RX350 Transmission Oil Change (merged threads)
05-21-18, 02:31 PM
#301
The word is, though, they are very finicky to volume replced and there is no way to check on without Techtream. The way I was advised - and did so - was to drain ATF into a vessel where I could tell exactly how much was drained out, then refill with exact amount.
05-21-18, 03:13 PM
#302
you need to drain when the transmission fluid is between a certain temperature range below 113*F and above 95*F. The procedure to do it without techstream is to connect 2 pins on the obd2 connector ( pin 4 and 13), shift the transmission between P and D and confirm the temperature through the shifter status. Details are listed in a Toyota Camry ATF exchange document mentioned in one of the ATF threads. Any overage of ATF will spill over the oil filler tube in the drain pan.
05-22-18, 08:20 AM
#303
Moderator
The way ukrkoz recommends is the way I change it. The trick is that your transmission and the new fluid both need to be at the same temperature so the volumes are the same and ATF volume increases with temperature. That is why the Lexus temperature dependent overflow method sort of works. I prefer to leave new ATF and car overnight in my garage then do it cold the next day.
I still do not see any reason Toyota/Lexus could not have left a dipstick in the transmission. Transmission dipsticks have always indicated cold and hot fluid levels. I think they want their dealers to make more money.
I still do not see any reason Toyota/Lexus could not have left a dipstick in the transmission. Transmission dipsticks have always indicated cold and hot fluid levels. I think they want their dealers to make more money.
05-22-18, 10:42 AM
#304
The way ukrkoz recommends is the way I change it. The trick is that your transmission and the new fluid both need to be at the same temperature so the volumes are the same and ATF volume increases with temperature. That is why the Lexus temperature dependent overflow method sort of works. I prefer to leave new ATF and car overnight in my garage then do it cold the next day.
I still do not see any reason Toyota/Lexus could not have left a dipstick in the transmission. Transmission dipsticks have always indicated cold and hot fluid levels. I think they want their dealers to make more money.
I still do not see any reason Toyota/Lexus could not have left a dipstick in the transmission. Transmission dipsticks have always indicated cold and hot fluid levels. I think they want their dealers to make more money.
05-22-18, 11:26 AM
#305
Moderator
That is true about some dealers. I think it depends if they want to invest in the equipment and/or learning curve to do this and may consider the return not worth the investment. Some have the old school philosophy of never changing transmission fluid. Some think the market in their area does not warrant the investment.
Maybe Toyota is trying to steer more work to dealers as opposed to independent shops.
Or maybe the Toyota engineers really think this is a more accurate way to adjust fluid level and that it somehow enhances the performance and or life of the unit.
Maybe Toyota is trying to steer more work to dealers as opposed to independent shops.
Or maybe the Toyota engineers really think this is a more accurate way to adjust fluid level and that it somehow enhances the performance and or life of the unit.
05-22-18, 12:57 PM
#307
Moderator
Maybe the accountants set the maintenance schedule.
05-22-18, 01:18 PM
#308
Driver School Candidate
I’ve only had my 2010 RX for a few weeks but I’ve run across a friend who is buying his daughters 2010 from her for cheap. His daughters RX started having problems so she took it to Lexus. They said the transmission was bad and it would be $4500 to repair it. Now I’m not sure if she had a leak or what happened but her trans was never serviced and it had 96000 miles.
My friends daughter told them she wasn’t going to fix it and would have it towed home. The dealer already had the trans pulled apart assuming they would pay to fix it. My friend negotiated the price to $2500 and is buying it from his daughter. I guess they would rather lower the price than to pay a tech to put the trans back in and not get paid for it. So what killed her trans at 96k?
Now I don’t care what Lexus says, no lubricant can last indefinitely. It’s bound to be contaminated enough to no longer serve its function. Heat can destroy transmissions and I would think old ATF would cause more heat. There’s a local car show in Houston with auto shop owners from around town that run the show. They say the the auto makers design cars to be reliable for the first owner which normally only has it for a few years. That’s the person they want to be happy so they will continue buying new. Hence these 100000 coolants and other extended maintenance items will make it easier for the original owner, not the second and third.
You can convince yourself that the Atf will last for the life of the car but I know better.
My friends daughter told them she wasn’t going to fix it and would have it towed home. The dealer already had the trans pulled apart assuming they would pay to fix it. My friend negotiated the price to $2500 and is buying it from his daughter. I guess they would rather lower the price than to pay a tech to put the trans back in and not get paid for it. So what killed her trans at 96k?
Now I don’t care what Lexus says, no lubricant can last indefinitely. It’s bound to be contaminated enough to no longer serve its function. Heat can destroy transmissions and I would think old ATF would cause more heat. There’s a local car show in Houston with auto shop owners from around town that run the show. They say the the auto makers design cars to be reliable for the first owner which normally only has it for a few years. That’s the person they want to be happy so they will continue buying new. Hence these 100000 coolants and other extended maintenance items will make it easier for the original owner, not the second and third.
You can convince yourself that the Atf will last for the life of the car but I know better.
05-22-18, 03:35 PM
#309
I’ve only had my 2010 RX for a few weeks but I’ve run across a friend who is buying his daughters 2010 from her for cheap. His daughters RX started having problems so she took it to Lexus. They said the transmission was bad and it would be $4500 to repair it. Now I’m not sure if she had a leak or what happened but her trans was never serviced and it had 96000 miles.
My friends daughter told them she wasn’t going to fix it and would have it towed home. The dealer already had the trans pulled apart assuming they would pay to fix it. My friend negotiated the price to $2500 and is buying it from his daughter. I guess they would rather lower the price than to pay a tech to put the trans back in and not get paid for it. So what killed her trans at 96k?
Now I don’t care what Lexus says, no lubricant can last indefinitely. It’s bound to be contaminated enough to no longer serve its function. Heat can destroy transmissions and I would think old ATF would cause more heat. There’s a local car show in Houston with auto shop owners from around town that run the show. They say the the auto makers design cars to be reliable for the first owner which normally only has it for a few years. That’s the person they want to be happy so they will continue buying new. Hence these 100000 coolants and other extended maintenance items will make it easier for the original owner, not the second and third.
You can convince yourself that the Atf will last for the life of the car but I know better.
My friends daughter told them she wasn’t going to fix it and would have it towed home. The dealer already had the trans pulled apart assuming they would pay to fix it. My friend negotiated the price to $2500 and is buying it from his daughter. I guess they would rather lower the price than to pay a tech to put the trans back in and not get paid for it. So what killed her trans at 96k?
Now I don’t care what Lexus says, no lubricant can last indefinitely. It’s bound to be contaminated enough to no longer serve its function. Heat can destroy transmissions and I would think old ATF would cause more heat. There’s a local car show in Houston with auto shop owners from around town that run the show. They say the the auto makers design cars to be reliable for the first owner which normally only has it for a few years. That’s the person they want to be happy so they will continue buying new. Hence these 100000 coolants and other extended maintenance items will make it easier for the original owner, not the second and third.
You can convince yourself that the Atf will last for the life of the car but I know better.
05-23-18, 06:00 AM
#310
Moderator
Hopefully I am not adding fuel to the fire here ..
Personally I have kept an open mind and urge the members to keep an open mind. [See my PS]
Understand the reasons [dont have to agree] why the auto trans is considered life time.
Understand the anecdotal [as well as common sense] why the fluid should be changed.
But dont fall in the trap that transmission failed, it MUST be due to lack of transmission fluid change. It might be, but then there can be other reasons.
Here is a simplistic example:
Synthetic engine oil is recommended to be changed at 10K miles interval. Lets say many think that it should be done at 7K
Engine is ceased after 8K miles.
Should that be blindly attributed to lack of oil change or investigation must be done? Some component may have failed. Say the rod broke.
So my question is why are we so quick in attributing a transmission failure to lack of fluid change. Auto trans is lot more complicated than the engine.
As an owner, if it makes you sleep more comfortably, go ahead and do frequent trans fluid changes. Nothing wrong in doing it every 1K miles to keep the color cherry red. If done right, it would not harm anything. Would it extend the life? I certainly hope that it does, but the key word is "hope".
Salim
PS: I can easily list reasons to change the fluid too. My real purpose it to raise awareness and suggest Scientific (engineering) analysis instead of just going along with popular theory.
Personally I have kept an open mind and urge the members to keep an open mind. [See my PS]
Understand the reasons [dont have to agree] why the auto trans is considered life time.
Understand the anecdotal [as well as common sense] why the fluid should be changed.
But dont fall in the trap that transmission failed, it MUST be due to lack of transmission fluid change. It might be, but then there can be other reasons.
Here is a simplistic example:
Synthetic engine oil is recommended to be changed at 10K miles interval. Lets say many think that it should be done at 7K
Engine is ceased after 8K miles.
Should that be blindly attributed to lack of oil change or investigation must be done? Some component may have failed. Say the rod broke.
So my question is why are we so quick in attributing a transmission failure to lack of fluid change. Auto trans is lot more complicated than the engine.
As an owner, if it makes you sleep more comfortably, go ahead and do frequent trans fluid changes. Nothing wrong in doing it every 1K miles to keep the color cherry red. If done right, it would not harm anything. Would it extend the life? I certainly hope that it does, but the key word is "hope".
Salim
PS: I can easily list reasons to change the fluid too. My real purpose it to raise awareness and suggest Scientific (engineering) analysis instead of just going along with popular theory.
05-23-18, 07:09 AM
#311
Hopefully I am not adding fuel to the fire here ..
Personally I have kept an open mind and urge the members to keep an open mind. [See my PS]
Understand the reasons [dont have to agree] why the auto trans is considered life time.
Understand the anecdotal [as well as common sense] why the fluid should be changed.
But dont fall in the trap that transmission failed, it MUST be due to lack of transmission fluid change. It might be, but then there can be other reasons.
Here is a simplistic example:
Synthetic engine oil is recommended to be changed at 10K miles interval. Lets say many think that it should be done at 7K
Engine is ceased after 8K miles.
Should that be blindly attributed to lack of oil change or investigation must be done? Some component may have failed. Say the rod broke.
So my question is why are we so quick in attributing a transmission failure to lack of fluid change. Auto trans is lot more complicated than the engine.
As an owner, if it makes you sleep more comfortably, go ahead and do frequent trans fluid changes. Nothing wrong in doing it every 1K miles to keep the color cherry red. If done right, it would not harm anything. Would it extend the life? I certainly hope that it does, but the key word is "hope".
Salim
PS: I can easily list reasons to change the fluid too. My real purpose it to raise awareness and suggest Scientific (engineering) analysis instead of just going along with popular theory.
Personally I have kept an open mind and urge the members to keep an open mind. [See my PS]
Understand the reasons [dont have to agree] why the auto trans is considered life time.
Understand the anecdotal [as well as common sense] why the fluid should be changed.
But dont fall in the trap that transmission failed, it MUST be due to lack of transmission fluid change. It might be, but then there can be other reasons.
Here is a simplistic example:
Synthetic engine oil is recommended to be changed at 10K miles interval. Lets say many think that it should be done at 7K
Engine is ceased after 8K miles.
Should that be blindly attributed to lack of oil change or investigation must be done? Some component may have failed. Say the rod broke.
So my question is why are we so quick in attributing a transmission failure to lack of fluid change. Auto trans is lot more complicated than the engine.
As an owner, if it makes you sleep more comfortably, go ahead and do frequent trans fluid changes. Nothing wrong in doing it every 1K miles to keep the color cherry red. If done right, it would not harm anything. Would it extend the life? I certainly hope that it does, but the key word is "hope".
Salim
PS: I can easily list reasons to change the fluid too. My real purpose it to raise awareness and suggest Scientific (engineering) analysis instead of just going along with popular theory.
If you believe the transmission is more complicated than the engine, preventative maintenance by servicing at a reasonable interval should be more of a concern than treating it like a "lifetime" sealed, infallible unit due to cost of replacement.
PS. you can go to any transmission specialist website source and in their top 10 reasons for automatic transmission failures will include ..not enough transmission fluid (inadequate level) or quality of fluid...suggesting ATF has degraded, gotten dirty, etc..
05-23-18, 06:03 PM
#312
Driver School Candidate
Tranny slipping
Lots of talk about wether to change tranny oil or not. My problem is 2012 350RX seems like it's slipping when starting out slowly, it hesitates between gears, never did it before. I have 127,000 mi on it. Any ideas out there?
05-23-18, 08:24 PM
#313
Intermediate
If a transmission hasn't had it's fluid's condition checked, and the fluid happens to be burnt due to high temperatures, by the time this burnt fluid causes damage, it's already too late.
Replacing the fluid at this point *might* or might not extend the life of damaged clutch packs.
You can only try to remedy your issue by getting the fluid replaced, but if your clutch packs are already worn due to burnt ATF, then you're still up for a transmission replacement.
But if the issue with the slipping sensation or hesitation between gears is due to a faulty/sticking solenoid and not worn clutch packs, then doing an ATF drain/refill might help, as ATF is an extremely good "cleaner" and it will dissolve any gum or varnish that may have accumulated in the solenoids. You can only try the fluid change, and hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
Replacing the fluid at this point *might* or might not extend the life of damaged clutch packs.
You can only try to remedy your issue by getting the fluid replaced, but if your clutch packs are already worn due to burnt ATF, then you're still up for a transmission replacement.
But if the issue with the slipping sensation or hesitation between gears is due to a faulty/sticking solenoid and not worn clutch packs, then doing an ATF drain/refill might help, as ATF is an extremely good "cleaner" and it will dissolve any gum or varnish that may have accumulated in the solenoids. You can only try the fluid change, and hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
The following users liked this post:
bailey12 (05-28-18)
05-24-18, 05:15 AM
#314
If a transmission hasn't had it's fluid's condition checked, and the fluid happens to be burnt due to high temperatures, by the time this burnt fluid causes damage, it's already too late.
Replacing the fluid at this point *might* or might not extend the life of damaged clutch packs.
You can only try to remedy your issue by getting the fluid replaced, but if your clutch packs are already worn due to burnt ATF, then you're still up for a transmission replacement.
But if the issue with the slipping sensation or hesitation between gears is due to a faulty/sticking solenoid and not worn clutch packs, then doing an ATF drain/refill might help, as ATF is an extremely good "cleaner" and it will dissolve any gum or varnish that may have accumulated in the solenoids. You can only try the fluid change, and hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
Replacing the fluid at this point *might* or might not extend the life of damaged clutch packs.
You can only try to remedy your issue by getting the fluid replaced, but if your clutch packs are already worn due to burnt ATF, then you're still up for a transmission replacement.
But if the issue with the slipping sensation or hesitation between gears is due to a faulty/sticking solenoid and not worn clutch packs, then doing an ATF drain/refill might help, as ATF is an extremely good "cleaner" and it will dissolve any gum or varnish that may have accumulated in the solenoids. You can only try the fluid change, and hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
05-24-18, 05:16 AM
#315
Moderator
What else can be wrong?
There could be a problem with a solenoid or other wear or marginally failing part in the system. Expert in the transmission is the only qualified person to determine that. We can speculate on the net but cant be reasonable sure what is going on.
One of the major problem with transmission is that to be 100% sure, one has to open it up. Once you are that stage, you are already doing a overhaul.
From serviceability point of view, transmissions are bad design. On the other hand by closing the thing up, mean time to failure has gone up. [I am showing my age making that statement].
Salim
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bailey12 (05-28-18)
