Well, my wife rolled the odometer over 30000 miles this weekend so I thought I would do an ATF change. Not a flush but just a "drop the plug and drain the pan" kind of change. I bought 6 quarts of Toyota T-IV at the local Toyota shop and then dropped the plug. I got about 4 quarts out and I should tell you that if you are procrastinating on doing this - DON'T. ATF should be cherry cough syrup red. Mine was still red but with quite a bit of discoloration to it. So now I have four quarts of new ATF mixed with the old. In another 100 miles I will do another four quarts. Then, 100 miles after that another change. That should change out about 90% I would guess.

Btw, start to finish was under an hour. Took longer to get the car on ramps and off than to actually drain the pan.

Gary
'05 330

 

oil should discolor as it age.. doesn't mean it lost it's function though.. just look @ ur engine oil..

anyhow.. how much was the oil anyways?

 

If it smells "burnt", then you have trouble.

 

I agree that most lubricants change color as they age but other cars I own get a lot more time on the ATF before it starts to discolor. Engine oil gets dirty, not so much because of use, but because it is in contact with combustion gasses and such.

Besides, reading the posts about premature transmission failures makes me a bit edgy. The tranny pan drain plug is readily accessible and requires very little work to drain and fill. THis is just too easy and simple to do to not do it.

No smell or anything peculiar about the ATF when I changed it. Toyota sold it for $4.60 a quart. I haven't called Lexus to see what they charge yet.

Gary

 

If only, it could be confirmed that the failures (as few or as many) were related to NOT changing the trans fluid. The engine oil gelling has been linked to lack of oil change but the trans has not.

it is easy enough and does not hurt so why not

Salim

 

So, being new to Lexus ownership (2005 RX 330), what is this so-called problem with the tranny?

 

If you do a search of the archives there should be a few posts where others are concerned about premature transmission failure. As I suggested, periodic replacement of the transmission fluid should ensure that your tranny always has fresh ATF in it.

Gary

 

I have always followed the drain and fill every 12K, keeps the tranny fluid revitalized. Very little investment for a good insurance. I do not know about the long life tranny fluids which were discussed, if it were the regular ATF from Toyota, then it would not be expensive.

 

There is information and disinformation. There is a lot of noise [understandably so] by people who experienced problem and realtively low praise postings [again understanably so, as few people take the time to write].

Those who experienced problem wanted Lexus to provide repair at no cost, even when the warranty had expired as repairs run into $4k.

Lexus has not shared/published %failed per models sold.

Lexus has not shared/published root cause. Owners basically have taken up on themselves to do what is in their control and have adopted more agressive fluid change and even filter change. Irrespective of the fact that the failures have not been attributed to trans fluid breakdown.


Due to frenzy and lack of clear information, people tend to lump them all as "Lexus Suv transmission issue". Realistically we should break it up based on models and even years (if some one can confirm). We have a fellow member who is collecting the data but he has not shared his findings.

RX300 FWD
RX300 AWD
RX330 FWD
RX330 AWD
RX350
RX400

330 and 350 have hesitation complaints. I don't recall any post here that had transmission failure.

Salim.
ps: Although, I have not had transmission failure 99RX120kmiles with scheduled maintenance done on transmission, I think trasnsmission is seems to be the weakest major component [still acceptable though]. I am speculating that the design feature of holding the trans in low gear when cold could be the root cause of the problem. The driver then has to keep 30mph or lower for first 10 minutes or so. This is almost impossible if you live near a highway and you have to do 60mph to merge in. [Just a theory]

 

Honda had huge problems in their transmissions for the 2nd GEN TL's (99~01), ones assembled in Ohio. My TL a 98 was the last to be assembled in Japan. Acura lost a lot of sales on the perceived low quality on the 2nd GEN TL's primarily because of Tranny failures...these are outright failures...In Toyota's case, they are/were not failures, just some performance issues....which we would rather have than actual failures....

 

Well posted comments, salimshah!

Like the saying goes, the squeeky wheel gets the grease. If the only people who comment about transmissions are those whose tranny has failed or is malfunctioning, it would be easy to assume that ALL Lexus RXs have this issue.

As I said, this is cheap insurance, imo.
Gary

 

As I have read, there's not much to complain about the Lexus Rx's, so people still pick on something....and that's the weird operation of the trannies. So far, is it true that there are no recalls for the 04 RX330? My 98 TL has 2, it was listed in the Acura website, fortunately done while I was not the owner yet. That confirms how good the reliability is.

 

Speaking of recalls, where can I see a list of recalls for my 2005 RX330?

 

Type in recalls, you'll get hits...

 

So, if I want to do the same with my 2005 RX330, where can I buy the proper transmission fluid? Do I have to get it from Lexus or Toyota? Can't I just pick some up at Autozone, NAPA, or even Wal-Mart?