kodavis

I have read several threads debating on whether or not it is necessary to change the "lifetime" transmission fluid in our vehicles. My 2008 ES350 just turned over on 100k miles and I called the Lexus dealer and the Toyota dealer asking about having this done. Both dealerships said it is never necessary to change the fluid unless you are having shifting issues or the fluid has been contaminated. Lexus hesitantly said they'd do it for $180 and Toyota just flat out refused. My car still shifts without issue but it would give me peace of mind to have it done.

My question is: Can anybody who has strictly gone by the manufacturer recommendation and never touched the transmission fluid had any real issues? How many miles are on your car?

ESh

chuyrobles

Lifetime means the the lifetime of the warranty period, not the life of the car. All ATF breaks down and accumulates contaminants over time. If you plan on driving your car a long time, you should replace the ATF. The general rule of thumb is do a drain/refill 30-50K or a flush 60-90K.

I did our first flush at 105K, and again at 158K, at which time I also replaced the ATF filter. And I replaced the WS with Valvoline MaxLife Mercon LV - use it on all my Toyota products.

kodavis

This makes sense, but why are dealerships so reluctant to mess with it? The customer is paying for a service which is profit for the dealership. I just don't understand why they don't happily offer the service and why the owners manual doesn't define the true meaning of "lifetime".

chuyrobles

There must not be enough customers requesting a flush to justify the equipment and training. I have heard of some dealers (mostly Toyota) willing to do it but it's not common. I was being mostly facetious that Lifetime means lifetime of the warranty period but I've read several articles pointing out that car manufacturers have got tired of replacing busted transmissions caused by customers using the wrong ATF to top off, or over/under filling transmissions that they figured out it was cheaper labeling the ATF lifetime when they know their responsibility ends when the warranty period ends.

Clutchless

They are reluctant partly because the evil Toyota engineers made the process to determine the fluid level insanely over complicated with a temperature dependent overflow tube to monitor when they could have just left a dipstick in the transmission with marks for cold and hot levels like it has been done for decades. The older Gen 2 Highlander has the same transmission with a dipstick. They made a determined effort to limit the ability to change the fluid unless you were very determined. I found that it is easy to do a cold drain and fill if you measure exactly the amount drained and put that exact amount in plus a few ounces more for spillage. Do that a few weekends in a row and you have gone a long way to improving the life of your transmission. You can only drain about 2 quarts at a time this way unless you also loosen a cooler line to drain more.

I would do an initial drain and fill at 30,000 miles, then again once a year

kodavis

As stated in my original post, I'd still like to hear from owners who have just left the fluid alone. My guess is that most people don't keep their cars long enough to know if changing it or not really makes a difference. I'm sure that it will extend the life of the transmission but if you can get 200k miles out of a tranny without worrying about the oil then that is basically lifetime fluid in my book. People trade or sell off their cars for a nunber of reasons long before they hit that number. Changing it gives you peace of mind but who can prove that it actually made a difference in the long run? All parts are going to fail eventually.... Just playing the devils advocate here.

bucfan22

This topic has been debated over and over again in so many forums, at the end of the day it is yours to decide. Unlike you see or hear someone coming here to post about their car tramission problem because they didn't change the lifetime oil. if it happens, no one blame the oil anyway. Less than 200 buck for new transmission oil at dealer is a no brainier to me when DIY still cost about $100 for oil and time. Seeing the dirty black oil coming out and replace it with red clear oil is a satisfying feeling. if your engine can talk, it not gonna said it want the old black oil back

chuyrobles

In a later post I did say I was being more facetious than not. However, Toyota does not really mean the life of the car. i think in 2010, they started saying to change the ATF at 60K if towing, aka severe duty service.

Paul3637

There is no Lexus dealer anywhere near me but both Toyota dealers closest to me will do it. Bob Tyler Toyota (Pensacola, FL) works on all Lexus models and I have seen them do it on an ES350 more than once but they don't do a complete flush. A "gym buddy" of mine took his ES350 to them just about a month ago and it cost him $120.

My 09V6 has the same transmission as Lexus ES350 but was made in Kentucky .. not Japan. It came low on fluid from the factory and to do a 40% 4 quart "flush" cost me about $100 and made a world of difference in performance. See my post #7 here:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/10...anny-jerk.html

My dealer followed the procedure here to "check" the fluid ....
http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/...dPdf?id=138247

.... but undid the drain plug under the torque converter and forced 4 quarts through the intake and out the overflow "holes" using the piece of equipment shown in TC010-070. It's just a plastic container with a manual pump.


Toyota now provides instructions to change the fluid on the U760 Automatic Transmission
https://www.scribd.com/document/3418...ng-camry-u760e

This also contains interesting information:

http://at-manuals.com/manuals/u660e-u760e/?utm_referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.google.com%2furl%3fsa%3dt%26rct%3dj%26q%3d%26esrc%3ds%26source%3dweb%26cd%3d2%26ved%3d0ahUKEwjb66Gq3cHZAhVNON8KHcHvAckQFggwMAE%26url%3dhttp%253A%252F%252Fat-manuals.com%252Fmanuals%252Fu660e-u760e%252F%26usg%3dAOvVaw0rfy4RfMsaPENdaefHhZEw&fa821dba_ipp_uid2=PMGJQhZoDHVk7Ya6%2foIX4DvINoarnLaSOcBwMQg%3d%3d&fa821dba_ipp_uid1=1519584499183&fa821dba_ipp_key=1519584499183%2FmRSmNkjKTxmiJoY8wk1Y1Q%3d%3d

Toyota of Fort Walton Beach will do it as well .... but they do a full flush .... BG style and don't use Toyota fluid.

Also, while the USA owners manual (as well as the aforementioned TSB )does not call for changing the fluid, the Canadian owners manual specifies the fluid is to be changed every 100,000 KM.

Here's another interesting thread. You might want to see the video at post #57 ... just to get another of the many opinions.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/31...id-myth-4.html

hisstojay

I agree with you; occasional drain and fill probably once a year will be good. At the least your transmission can SMILE