2021 RX350 110k miles
Lexus dealers want over $350 to perform a transmission fluid change of their “Lifetime” transmission fluid. (What does “Lifetime” mean? Life of the transmission if not changed?)
Lexus also says that the on-call emergencyehicle must be in their shop for hours for the transmission fluid to attain the correct temperature.
Can I drain and replace fluid every week and accomplish enough fluid exchange to be worthwhile?
Thank you.
Well I’d hate to advise now. Some the fluid temperature is measured and they are filled from underneath with the car on a lift. I used to change my old Acura like that and measure what came out and put that back in. But it had a fill location under the hood. Now I just have the dealer do the Acura and a trans shop do the Pontiac. OThers will disagree but I just change every 30k and not a full replacement. But gee I can be in and out in an hour for maybe $150 but I do the transfer case and rear differential at the same time. Short answer, I wouldn’t mess with it.
No, you can’t drain and fill every week.
Pay the dealer or check around to see if an indie shop will do it cheaper.
Why go to the dealer? Go to a trusted mechanic or a transmission specialist at probably half that price. You buy a luxury SUV and complain about maintenance costs?
Does the SUV have a transmission dipstick tube that you can use to refill? If so draining it out and refilling with the same amount is fine and not difficult. If not, it will be somewhat more complicated to DIY. I wouldn’t worry about the complete change of the fluid if you go this route. Just a drain and fill at regular intervals.
Not sure which transmission you have, but don’t forget the filter if you have one in it or an inline. My U250E has one inside the transmission, and the Acura I have has an inline. If you DIY.
If we were talking about “cutting corners” on the recommended transmission fluid check/change procedure on a 20-year old car with 200,000 miles, many people would say “why not?”. But this is not an old “beater” with low value, and limited life remaining. This is a relatively new, expensive luxury vehicle. And at 110,000 miles, it should still have plenty of life remaining. I would pay the dealer $350 to do it right. And no, I would not search for a cheaper shop, as they probably won’t use the genuine OEM transmission fluid.
@Robert-Gift Read the above post by bcohen2010 . Just stop making things difficult or trying to be the center of attraction .
Thank you.
No dip stick - other than the owner
I would have to pump transmission fluid up through the bottom filler plug.
There may be a vertical tube which ends above the fluid level but I have not had time to research enough.
For $350, I’d rather do it myself.
I have seen how the techs do not cleanything. They’re too busy to be OCD.
And we do not have the time for themergencyehicle to be out of service.
I shall call transmission places.
Watch this
The assumption that a stealer would do it right is… well, [ass]umption.
I spent nearly 20 years in the field as a Mechanical Breakdown Inspector, and I’ve seen crazy shit!
From personal experience, many years ago when I didn’t have means to do major stuff myself, and somebody hit the radiator and overheated the engine on my Civic, I had no choice but to take it to a stealer. Not only they attempted to charge me twice for the operation included in another one but they 1. punctured the radiator hose and 2. cross-threaded the crankshaft main pulley bolt. Did I mention that they refused to fix their screw ups on the grounds that $2,500 repair (30 years ago!!!) had only thirty day warranty?
Bottom line: nobody will do anything better than you yourself will.
Using Toyota ATF is, however, a good advice.
I think it’s safe to say ALL of the professional mechanics on this website can recall countless instances where the customer attempted to perform repairs and/or services on their own vehicles and completely bothched the job
a competent DIY-guy COULD do the trans service at home, using a Mityvac fluid evacuator, the correct adapter and the appropriate fluid, and that’s in addition to the tools needed to drain the fluid, remove the pan, replace the filter, gasket, etc.
But he would also have to check the fluid at the proper temperature, and if the car’s multifunction display doesn’t digitally display the atf temperature, now you’re talking about using a scanner which will show you that
I personally don’t think @Robert-Gift is up to the job
Not unless he can get the car in the air to run it. $350 actually seems half.way reasonable, and the time frame required probably is due to letting the trans cool down.
I generally trust folks but once they try to fool me I watch them pretty close. I had an issue with our contractor that tried to charge me for a door location change that I did myself. Then had insulation delivered but removed it and used blown in instead but charged for both. Then tried charging for two different types of siding, and probably more stuff I don’t remember but I was on hand to make a note of it all. At the end I brought in the ag to help settle. He did the same to a banker in town and had blown through the whole budget before even closing the place in. That was his last house and became the building inspector. Knew what to look for.
Absolutely! DUY’ers may not have experience but they have dedication and time to do it right. Something “professionals” rarely possess. Not to mention that today any information is readily available online including shop manuals.
I’m sure you know that many - if not most - f-ups don’t show up immediately, and when a car suddenly quits two years later because of water intrusion into some connector not plugged all the way in, it’s hard to associate the issue with some innocent repair done long time ago.
When I retire, I will write a book about shop “achievements” - I have tens of thousands of photographs. For example, a firestone “professional” didn’t have the scanner to turn the maintenance light on MB600 off so he simply cut the wire to the oil level sensor. The entire main harness had to be replaced. You probably know what’s involved in that procedure.
I agree . . . hourly rates are quite high and the correct aft isn’t cheap, either
The pigtail to do a proper repair is usually available and when only 1 single connector is involved, I’d prefer that, versus doing an entire harness, which creates the possibility for more damage along the way, because of the number of components, trim pieces, etc. which must be removed
But I agree cutting the wire was unacceptable. It’s quite possible the entire shop didn’t have the scanner and maybe the service manager was unwilling to send the car to another shop which did
Yeah… except that the sensor is an integral part of the main harness (no connector) and is not available separately AND the “professional” cut the wires so close to the sensor that there was no way to reconnect them. There are a lot more ways to screw up than to do it right.
I had to rely on professionals for a simple oil change - worked out of state and had no means to do it myself - and BOTH times they overfilled. One - by 4 quarts. One shop sucked the excess out without resistance, the other one insisted it was OK.
Again, nobody is business of making you happy except yourself. Others are in business of making money which usually contradicts your interests.
Nobody can do a job better than you?
Wrong.
Many amateur mechanics are dangerous.
Most pro mechanics are more skilled then an uneducated rube
You have good and bad employees everywhere you go, from mechanic shops to nursing homes to fast food places and everywhere in between… Sounds like you were in the field only seeing the bad stuff as a Mechanical Breakdown Inspector, All the stuff that didn’t break down you had no reason to inspect… I have seen some complete idiots that would try to install a tapered wheel bearing in backwards and I have seen the best of the best master techs in the same shop, most of the time the bad are promoted to a customer or leave themselves, after a few screw ups… I have hired some really good techs and some terrible techs, no one ever said I suck as a tech will you hire me anyway… lol
Point is you are making it sound like WE all suck at working on cars and that is simply not correct…
nofyfb - really seems to live in a world that most of us do not .