hovbuild

Maybe not all 7 quarts but he overfills the last one by a cup or so and lets the temp overfill do it's thing so does he get to keep a partial quart and I pay for it. Damn right he does.

afpj

Amazing the power of advertisement. We plan on keeping our Rx to about 200k miles, which is way beyond the "lifetime " of any warranty, even an extended one. As others have stated, no such thing as "lifetime " fluid, unless your lifetime of ownership is the same as the length of the warranty. Since our 2 Lexus dealers don't have the transmission fluid exchange machine, they don't recommend it. At around 90k miles we did a series of drain and fills(whole other thread on this topic) and the tranny shifts much better after.

As ukrkoz posted some links, a corollary to those links, for those who wanted 'scientific proof' , should read several threads in bobistheoilguy forums. Here are a couple,
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...Number=1165056
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub...opics/920161/3

Toyota WS ATF Shares similarities with others that are not, or no longer, considered "lifetime ", but no one has really answered the shear question as far as I can tell. Shear characteristics alone however would not convince me that ws atf should be left alone for the 200k miles for my vehicles' lifetime with us.

salimshah

Good choice, as it removed the sludge and freshened up the fluid without any risk of contamination.

Still these questions are not answered:
1. Why not drop the pan, clean the magnets and change the filter at 90K miles?
2. By waiting around till 90K miles did it shorten the life of the transmission?
3. Should the first service be sooner or later than 90K?

Thank you for clarifying that "Life_Time" in your mind is 200K miles.
We all dont know what is the definition of "Life Time" in terms of miles for Lexus. To be fair to Lexus, they claim WS as world standard (please correct me) and the transmission sealed for lifetime --> needs no maintenance unless something breaks. @ what miles? We all dont know.

And most of all thank you for sharing your experience and opinion on this subject.

Salim

lexus114

thats fine its your prerogative. but i can tell you that mine is working good as new on the fluid exchange so im sticking with that.

afpj

Well, for 1) dropping pan and changing filter...my experience with other vehicles is that changing the tranny filter drains a little more fluid. Due to the lack of dipstick, and the complicated fluid measurement protocol Toyota requires with this Aisin tranny, I did not have the confidence that I could measure the fluid coming out (with removing the filter) accurately enough to replace the same. So it was a matter of lack of confidence and some part laziness. Besides, the filter really only filters large pieces. The small stuff should drain out the bottom drain bolt hole.
2)& 3) yeah, I really didn't consider it until about 90k miles because I was not really paying attention to it. (I typically change my GM and other vehicle tranny fluids at 50k miles) I had not looked into the forums all that much on this particular topic. It was my first nondipstick tranny car, and I believed the dealer service advisor. Just out of sure coincidence, I saw an ATF/differential thread on this forum, so it got my brain a'thinkin'. Being an engineer myself, the more I though about it, the more I thought it was a good idea to check since the dealer did NOT want to change the fluid, no matter how many times I asked. I later found out that they didn't have a machine for that, so things began to click in my head. I also began doing more research on bobistheoilguy forums. Some crazy smart chemical engineer types that post there. If I were to do it again, I would've done the first set of fluid exchanges at 50k miles. My fluid at 90k was really dark, Not burnt, but I was noticing some long shifts (2-3 shift would seem to take longer). Well, after just one drain and fill, that shift was improved. After 4 drain & fills, my tranny feels happy. Note that I live in the high desert...I clocked 122 degrees F on the tarmac once this summer, but it can go to below freezing in the winter. So this environment is not kind to vehicle components, let alone tranny. If you live in Southern cal on the coast, then your tranny fluid at 90k might probably still have some pink color to it. (I did not send it for oil analysis because it was moot...I had made up my mind I was going to do the drain fills every 30k now above 100k miles). I did have a 330RX that needed a new tranny at 95k miles. It was beginning to exhibit some weak shifts several thousand miles before, but then it started squeeling so that was it. I may be oversensitive due to that experience, but this is cheap insurance in my mind.
Well, I'm sorry for the diatribe...that's my story and I'm stickin to it. Thanks in advance for not banning me for being verbose.

salimshah

Salim

Cocal

That's why a machine is a much better solution. This is so complicated and lengthy that I can't think of anyone doing it more than once if that.

This fellow at Weber is very thorough and informative without being partisan. I really enjoy his videos.

lexus114

i still think if you really want to spill n fill yourself. the best and easiest way is to do it overnight cold. measure what comes out and replace with the same amount.

shikbas

Hi all
It is very interesting to see a simple question went all the way to discuss an issue so thoroughly,,,
thank to you all

Cocal

Yes, but the refill is also hard to do as there is no tube and you have to fill from the side of the tranny. Boy did they ever succeed in making it difficult!

Htony

Is your vehicle running in extreme environment? Towing a lot? Then just watch the tranny oil when you check it note smell, color of the fluid, etc. Unless there is a reason
to change, I wouldn't. I am a believer of not to touch anything unless it is broken or breaking. Been driving over 60 years.

Htony

Lubricating oil vs. hydraulic oil, know the difference?

Cocal

Most of us qualify for severe use, but tell me how does one check for colour and odour of the fluid in a sealed transmission without draining or at least get in there through the fill hole.? Anxious minds are eager to learn!

Cocal

Hydraulic oil gets contaminated over time and needs to be replaced. I did that in my tractors though there is no specific time lapse other that what is specified in the owner's manual, if no mention in the manual one better use common sense NOTHING is forever. I know that one could get away with less maintenance in the past, but today we're in the era of tailored oils and not only they are better oils, but they are also product specific. Having said that the machinery in the past was bullet proof and allowed for less maintenance than the one of today thanks mainly to all the anti-smog devices in it.

salimshah

Guys .. give it a rest. I am guilty of adding additional information and stoking this thread.

Add some thing new if you must. Savvy readers can read through the existing posts and filter out the chaff.


Salim