Can a factory fuel filter really be "Lifetime" ??
11-26-07, 10:32 AM
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Can a factory fuel filter really be "Lifetime" ??
Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I didn't see it when I did some searches on this topic.
My car is a 1997 SC400 with ~70,000 miles. The fuel filter on it looks to be original; connections look like they may be seized due to age / normal wear and tear.
After getting this car in the fall, I am getting ready to do some maintenance on it for the spring before putting it back on the road -- it's in storage for the winter.
I called the local Lexus dealer asking about getting a replacement fuel filter for the car. The parts guy seemed confused, saying that on these cars the filter is a lifetime filter and doesn't EVER get changed. I asked him why they sold the part if it never needed to be changed; he didn't know, but said they had worked on many of these cars and similar models, and the rule of thumb was that they never changed the fuel filter, that it was good for the life of the car. The guy almost tried to talk me out of buying one!
This doesn't make any sense to me. On my other cars, you change these every few years as part of standard maintenance. Searches on the forums here turned up people changing them when they were getting stalling symptoms, but not much regarding this otherwise.
Can anyone comment on how often they have changed their fuel filter, and whether this is truly a "lifetime filter" from the factory ??
My car is a 1997 SC400 with ~70,000 miles. The fuel filter on it looks to be original; connections look like they may be seized due to age / normal wear and tear.
After getting this car in the fall, I am getting ready to do some maintenance on it for the spring before putting it back on the road -- it's in storage for the winter.
I called the local Lexus dealer asking about getting a replacement fuel filter for the car. The parts guy seemed confused, saying that on these cars the filter is a lifetime filter and doesn't EVER get changed. I asked him why they sold the part if it never needed to be changed; he didn't know, but said they had worked on many of these cars and similar models, and the rule of thumb was that they never changed the fuel filter, that it was good for the life of the car. The guy almost tried to talk me out of buying one!
This doesn't make any sense to me. On my other cars, you change these every few years as part of standard maintenance. Searches on the forums here turned up people changing them when they were getting stalling symptoms, but not much regarding this otherwise.
Can anyone comment on how often they have changed their fuel filter, and whether this is truly a "lifetime filter" from the factory ??
11-26-07, 12:39 PM
#5
Pole Position
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: MD
Posts: 294
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That just sounds like b.s. Those filters are the same filter type used on many other cars. So why would this Lexus sc400 fuel filter be any different from any other car's fuel filter. They highly recommend changing the fuel filter on other cars... I think there just afraid of damaging the fuel filter connections. I've heard that before. I don't believe it one bit. Keep the same fuel filter on the car for 200-300,000 miles. While on other cars its every 30,000 miles or so. I've replaced mine twice since I've owned my sc.
Trending Topics
11-26-07, 05:43 PM
#9
Yea I had mine changed at the dealer and one of the mechanics said that they don't like doing it and rarely do it. Even the service advisor was not completely sure of the going rate since they probably don't change it often. The filters should last a good amount of miles. I had about 120k when it was changed.
11-26-07, 07:41 PM
#10
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: South Florida
Posts: 2,872
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
250+ miles on my sc4 filter and still good .But i dont think they are lifetime ,mechanics at dealerships are getting lazy so instead of trying to replace it the word lifetime is used p.s. most of the time the filter is stuck so bad you usually have to change the line going to the tank with the filter. Goodluck.
11-26-07, 11:50 PM
#12
Rookie
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The idea of a filter is to filter out any rubbish that may be in the tank or fuel. Eventually, if it is doing its job it must get clogged up or even inhibit the flow through it. I changed mine at about 50k just as general maintainence. Did it make a difference? - none that I noticed but it is a great car and I want to look after it.
11-27-07, 07:00 AM
#13
I have over 200K miles on my original filter and the car runs flawlessly. I've seen filters on other cars start to plug up and when they do, there is a loss of power at high speed because the filter will not let enough fuel through. But that was in the old days prior to fuel injection. But the same thing would apply today ...
11-27-07, 07:09 AM
#14
haha... I got major gas burns from changing this filter. My top layer of skin was falling off.
I still wound up having to change the line from the filter to the tank. I just used from rubber fuel lines and clamping it on the old metal piping.
My fitting was so messed up, there was no chance of it even going back.
Couldn't pay me to do it again if its never been done on that car.
I still wound up having to change the line from the filter to the tank. I just used from rubber fuel lines and clamping it on the old metal piping.
My fitting was so messed up, there was no chance of it even going back.
Couldn't pay me to do it again if its never been done on that car.
