Are there any obvious differences; color, etc?

Can a sample of the fluid be tested to determine which?

This fluid is already in the transmission (2001 ls430), and I am concerned the wrong type was used.

Thanks in advance,

Alan

 

If you are worried the wrong type was used don't drive your car and do a drain and fill also I am assuming yo u have a 01-03? If you have the money and you think it was the wrong type have your car towed to a dealership and have them perform a tranny flush. I am assuming uou are talking about atf+4 and dexron/merc the is no way to tell the difference they look exactly the same.

 

According to the attached bulletin, if WS ATF is used in your 2001 T-IV compatible transmission, the shifting will be harsh and "shocking".

 

Was the service done at the dealer? What makes you think that the incorrect fluid was used? Is it driving funny? Did you personally do the flush, or a friend?
I don’t think you can distinguish the difference by the look,feel, or smell. But elaborate on your story as to what makes you question the fluid

 

2001 ls430, transmission flushed and refilled by dealer in october.

280k miles, transmission worked perfectly before flush.

Car now has several issues including a strange noise when shifting,

a serious whine and vibration in overdrive and reverse,

and a burnt smell. These symptoms are described if the wrong fluid is used.

My daughter drives this car so I was not aware of the problem as it started.

If atfws fluid was used instead of t-4, should the dealer be responsible for replacing the transmission

if a change back to t-4 doesn't fix the problems?

Thanks,

Alan

 

Not be that guy but that tranny is toast man changing the fluid isn't gonna anything sorry to give you the news go in and tell the dealer they made the problem and they need to fix it, if they give you flak you can always mention you are going to speak to an attorney and see what happens.

Also just an idea but maybe they did a tranny flush instead of a drain and fill and it knocked loose all sorts of deposits and stuff. So all the knocked loose stuff is gumming up the tranny and causing the issue you mentioned above.

 

"Not be that guy but that tranny is toast man changing the fluid isn't gonna anything sorry to give you the news go in and tell the dealer they made the problem and they need to fix it, if they give you flak you can always mention you are going to speak to an attorney and see what happens.

Also just an idea but maybe they did a tranny flush instead of a drain and fill and it knocked loose all sorts of deposits and stuff. So all the knocked loose stuff is gumming up the tranny and causing the issue you mentioned above."

I found the service order and they did flush and used 10 Qts atfws fluid to refill

 

With 280K miles flushing the trans would potentially do more damage than using WS.
Did you ask or tell them to do a "flush" as opposed to a drain and fill?
At this point the first step should be replacing the WS with Type IV to see if the problems remain. If there are still issues after that then the flush was the culprit.

 

dealer should be at fault if they used WS

 

That's the problem they did a transmission flush on a car with almost 300,000 miles, they should have known better then to do that. That's completely on the dealership I would speak to the manager of the dealership and tell them that there inexperienced service department is the cause of the malfunctioning transmission.

As the transmissions is used the clutch packs engage and disengage in the transmission, heat causes wear on metal parts etc. As the transmission ages these loose particles in the transmission settle into the nooks and crannies of the tranny. When a transmission flush is performed it knocks loose all those deposits and particles and then they go onto the clutch packs, block drain holes and clog stuff up.

 

You don't know what the history of the car is so how can say they should have know better? If the car has had regular fluid changes throughout it's life then a flush at 300K shouldn't harm anything. Maybe the OP can chime in here and tell us what the history of the car is.

A more likely reason for failure is that the old fluid is full of the worn particles from the friction disks and when you replace that with new fluid, the sudden loss of friction material can be enough to cause slippage in the worn disks. Yeah I know that this is car has a reputation for being bulletproof but how many miles can one realistically expect to get out of a transmission?

Questions for the OP:

• Did you check the fluid level immediately after you got the car back from transmission service?
• How many miles have been driven since the change?
• How times has the transmission fluid been changed on this car?
• Why did you decide to change it at this point?
• Not likely but got to ask, does your daughter abuse the car or does she have friends that drive it that have abused it? How long was it performing poorly before she told you about it?

The only way you are going to be able to tell what kind of fluid they put in there is to get a sample out and send it to a lab to have it analyzed. Just waltzing into the dealer and claiming that they frigged up without any proof isn't going to get you anywhere. The odds are high that they put in the correct fluid but your transmission was likely on it's last legs anyway. It might be worth changing it out once more but if the new fluid is already burnt I don't think it will help much.

Let us know what you finally find out. Good luck...

 

I did not check the fluid level until after the problems started. Checked now and full.

less than 2k miles before problems.

fluid history - 38,123 service - 4 qts
64,519 service - 4 qts
90,580 service - 4 qts
127,154 flush - 12 qts
183,488 service - 4 qts
260,220 service - 4 qts
295,237 flush - 10 qts
(I had the mileage wrong before).

I did not decide, the dealer said it was factory scheduled maintenance.

My daughter, 48, is a turtle driving lol. No tickets, etc. She parked it and called me when it started.

I wouldn't be waltzing into the dealership without proof. I have the invoice clearly showing they charged me for 10 qts
of World Standard fluid @ $9.45.

I suppose the odds are high that they SHOULD HAVE used the correct fluid, however, it is clear from the invoice they did not.

I intend to drain a sample out to have if testing becomes necessary(meaning they refuse to take ownership of this situation they caused).

I will have to find where to send for testing.

Thanks everyone for information, thoughts, and experiences in the responses.

Alan

 

Why would you need to send it to testing?

Clearly the dealer used used the wrong fluid. The proof is in your recent service receipt. Go back and ask for the repair/replacement.

 

Go straight to the service manager.

 

Alan, it's a good idea to drain a small sample of ATF from your transmission as evidence. Be sure to let the Lexus dealership know about the ATF sample in case if they claim clerical error on the receipt.