I recently noticed a half dozen or so drops of fluid on my garage floor under my RX 450h. These drops were positioned approximately under the electric motor. I cleaned them up a couple weeks ago and put a piece of cardboard under it. After about two weeks, there was no further leakage, so this isn’t a major leak obviously. I had it serviced today and asked them to check on this. Turns out the fluid was transmission fluid. The repair ticket stated “removed seal from park lock shaft and found spring was not installed to tension the seal. Replaced seal.”

So my question is this: should I be concerned about fluid loss? Since these are sealed units, I’m not aware of any way to verify the quantity of fluid remaining in the transmission. My “guess” is that the leak was trivial enough that I don’t need to be concerned? Furthermore, if the dealer’s techs were concerned they would have brought it to my attention?

I wondered if anyone thinks I have reason to be concerned? Thanks in advance.

 

It is dead simple to check fluid level on the hybrid why not get it done. That's a strange problem.

 

it was my understanding they were sealed units with no dipstick like the older automatics. Is that not correct? I regret not asking while I was there but I just didn’t think to ask until I had driven away - right at closing time.

 

There is a fill and drain plug

 

Why not just call the dealer and ask them? I would certainly assume they would have checked the level.

 

Have a message in now. They were closed by the time I got home and thought about this question.

 

Thanks. After your previous comment I went to YouTube. Found a video on transmission fluid change. Seems much simpler than the procedure for a conventional automatic. But I presume I just open the fill hole in the side to verify it is topped off. Now all I need is a lift, a torque wrench and a new seal for that fill plug.

 

Update: service advisor returned my call after speaking with tech. Advisor said tech indicated he absolutely checked. He said if they didn’t verify fluid levels and it “torpedoed” the transmission, the dealer would be liable. Although he didn’t specifically say this repair had a documented procedure, he did mention it would be listed on the checklist if such a document existed - plus it would be considered a “best practice” any time they are dealing with a leak. I am confident that I didn’t need to worry about this detail.