This question is regarding my mother's 2002 ES300, but answer should also apply to my 2002 RX300. The main reason for the question is that a So Florida Lexus dealer recently replaced my mother's 2002 ES300's transmission fluid at 1 year/5,000 miles! (Note that I'm retired, so my mother is no spring chicken).

My owners manual (for my RX300) doesn't mention transmission fluid changes in the Maintenance Information supplement. The "2002 MY USA Maintenance Schedule" chart on ClubLexus web pages calls for just inspection every 2 years/30,000 miles (which agrees with the owners manual).

Other dealers on the web mention replacement at intervals of a few years, but I think replacement at 5,000 miles is just ridiculous. Service advisor at the So Florida dealership says that Lexus says to replace transmission fluid every year (which more than doubles already inflated service charges).

Any solid supporting references from Lexus (other than individual opinions of when the transmission fluid should be changed) and suggestions on how to handle this would be appreciated.

 

Typical is 30k, I think, which like you said is what is in the OM. Maybe there is something special about the ES tranny they thought that a 5k interval was extra preventive maintenance? Doubtful.

I do mine every 15k, but I've got a modified torque converter and and aux cooler.

HTH

 

My dealer/service (Lexus of Norwood, MA) says every 15k or once/year is sufficient for my 02 ES. The change on your 5k may have been a "break in period" determined by that dealership.
Keep in mind, when you bring the car in for major services, you can tell them to not do procedures you think are unnecessay.

steviej

 

The maintenance handbook from my Lexus dealership here shows replace the A/T fluid at every 15,000 miles.