Transmission Fluid - Change or Not? (Merged threads)
#76
Lexus Test Driver
A lot has to do with how the vehicle has been used thus far in its life; such as mostly stop-n-go driving versus mostly highway driving. A vehicle driven mostly on the highway has a transmission that rarely shifts and never runs hot...and the engine is rarely put under a load, not to mention saving wear-n-tear on brakes and suspension. Compare that vehicle to the vehicle that is often only driven short distances that seldom has the engine and transmission come up to typical operating temperature, struts that are punished and brakes that are used multiple times every minute.
#77
Driver School Candidate
Maybe you misunderstood. The discussion is about changing transmission fluid way, way, way before the manufacturer recommends. I'm not suggesting that people not perform regular, recommended maintenance. For example, changing engine oil and filter at 10k miles or at one year as recommended is good, but changing it at 3k miles or 5k miles is senseless. The only thing I would recommend not necessarily doing at the recommended time is replacing the spark plugs, because they will last past 200k miles with no degradation or loss of fuel mileage.
A lot has to do with how the vehicle has been used thus far in its life; such as mostly stop-n-go driving versus mostly highway driving. A vehicle driven mostly on the highway has a transmission that rarely shifts and never runs hot...and the engine is rarely put under a load, not to mention saving wear-n-tear on brakes and suspension. Compare that vehicle to the vehicle that is often only driven short distances that seldom has the engine and transmission come up to typical operating temperature, struts that are punished and brakes that are used multiple times every minute.
A lot has to do with how the vehicle has been used thus far in its life; such as mostly stop-n-go driving versus mostly highway driving. A vehicle driven mostly on the highway has a transmission that rarely shifts and never runs hot...and the engine is rarely put under a load, not to mention saving wear-n-tear on brakes and suspension. Compare that vehicle to the vehicle that is often only driven short distances that seldom has the engine and transmission come up to typical operating temperature, struts that are punished and brakes that are used multiple times every minute.
#78
What percentage of Lexus owners keep their car to 100,000 miles or more? I know there are few exceptions ... but the answer is - not very many! There are a significant number of GS 350 owners drivers that lease and will turn-in their car after 24 to 36 months. People that buy their GS 350s will usually trade-in their car for a newer model or something different long before it reaches 100k miles. It's usually the people who THINK they will keep their car f-o-r-e-v-e-r that waste the most time and money doing needless maintenance stuff and throwing away money all for naught.
Also, a lot of people buy the car used (like I did) so what is the secondary market, chopped liver? [laugh]
-Mike
#79
Take it from someone who has only owned 3 cars in nearly 27 years of driving. 91 Camry, 2000 Camry and currently the 2013 GS350. I changed the oil pretty much once a year as I don't drive much but at most once every 6 months. The 91 Camry was gifted to my brother who later sold it to a family friend and still runs to this day. The 2000 Camry was sold to my buddy in 2013 who later sold it to his buddy a few years later. Maintenance was done by what the manual stated and never before and sometimes way way after.
All cars I know are still running like a champ to this day. The 91 Camry has close to 300K miles on it now last I heard, 140K of those miles were put on by me.
All cars I know are still running like a champ to this day. The 91 Camry has close to 300K miles on it now last I heard, 140K of those miles were put on by me.
#80
Pole Position
My local Lexus Service manager when asked about transmission fluid changes refused to take my money. He said they can cause more harm than good. I will listen to him.
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bclexus (08-11-22)
#81
I've always been a fan of do what the manual says. I've never used synthetic oil until now. Back when people were near each other throats swearing that you needed to use synthetic oil if you plan to keep your car long. My 91 Camry says, no you don't.
#82
Instructor
The difference in price between synthetic and regular oil has gotten closer and the performance for most vehicles between them is negligible. I would definitely use synthetics in a turbocharged or supercharged vehicle due to the extreme loads put on those motors. Otherwise, it is a preference thing, dictated by your wallet and mindset.
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bclexus (08-11-22)
#83
digging up my old thread for an update.
I finally got around to doing the service today, Drained only about 2QT and put 2QT back in. I had 4 quarters lying around so i went ahead and did it twice. While the car was in the air, i shifted through the gears (turn traction control off to do so). First 2 qts came out pretty dark red. Next two were better but still pretty dark. Going to order 8 more quarts and do it 4 times, in succession across a few hours next time i need an oil change.
I have some pics and will post them tomorrow but the youtube video above with the dude doing a drain and fill is 99% the same. Don't mess with tape/hoses and other crap or the gravity feed, just pump back roughly the same amount. Walmart sells a pretty good pump for about $8, cant find the link to it but its a house brand and exactly like the pennzoil one at homedepot. It may look like the Harbor Freight one but its about 100x better.
The last tip I have is to give yourself enough ground clearance. I got lucky and lifted enough the first time but you want to be able to fit an old 1-gal/5qt oil jug under the car. Reason being you need to capture all the fluid that drains out of the trans and its pretty easy to do if you can put it directly into an old 1 gal oil bottle (it already has measurement markings, etc.). For me, that meant about 15 inches of clearance between the floor and the rockers, the tires were about 4 inches off the ground.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennzoil...6677/205092031
I finally got around to doing the service today, Drained only about 2QT and put 2QT back in. I had 4 quarters lying around so i went ahead and did it twice. While the car was in the air, i shifted through the gears (turn traction control off to do so). First 2 qts came out pretty dark red. Next two were better but still pretty dark. Going to order 8 more quarts and do it 4 times, in succession across a few hours next time i need an oil change.
I have some pics and will post them tomorrow but the youtube video above with the dude doing a drain and fill is 99% the same. Don't mess with tape/hoses and other crap or the gravity feed, just pump back roughly the same amount. Walmart sells a pretty good pump for about $8, cant find the link to it but its a house brand and exactly like the pennzoil one at homedepot. It may look like the Harbor Freight one but its about 100x better.
The last tip I have is to give yourself enough ground clearance. I got lucky and lifted enough the first time but you want to be able to fit an old 1-gal/5qt oil jug under the car. Reason being you need to capture all the fluid that drains out of the trans and its pretty easy to do if you can put it directly into an old 1 gal oil bottle (it already has measurement markings, etc.). For me, that meant about 15 inches of clearance between the floor and the rockers, the tires were about 4 inches off the ground.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennzoil...6677/205092031
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#84
Racer
iTrader: (1)
I did it on sat, but I used techstream to see the a/t temp and using the overfill to check the correct level. mines drained out 1qt 1/2. the fluid is black. any 1 know the part number for the gasket for the drain,fill, and overflow?
Last edited by richard203; 04-22-18 at 11:12 PM.
#85
Lexus Test Driver
digging up my old thread for an update.
I finally got around to doing the service today, Drained only about 2QT and put 2QT back in. I had 4 quarters lying around so i went ahead and did it twice. While the car was in the air, i shifted through the gears (turn traction control off to do so). First 2 qts came out pretty dark red. Next two were better but still pretty dark. Going to order 8 more quarts and do it 4 times, in succession across a few hours next time i need an oil change.
I have some pics and will post them tomorrow but the youtube video above with the dude doing a drain and fill is 99% the same. Don't mess with tape/hoses and other crap or the gravity feed, just pump back roughly the same amount. Walmart sells a pretty good pump for about $8, cant find the link to it but its a house brand and exactly like the pennzoil one at homedepot. It may look like the Harbor Freight one but its about 100x better.
The last tip I have is to give yourself enough ground clearance. I got lucky and lifted enough the first time but you want to be able to fit an old 1-gal/5qt oil jug under the car. Reason being you need to capture all the fluid that drains out of the trans and its pretty easy to do if you can put it directly into an old 1 gal oil bottle (it already has measurement markings, etc.). For me, that meant about 15 inches of clearance between the floor and the rockers, the tires were about 4 inches off the ground.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennzoil...6677/205092031
I finally got around to doing the service today, Drained only about 2QT and put 2QT back in. I had 4 quarters lying around so i went ahead and did it twice. While the car was in the air, i shifted through the gears (turn traction control off to do so). First 2 qts came out pretty dark red. Next two were better but still pretty dark. Going to order 8 more quarts and do it 4 times, in succession across a few hours next time i need an oil change.
I have some pics and will post them tomorrow but the youtube video above with the dude doing a drain and fill is 99% the same. Don't mess with tape/hoses and other crap or the gravity feed, just pump back roughly the same amount. Walmart sells a pretty good pump for about $8, cant find the link to it but its a house brand and exactly like the pennzoil one at homedepot. It may look like the Harbor Freight one but its about 100x better.
The last tip I have is to give yourself enough ground clearance. I got lucky and lifted enough the first time but you want to be able to fit an old 1-gal/5qt oil jug under the car. Reason being you need to capture all the fluid that drains out of the trans and its pretty easy to do if you can put it directly into an old 1 gal oil bottle (it already has measurement markings, etc.). For me, that meant about 15 inches of clearance between the floor and the rockers, the tires were about 4 inches off the ground.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennzoil...6677/205092031
#86
Lexus Test Driver
Most transmissions will drain 3.5 - 4 quarts of ATF when doing D&Fs, some as little at 2.5 quarts. I don't recall ever hearing of one that drained less than 2 quarts.
#88
Instructor
Has anyone attempted one of those Jiffy Lube type transmission fluid changes where they disconnect one of the cooling lines and cycle the old fluid out and pump the new fluid in?
#89
Lexus Test Driver
Personally, I wouldn't let Jiffy Lube do anything.
► Consumer Affairs - Jiffy Lube Reviews & Complaints
Last edited by bclexus; 04-23-18 at 04:24 PM.
#90
Lexus Test Driver
Beware of flushing a transmission. It can cause more harm than good by stirring up debris and clogging up the valve body . Also, Jiffy Lube has been known to use a non-compatible ATF in a transmission and then adding an ATF additive that claims to make the ATF they used compatible for the transmission. I think it is always best to use the same exact ATF that the car maker originally installed in the transmission.
Personally, I wouldn't let Jiffy Lube do anything.
► Consumer Affairs - Jiffy Lube Reviews & Complaints
Personally, I wouldn't let Jiffy Lube do anything.
► Consumer Affairs - Jiffy Lube Reviews & Complaints