Here’s a ? for you guys.
What are the chances that on my 2025 NX350 I’ll be able to go many years, maybe hit 90k miles without needing to go in for Lexus service ?
As you can glean from all my posts I like to do my own maintenance, even at my ripe old age.
Retired now, been in manufacturing operations, a machinist, etc.
Traded my previous SUV with 95,000 miles, no problems, just routine maintenance, the only services I had done were safety recalls and tire replacement.
My current NX mileage is 9,500 - I’m getting ready to do my second oil & filter change at 10k, 1st was at 4k.

 

As long as you do regular maintenance:
- oil changes every 5k miles
- brake fluid every 4 years or so
- transmission fluid every 60k miles or 5 years
- coolant, first before 100k miles / 10 years, every 5 years thereafter
- filters (including battery cooling if your car is a hybrid)
- wear items such as brake pads and tires when appropriate
there is no reason why you can't avoid the dealer forever. Take into consideration that some services require OBD2 scanner with bi-directional communication (for example brake fluid replacement). Also, keep paper trail of everything in case you need to prove proper maintenance in case of a warranty claim.

 

I change the oil every 10,000 mi which is what Lexus and Mobil 1 recommend. I change brake fluid every 30,000 mi. I changed the engine air and cabin air filter once a year. Probably overkill but they're $40 for both and take 5 minutes to do. Wiper blades every two years. That's it

 

I don't see why not. Most maintenance services are fairly straight forward especially if you're interested to do them and have the right tools. I used to tinker with cars in the 80s, rebuilt a couple of engines (Dodge 318 V8 and a slant 6), and did a head gasket and valve job on my 1971 Toyota Corona, etc but then wife and kids came along and I no longer had the time, energy and place to do it so all maintenance went back to the mechanics for the next 20 or so years. With my old RX I started out getting most services done at the dealer but when the pandemic came around I found the time and interest to start doing more myself particularly after the warranty was up. After it reached about 8 yrs old I pretty much did everything until I traded it some 5 yrs later still running quite decently at nearly 14 yrs of age. YouTube and Internet in general sure made it a lot easier for me to slowly get the dust off my wrenches compared with having to figure things out from an old paper service manual. I've got plenty of 40 yr old tools from the old days, but have gradually stocked up on some good new ones now as well.

Barring misfortune, I'm planning to keep my NX for at least 10, if not 15 or more years and do as much maintenance I feel I can handle (we'll see how well my body holds up with retirement looming next year). Oil changes are extremely easy on these cars, just did one on my NX last weekend, cost me <$40CAD for the whole thing, and that included an OEM Toyota filter and plug gasket from the dealer. Toyota oil filters are pretty inexpensive, even from a dealer so helps a bit with my warranty record keeping to buy from them. Brakes are also pretty easy to do, I've done a few sets on my cars over the years and the occasional bleed. It probably takes me 3 or 4 times as long as a shop would take, but I'm never in a rush. Spark plugs also appear to be easy on the NX, I didn't attempt them on my RX because the back bank of the V6 looked tricky, and I was perhaps not as inclined back then to attempt it. But since then I've changed the plugs on my son's car and I'm going to do my daughter's car this fall. That will probably challenge me as its a Subaru and the driver side rear plug is known for being a difficult access. Coolant changes on these newer cars are a bit more complex these days with all the computer controlled valves and special procedures to release trapped air. I've actually started to use a different technique to do "partial" coolant changes on some other cars I take care of that have these new valves. Instead of draining the entire system (as much as normally possible) after a number of years, I've started to use those rad cap sealing filler funnels. Put one on top of the rad, fill it with fresh coolant, and simply open the lower rad petcock. As the coolant drains, fresh coolant immediately comes in the top, no air ever introduced. Something I'm starting to do on an annual basis once my cars reach a certain age (well before the existing coolant is toast). It probably only changes out 10 to 15% of the coolant, but I figure if I'm doing it regularly the condition of the coolant will stay consistent and decent over the life of the car. And its also super cheap this way as well. I'm not yet sure the approach I'll take with the turbo/intercooler coolant though. Then comes the transmission service. No, I'm not going to leave the factory fluid in for 20 years and 500,000 miles like Lexus says. I've done transmission fluid changes on other cars, but they were dipstick types, simple drain and fill according to the dipstick. Our 8spds require fiddling with the fluid level tube thing (can't remember what its really called) and using a scan tool to make sure the level is set at a particular fluid temperature. Some people seem to prefer measure what comes out and put the exact amount back in. That's all still a ways off yet, so I'll have to see how I feel about it when the time comes.

 

I thought it was common knowledge that you should never go to a dealership for maintenance unless it was something under warranty or a recall.

My minor exception to this rule are the 2 free oil changes that Lexus offers.

 

Change oil every 5k. 3k, even, in today's day and age for ICE engines that use thinner oil for emissions. Follow CCN channel on youtube. Master Toyota Tech. He is the gold standard of Toyota and Lexus care.

Definitely do not do oil changes at manufacture's 10k. you're asking for it. cylinder wall scratching by debris, general gumming up of deposits of oil control rings etc, preventing drain back. won't show up right away but after a while slow incremental degradation and lubrication abilities of your engine, oil consumption etc as you sandpaper down the cylinder walls. if you're doing 10k a few times already, you're already going down this road and dont know it yet. CCN has a video on this where hes seen 10k cars come in with oil consumption issues, gradually later in life.

also if your car is new, i recocmmend doing a break in change @ 500 miles than 2nd change at 5-7.5k miles. that's what I did on my Lexus when I had them.

 

I really appreciate you sharing your maintenance experience, interest and confidence in maintaining, servicing your current NX.
My auto maintenance and repair background is very similar to yours. When I take care of my own vehicles they become much more my own.

 

The maintenance still needs to be done, at Lexus , some other car shop, or by yourself . At Lexus you still get free lifetime maintenance and pay $500- $2,000 for your cup of coffee

... and folks remember the 10,000 mile Lexus recommended oil and filter change is the absolute minimum service to keep your car running correctly. Lexus wants you car to make it through the 4 year warranty period so you can buy a New Lexus every 4 years or less. Some people think 10,000 miles is a gold standard and say it every chance the can on this forum. You might want to consider changing you oil and filter every 5,000 miles if you plan to keep your car beyond the 4 year warranty period..

Opinions matter, it helps people think on their own


YMMV,
MidCow3

 

I'm almost positive this is not correct. Unless you pay for some separate service package.

 

This was a tongue in cheek joke. If you read my original response I said you got free maintenance if you paid #500- $2,000 for coffee. In reality Lexus servers coffee for supposedly free, and you pay $500 to $2,000 for each maintenance. This $500- $2,000 can continue a long time, almost a lifetime. Sorry you didn't understand.

YMMV,
MidCow3

 

I wish all readers to this thread happy maintenance! Like Droid 13 and I'm sure others as well, old age has crept up on me, and while the desire is still very strong, the old body is starting to say 'oh, no no no!'. I still will keep doing the simple stuff, I've decided to not do anything that involves collecting and discarding fluids that need to be handled in environmentally friendly ways, I'll let the dealership collect, store and send off to recycling these fluids correctly.

I believe in shall we say 'putting some money in the bank' when it comes to whom I'm going to have touch my car. I make a very strong effort to work with my dealership on anything I can. That is to say, I'll let them overcharge me a little to do an oil change plus I get a free car wash. They do make a point of listing the wash on the invoice with a value and then comp me for it so as to look good. I get it, the car wash really doesn't come for free, people and supplies are paid for by the dealer, and yes there's free coffee too. I see that they're trying to strengthen a relationship too. I'll most likely pay a little more for all upcoming fluid replacements too, brake fluid, coolant, transmission plus any other incidental costs. And when I've had it for 8-10 years and now it's making a 'noise' or 'doing a thing' I can go face to face with my long standing friendship with the service manager, whom by the way has all my service records, and confidently ask him to take a look, knowing that he probably won't soak me for an hour's labour at god knows what rate it will be at that time. Because I've got money in the bank as leverage. They know I haven't gone to anyone else for my service, the records prove it with almost certainty. Anything that was stripped or broke from service has been remedied correctly. And I've kept an eye on everything, kept them honest so to speak. And most likely when it's time to let her go the dealer might give me a fair buck for it too as a trade in.

This is something that takes years in time invested and yes I've had other brands that I took to dealerships only to have shoddy work done. Attempts to replace things that didn't need replacing, said something needed fixing when it didn't. I've gone to a few friend recommended shops as well for work on my cars as they got older and not had very good experiences. Thankfully I've been (on and off) using the same dealership for several Toyotas over the years and now a Lexus. They seem to always have good people working for them, there's actually quite a few 'car people' that work there too. They talk about cars, have their special garage kept weekender, some have worked there for most of their adult life. Most of all, when they've 'screwed up' and I know it can happen sometimes, they've made it right.

 

5k mile changes were for mineral oil. Toyota switched to synthetic 0w20 for most new cars since around 2010. So 10k/1 year intervals now except towing or heavy loading.
90k is nothing close to the mileage should require engine service. If it breaks, it's not because oil deteriorates after 5k miles.
It would not harm maybe to change oil at 7k or even 5k if you have Turbo, and like crawling under it and getting dirty. Nothing wrong. But it gets outright ridiculous for a hybrid that runs engine 30-40% of the time only, while the mileage is counted 100%.

I have an older 100k+ car in family, nothing wrong with the engine or transmission, zero engine oil loss. Sure you may need to replace smaller things, like spark coils/plugs, brake pads, brake fluid, coolant, alternator, compressor, pump, clean throttle, MAF sensor, rubber moldings, recheck refrigerant pressure after few years to prevent premature compressor failure, etc. Like in any car.

Just don't neglect to change ATF and rear differential oil at 100k+ miles and use the same synthetic engine oil when the car gets old, some dealers fill whatever for older cars unless you specify.

Food for thought - there was an old SAE study that found "In one of our previous studies it was observed that engine oil samples collected from fleet vehicles after 12,000 mile drain interval showed 10-15 % lower friction and more importantly, an order of magnitude lower wear rate than those of fresh oils.....As in the previous study, the results showed that the aged engine oils provide lower friction and much improved wear protection capability. These improvements were observed as early as the 3000 mile drain interval and continued to the 15000 mile drain interval. The composition of tribochemical films formed on the surface with the 3000 mile drain interval is similar to that formed with the 12000 mile drain interval as seen before."
So maybe fresh oil isn't that great as automatically assumed.

 

Had Toyotas before,156k miles and have done just basic diy service,so it is absolutely possible if u do care about a car.

 

Guy out on YouTube with a Tundra pick-up with over 1.5 million miles. They asked about his oil changes and said I do what Toyota says every 10,000 miles. I will probably only keep mine to 1.4 million miles so I am going with what Lexus Mobil and my Friend local shop foreman with 25 years experience with Lexus who also says 10,000.

 

Agree 👍. I have been there and done oil changes. I take my Mobil 1 purchased at Walmart for $24 for a five quart jug and my Toyota oil filter bought on line for $5 to my either Lexus or Toyota dealership and they charge $35 labor to do the oil change. Best $35 ever spent.