I can't seem to keep my wife and I from driving this car so much LOL, and with 43k miles on the clock I wanted to get the fluids changed. Pretty easy to do with exception of the rear end, but I gotter done.
The transmission on these hybrids are pretty much bulletproof IF you take care of em.
The transmission is pretty easy to do as it's a simple drain and fill until fluid comes out the fill plug. I only got 3 qts out, but ended up putting like 3.5 back in. Maybe the factory under filled it?
The rear end was a little tricky with the orange power cord in the way but I got it. Drained 1.5 quarts out and put a little more back in.
Various mechanics suggest 50k mile intervals on these, but yet Toyota says 100k unless you drive while loaded or towing, etc.. then it's 60k. I assume you’d be fine at 60k for normal driving, but we plan on keeping this car for a long time. Never would I go 100k on these fluids.
Im gonna attach a couple pics for you, but if youd like to comment please do.
BTW, why does lexus recommend 30k brake fluid changes?

Transmission fluid new vs old

Rear electric motor.
Amsoil ATL being used. Good stuff!!

 

Toyota recommends Toyota Genuine ATF WS grade in both the transmission and rear differential.
Generally hybrid based Toyota's Lexus can go around 60k miles before replacement of trans / diff fluids.
50 k miles or 5 years for inverter and engine coolant replacements, these have separate systems so they both need to be serviced

At least once a year remove and inspect your clean air filter for your hybrid battery located on the right side of rear seat. Behind those louvers is a filter to keep the air clean that's used to keep the hybrid battery cool. There's a cooling fan inside that pulls in air from the cabin through this filter. It only comes on when needed but in warmer climates it will run quite often especially when you first get into a hot car.


Brake fluid is hygroscopic which means it pulls in water into its solution. You can't see it with the naked eye. You can use test strips to dip into your brake fluid reservoir and determine the water content present in the fluid before making a decision to change it. Toyota's / Lexus recommendation is pretty generalized with 30,000 miles. Climates that have all four seasons including cold winters will generally see more moisture content getting into the fluid so it's a safe bet to just flush and fill every 2-3 years or 30k (48k kms).

 

It's my understanding that you have to remove a large under-chassis cover to gain access to the transmission oil drain and fill plugs (and for the radiator coolant as well). Did you have the car up on a lift? I have a set of ramps for oil changes but access to the transmission, and the chassis cover, would be rather difficult given the tight clearances. How did you accomplish this?

 

10mm socket on my drill zipped the large cover off easily and I used my ramps on a sloped driveway for the fluid changes.

 

I have been front to back under my NX with just the front on ramps with a crawler (which already lifts me a little bit off the floor), but of course the further back you go the closer you get. For changing trans fluid, the vehicle should be level as possible so you should lift the back as well up on jack stands to level it (if not both front and back).

 

Agree with Droid13, but if we're really lucky here there's a get out of jail free pass here possibly. If the fill plug sits on or very close to the centreline of the gearbox cavity containing the fluid, the fill should remain pretty accurate as the shift in fluid level would remain relatively flat at centreline, not perfect but close. My guess is you may put what may amount to a half a pop can of extra fluid in, ~150ml. OR you could actually read up on what the fill volume should be and only put that in.

I do have one question from anyone that's removed these under belly covers. How well do they keep all the crap out? I mean dirt/sand salt residue etc. Having meticulously hosed down the underbelly every spring to get rid of salt and sand from winter months I'm curious to know if anything actually gets passed these covers. I recall a guy posting a youtube video for his model 3, as he drives sometimes on unpaved roads, and he was amazed what was trapped within his under belly covers. He weighed it, it was over 30 pounds of dirt! As you will see this looks like not a typical scenario from the video but holly crap that's a lot of dirt!

 

I had Bmw,MB,Toyota before and never ever have changed atf and never had any problem.if u drain again that new red fluid will be black again after few days.i have seen people ruin their transmission when they put wrong grade fluid there

 

This is why I hate buying used cars...

 

Well, that would be because in many a typical automatic transmission drain and fill only replaces <50% of the fluid. I remember doing a transmission fluid service on my son's Honda, the entire system holds 9L of transmission fluid, the standard replacement service is simply to drain and fill the 2.5L in the pan and have a good day. While some people might choose to do 2 or 3 drain and fills over short intervals to replace 90% of the fluid, the key elements of a basic level fluid change is simply to let some of the contamination/pre-sludge out and restore the additives factor. Same idea applies to other fluids like coolant. The original factory load will typically last a long time with 100% new fluid, but once you get into regular maintenance cycles, the intervals shorten because you are typically only doing partial changes to maintain fluid quality and additives effectiveness.

And as a general rule, doing something the wrong way doesn't negate the benefits of doing it the right way.

Toyota says that transmission fluid lasts the life of the car. That doesn't mean the fluid is 100% perfect for 15 or 20 yrs. It just means that that they expect (hope) the transmission to tolerate the damage caused by gradual fluid deterioration and contamination build up long enough that it will equa-fail approximately with the rest of the vehicle. Like all things, it depends on who you talk to. Some "tolerate" better than others. An eCVT transmission is probably pretty high in its ability to tolerate. Simple lubrication, the slow build up of metal contamination and loss of fluid quality is chronic, not life threatening for a long time. Other transmissions (like the late teens Highlanders cooking their ATF fluid and burning out at a young age also with "lifetime fluid"), not so much. Some people can eat triple cheeseburgers every day and make it to 80. For others its a heart attack at 45. Cheeseburger yourself as you deem appropriate. These extended fluid intervals are not about preventing damage, only a calculated capacity to tolerate damage.

 

That's a big Yup from me. These ecvt's are not much more than a simple set of gears sitting in a cavity filled with good transmission fluid and the electric motors. Not a typical domestic designed automatic with solenoids and tiny oil passageways out the wazoo. This isn't anymore complicated mechanically than a power take off unit on a tractor. It's not going to continuously create fine metal filings from wear and tear and have them slowly embed in the clutch material. I personally see this transmission and feel comfortable replacing the fluid every 60K miles / 100k kms just because lubricating fluid simply is never to be expected to last a lifetime. It will lose it's ability to lubricate well over time and gather up contaminants. But I really don't think never changing it will lead to it's failure. That's just my 2 cents.

 

In my very first Prius I change it at 120K

Later I haven't bothered because I don't keep car that long anymore. Life is short, I like cars

My daughter traded in my ole 2013 Lexus ES300h at 150K never change the Transaxle (tranny) fluid.

If you go to Priuschat you will find a thread for the 300K mile club. Many of those have never change their trans fluid.

Go Figure ...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/nx-...fluid-yet.html

 

I purchased a new 2004 Toyota Highlander (FWD) and religiously replaced the automatic transmission fluid every 30,000 miles with Toyota ATF fluid. It was easy do as the ATF dipstick tube was used to refill the transmission. I was very careful each time to not overfill the transmission. The drained ATF fluid never looked very dark and certainly never smelled burned. The Highlander was always driven carefully and never pulled a trailer. The transmission failed at 135,000 miles and cost nearly $3000 to rebuild. Since then, I have never replaced the ATF fluid in my Toyota and Lexus SUVs and never will again. I know of too many other cases where owners did not replace their ATF fluid past the 100,000-mile mark and fared just fine.

 

I see a run on junkyard ATF coming!

 

Agree with you 100%. I listen to the manufacturer of my vehicle I have 100% faith when they tell me it does not need to be changed. I also have 100% faith in my Lexus local shop manager that's been trained by Lexus for 25 years and worked on their vehicles for 25 years. He went to the factory that manufactures automatic transmission for training. Yes and the question what's the number one cause of transmission failures and their response was the wrong fluid and the wrong amount of fluid. Both factors in changing their transmission fluid. I've never changed mine in six lexuses and of course I've never had a problem with the transmission.

 

To each their own. Aisin, the mfg of most toyo trans informs customers to change fluid on a 2/12k interval. Toyota says never.