slper

I have scheduled an appointment for my 1st oil change June 29th. I've had the car six months and have put almost 3k miles on her. It will be the 30k check up. Anything I should be one top of? The car is running flawlessly and driving great. I know it's a little early for an oil change as far as mileage (it was done by the dealer at the time of me purchasing it used) but I want to be for sure I know it has Mobil 1 in it and another set of eyes looking underneath....

lexusrus

Watch out for OVERFILL on engine oil.

Happened to me TWICE!

CHECK your engine oil BEFORE leaving YOURSELF.

OldManRCF

+1 on checking the oil, especially if you are getting full synthetic. They use the 1 qt bottles instead of adjusting the setting on the oil gun coming out of the ceiling. The earlier versions of the service manuals listed the dry fill amount, non dry fill with and without the oil filter replacement, which throws the service techs for a loop. The safest way to do it is fill 9 qts and check the stick, top off as needed. it's somewhere between 9.3-9.8 qts to fill, but the common theme is the techs dumping all 10 qts into it.

bob67

At 30,000 miles, get a printout for the rotor and brake pad thicknesses. It may be time to replace brake pads, and if so, the dealership will try to tell you that you also need to replace your front rotors. Many of us don't believe the Lexus story that for the RCF, rotors need to be replaced when new brake pads are installed. At 30,000 miles, cabin air filter is also "required". For many of us, we got along for years without cabin air filters, and did just fine, so unless you live in a very polluted area, I would leave the original cabin air filter in there and save some money! My first two oil changes were way overfilled, (3/4 inch above fill mark), so insist that they check oil level as described in the manual.

theman

+2 on checking the overfill on oil... happens to just about anyone taking it to the dealer for that at some point.

can't all-in agree with bob on the cabin filter part... by all means don't let them charge their shop rate and handle the part change, but instead just order the filter online yourself and take the few minutes to install it. It'll save you a hundy easy.

TOPHER9425

Which Dealership you servicing it at brother....Tampa or Orlando?

slper

Wesley Chapel.

slper

I'm glad I asked!!!!

Although I know this is a simple task, It's my 1st time with this car having 30k miles on it. I wanted to know if there was anything crazy about the car. I've ordered an air filter. I'll install it myself. I've been around car's from this Lexus to running my bracket race car (mild steel back halfed Camaro) for 7 years. I'm a regional fleet manager for a very large company. I'm a junkie when it comes to cars/big trucks, so any of this isn't a problem for me. Plus I can use a friends lift if I wanted.

Thanks for all the input!

vbb

iTrader: (3)

When I was younger (20s) we used to have mod and maintenance days because we all wanted to save money and help each other out. Then I got lazy and would have the dealership do it, because I felt my time was more important than the few extra bucks it would cost. Now it has sort of come full circle...I like doing my own maintenance not to save the money, but because I want to be sure it is done right. Plus it does give you a sense of accomplishment. Granted, I have a garage and lots of tools I've acquired over the years (no lift though), but I would put in a strong vote for you changing your own oil, filters and brake pads. There's a how to video on YouTube for virtually everything.

I plan to have the dealership tackle the spark plugs (probably) and transmission fluid flush when that's due though. But simple oil changes? I'll do that.

kukudm

After the dealer visit, I would also watch out for overfilled coolant in the coolant bottle. The dealership "topped off" the coolant, gave me an extra 1/2 qt in the reservoir bottle above the full line (cold engine). It got spilled into engine bay while driving, not cool. I had to suck out that extra 1/2 qt so the coolant stays at full line, not way above it, when engine is cold.

lexusrus

X2 on the cabin air filter.

BECAREFUL when ordering on Amazon bc on my initial order Amazon sent the wrong one even though on its app it said fits, but I think they sent one that was for ES350.

Fysisist

Maybe not the appropriate thread but I'll just mention a couple things: I also got over-filled twice on the dealer oil change. If they can't get that simple thing right then I have a hard time trusting them with anything else. As far as DIY, that is me, mainly for the assurance that I know something is done right. I look at every job as an opportunity to buy new tools if nothing else. I really wanted a lift since I have the RC F plus a G37 and then wife's car to service, but settled on the QuickJack. About an even $1K on sale at Costco.com. Pretty happy with it. It's a little cumbersome to move around but not bad. Gives a good 18+" or so when all the way up. With that and a creeper I'm good to go on getting under the car. 10 times easier than a floorjack and jackstands. I'm getting ready to do the spark plug changeout but currently suffering with a rotator cuff problem so might have to get that done. If anyone has done the spark plug swap I'd like to get your assessment of the job.