I have a 2015 Rx 350 that I recently had my car in to be serviced and they made these recommendations-services I've never had-are they really necessary-my vehicle has 70,000 miles on it. Hey, I'm a retired single female who knows little about cars, do I really need these services at this point or ever? Also this is what they wanted to charge me for them.

Automatic Transmission Fluid Change $120.00
Differential General Service $104.00
Transfer Case Fluid Exchange $122.00
Cooling System Fluid Flush $105.00

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

In your RX's glove box, there will be a thin manual which covers service and warranty. You can look up the factory recommended service item based on milage and time. IN there there will be additional items based on driven conditions.

When you ask either the dealer or in a forum, you will get all sorts of responses and at the end you will have to make a decision as they are optional. Here is my input
Auto Trans Fluid change --> Do it at 60K interval (overdue)
Diff --> 90K interval
Transfer case -> 60K interval (Overdue)
Coolant replacement (110K ... should be in the book). Also I do not recommend flush if you have always used recommended coolant.

I am unable to comment on charges as they are driven by local market. None of the items requires Lexus certified mechanics but do require attention to details and some know how. You can price them at Toyota dealership.

Salim
PS: One other important service item is for the mechanic to inspect and test drive. During inspection the mechanic may find reasons to do more than what is stated as minimum. Example: Normally I would do drain and fill. But if the mechanic observes floaters in the fluid, a flush may be required

 

Hi Pimp... in Los Angeles these prices are in line with what the independent shop I use has charged me. So I don't see any charges that are out of line.

Automatic Transmission Fluid Change $120.00
Differential General Service $104.00
Transfer Case Fluid Exchange $122.00
Cooling System Fluid Flush $105.00

Thank you in advance for your feedback![/QUOTE]

 

My fathers a mechanic and I’ve worked several hundred cars with him. The one fluid you should always change every 5K miles is your engine oil. The second fluid you should change is your automatic transmission fluids. If you go pass 100K miles, maybe 120K miles, you cannot change your ATF again. Build up in the ATF fluid will work like an ecosystem in your car and if you replace it after 120K miles, your transmission will slip, causing a transmission replacement, which will cost you $5-$6K in the conservative side.

Change your automatic transmission fluid every 100K miles at most of that is your concern about which fluid to change.

 

Running any ATF to 100,000 miles is quite risky. The friction modifiers in the fluid wear out significantly sooner than that in most cases. Much wiser to change it at least every 50,000 to 60,000 miles.

 

The RX350 owners manual indicates under the severe service maintenance schedule to change the transmission fluid at 60,000 miles. The trick is to consider all driving to be severe service and that they said this to hedge their bets on warranty coverage claims. In a perfect world they would tell us to change it at 60,000. Lexus knows most don't keep their cars long enough for warranty claims over 100,000 miles.

VW used a version of the same Aisin-Warner 6 speed transmission in some models and initially said it was sealed for life. However as time and mileage added up VW got so many claims for transmission failures they changed their policy to ordering a fluid change at 40,000 miles and sent notices to all owners with that transmission.

Someone on Bobistheoilguy posted that it is only in the US that Lexus calls it lifetime fluid. That in other countries Lexus lists a 60,000 recommended transmission fluid change interval.

 

I just did my 2022 fluids this past weekend. 36K miles is too long. Came out looking like a pot of coffee. Only the slightest hint of any scarlet color.

Right away I noticed it doesn't clunk or hesitate going from reverse to drive backing out of the driveway anymore like it did. Ill be doing another drain and fill ASAP, then sticking to regular schedule thereafter once I am happier with the color.

 

The prices are cheap for a dealer

 

Not a 100% true statement.

You can change your transmission fluid at anytime if your transmission is not slipping before you do change the fluid. Generally changing old fluid "before" internal damage occurs can give an older transmission a much longer life than if you continue to run it with the old fluid.

The issue with changing old transmission fluid is that many owners wait until the transmission start to slip or shift erratic before deciding to change out the old transmission fluid and then blame the fluid change when the transmission fails soon after. The transmission was already on the way out.

I have changed the fluid on my old 2007 Highlander V6 with 220k miles that was never serviced and the transmission did not fail 3 years after the fluid filter change until I recently sold it. However, it never slipped even with the old fluid.

I changed the transmission fluid in my current 2015 RX350 AWD at around 170k miles and it is still shifting perfectly with over 190k miles.

 

In terms of prices, those aren't bad honestly...the fluid itself can cost well over $50 when using original Lexus / Toyota fluid for any one of those services.

Question is whether any have ever been done before. I take it you have an all wheel drive. I have a two wheel drive 2015 with 167K miles and did the auto trans fluid drain and fill for the first time at 165K...no issues, but I get I was risking it going that long with no change at all...will do again at another 5K to get more new fluid in there, so I'm basically diluting the bad fluid with good fluid gradually and noting the transmission operation over time. So far, works perfectly. Cooling system is very important to do 3 yrs / 30K interval; again, not sure yours has ever been done.

 

love to use your dealer with those prices!!