. There have been discussions on other Toyota forums about using Dexron compatible fluids in place of the Toyota Type. Some have reported tranny problems after switching. $41 in the short run isn't a gamble I'd take.

 

See the attached PDF file for ATF fluid recommendations and compatibility. You'll see that if your car requires T-IV, there isn't a Dexron alternative to use for it.

 

Agreed, I'd stick with the Toyota type IV fluid as well.....it's sound advice.

 

Whaaa? Does this mean there is NO substitute? How can that be? Looks like at least what was compatible with T-II is compatible with T-IV...? Or am I reading that wrong?

 

According to the Toyota chart:

T-IV can be used for applications requiring: T, T-II, or T-IV

Of course, you can't use T or T-II in an application requiring T-IV, so if you car manual says to use T-IV, I'd stick with it.

I've heard of others using something other than Toyota T-IV in their cars, but I don't know what the long-term durability, shifting smoothness/effectiveness is when compared to it. Again, while it may be just fine w/ something else other than Toyota T-IV ATF in the transmission, there isnt' enough info out there to suggest using something else just yet.

 

Peace of mind.

 

That's good info from Valvoline, and it seems like they have a pretty high quality product, and are at least willing to back it up if the car manufacturer doesn't. To be safe, I'd be interested in seeing what their warranty is in writing (at least a more extensive one w/ all of the clauses).

My only caveat is with one paragraph of theirs about use of Valvoline MaxLife ATF in newer 5- and 6-speed automatic transmissions (which the IS, GS, LS, newer SC, and the latest ES have), as they haven't tested it extensively in them yet. The extra $41 is worth the piece of mind in using Toyota T-IV. Again, you may just be fine using the Valvoline MaxLife ATF, but. . .