tparrish

My wife and I have a 2001 Lexus RX 300 with about 142,000 miles on it. The dealer has suggested that we replace the seal around the transmission pan (I think) because it is leaking a little. I want to make an informed decision, so I have a couple of questions I hope the forum can help me out with.

1. How much fluid does the transmission hold?
2. How much of the transmission fluid will be replaced (Qty/Percentage)?
3. Other than replacing the seal, are there other components that can
or should be replaced while the pan has been removed?

I intend to let the dealer perform the work. I have no motivation to do this work myself.

BTW, how many miles should I be able to get with this transmission? We bought the car new and performed the 5K maintenance religiously. My wife use the car more like a family mini-van. Strictly city and highway usage only.

Thanks for all your help,
Tippy

thomas1

Have the dealer do a drain/ replace filter/ and refill. should take only 4.2 qts...filter and gasket around $70 at the stealership.....plus labor.....1 hour tops for the job, but they use flat rate manual....Do Not do a flush....under any circumstance. Also the price of the Toyota Type IV fluid...dont know the going rate right now.

Lexmex

I think the Type IV is around $5 to $6 a quart. When I lived in Mexico it was going for 45 pesos, just under $4 USD a quart at Toyota

FWD U140E tranny:
Dry Fill: 8.25 liters
Drain and Fill: 3.5 liters

AWD U140F tranny:
Dry Fill: 9.15 liters
Drain and Fill: 4.1 liters

It's up in the air as far as how long you can go on the tranny. For me, I would say drain and fills should be done at maximum at 15K on Type IV (though it can run longer). Some of us run synthetic ATFs.

thomas1

Well I made the plunge, changed the filter, inspected the pan and put in the Mobil 1 ATF.
I cant believe the difference, the tranny shifts smoother now....I also changed my external filter which is the size of a PH8 filter....Got the filter and gasket for $35 from partsgeek....Looked exactly like OEM parts at half the price.....The Mobil fluid was $6.99 a qt. with my external filter I used 5 1/2 qts....