njmurvin Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 My daughter drives a 97 ES300 with about 115k miles on it. I have heard from friends with Toyotas and Lexus' of that vintage that the transmissions are really expensive to fix and they seem to go out at about 100k. If so, we're living on borrowed time. First, is this true? If so, is there any PM I should do (besides the obvious routine servicing) to extend the life of the trans.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 It has been known to happen, I don't know that its a universal thing. Do you have repair records on the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcv10guy Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I don't know too much about the transmission failing. I know that mine was rebuilt before I bought it at around 179k miles. As far as preventative maintence goes, always do a transmission flush versus a drain and fill around 15k miles (I believe). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexusk8 Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 The tranny in my '01 ES went out at approx. 98K miles. I was really surprised at first that it went under that soon, not even breaking the 100K mark, but then again this ES was most likely driven hard before I purchased it at 64K miles. My dealer put in a reman tranny from a used '01 ES, and so far at currently 101,600 miles, no problems at all. It's like driving a brand new car, and this reman tranny has practically extended the life of the car :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGR Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 My daughter drives a 97 ES300 with about 115k miles on it. I have heard from friends with Toyotas and Lexus' of that vintage that the transmissions are really expensive to fix and they seem to go out at about 100k. If so, we're living on borrowed time. First, is this true? If so, is there any PM I should do (besides the obvious routine servicing) to extend the life of the trans.? ← If the transmission fluid was never changed for 115K miles then yes, the tranny could fail soon, especially if the fluid has turned black in color. If the transmission fluid was changed frequently - like every 15,000 miles - then 300,000 - 600,000 troublefree miles is possible (although if the car was driven hard and aggressively by a young kid then no amount of fluid changing will save the transmission. If the fluid was changed about every 30,000 miles then 200,000-350,000 miles of troublefree service is likely. The old pro mechanics as well as the Lexus service manual recommend just draining and refilling the tranny oil pan rather than doing a total fluid replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcv10guy Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 (edited) I and I'm sure most members would agree that a complete tranny flush is better than just the "drain and fill" method because with a complete tranny flush all of the tranny fluid is exchanged, which will eliminate a lot of the particles that's in the tranny. The drain and fill method leaves the old fluid in the torque converter. It's like the idea of why only do half the job. Whether you choose drain and fill, or 100% fluid exchange is up to you, as long as you do at least one of them at regular intervals. Another thing, if you are concerned about adding more protection to the transmission, you may want to consider adding an external filter to it. One of the Moderators/Management with the user name SKperformance added an external filter to his tranny and it actually helped it out a lot. Edited February 12, 2005 by vcv10guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKperformance Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 agreed with vcv draining and refilling is a waste of moeny and time do it properly or not at all. An external filter and proper fluid replacments and intervals is the best preventative maintance you can do for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexusfreak Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 agreed with vcvdraining and refilling is a waste of moeny and time do it properly or not at all. An external filter and proper fluid replacments and intervals is the best preventative maintance you can do for it. ← Agreed! Do a 100% fluid change (consider switching to Amsoil synthetic ATF as it is compatable with both Dexron III & Toyota Type IV fluids) which offers much better & longer protection than the others. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyofOne Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 JP IMPORTZ HAS TOLD ME NUMEROUS TIMES IN PERSON THAT A LEXUS TRANSMISSION SHOULD NEVER BE FLUSHED. Now that you have seen it (its big and red, you cant miss it this time :P ) , take it as you will. i have said it many times. I for one, will follow his advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 Interesting...why is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGR Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 JP IMPORTZ HAS TOLD ME NUMEROUS TIMES IN PERSON THAT A LEXUS TRANSMISSION SHOULD NEVER BE FLUSHED. ← Yes, many long time Toyota mechanics as well as ALL the Toyota service manuals recommend just draining and refilling the pan - sometimes multiple times over a period of days or weeks in the case of really old oxidized fluid. It's a risk free way of servicing the transmission. But many young people will flush anyway because it's in their genes and hormones to take risks "to see what happens" and especially because some older adults urge them on to take risks (the older adults who sell transmission flush services and the older adults that sell specialty transmission fluids like Amsoil) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnesleyWipes Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 agreed with vcvdraining and refilling is a waste of moeny and time do it properly or not at all. An external filter and proper fluid replacments and intervals is the best preventative maintance you can do for it. ← Agreed! Do a 100% fluid change (consider switching to Amsoil synthetic ATF as it is compatable with both Dexron III & Toyota Type IV fluids) which offers much better & longer protection than the others. B) ← Well what about tranny flush and adding some of the BG additive? Is that stuff worth the trouble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPI Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 Lexus and Toyota used to flush the tranny. But transmission failure would appear after the flush, so they are no wonder flush the tranny. Flushing the tranny would clog the valvebody and such. I'd discuss this issue with Lexus engineer and said the samething. If you go into the lexus/toyota dealership ask them for a flush and they would say "NO". There aren't many hard facts to back this up but I wouldn't flush my client's tranny. I don't want to pay 4k for a tranny. JPI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camlex Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 Hello, I asked toyota rep. he says okey to do it but don't use chemicals. just fluid change. I did @135000 last week now 136100 How long its take to fail your transmission after you flush. relation: times or miles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcv10guy Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 That's what I said, you just "exchange" all of the tranny fluid out with new one. Do not use chemicals or stuff like what camlex said, but just use new tranny fluid. Drain and fill doesn't get rid off all of the old fluid. I had my lexus technician do a 100% tranny fluid exchange and he didn't have a problem with it (this was done recently too). I think leaving over 50% of the old tranny fluid in there is more dangerous than not exchanging all of it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98es Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 I had mine flushed at the lexus dealership per the service technician about 2,000 miles ago. My 98 es has 118000 miles on it and the transmission is still shifting like it was new, no change in performance. So saying that the lexus service department will tell you NO if you ask for a flush is not true, at least not in my case. I even called the toyota dealership but their price wasn't much different from lexus. Personally I've always heard good things about transmission flushes vs. regular fluid change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKperformance Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 here would be my thought on why a drain might be better than a flush in very few cuircumstances. New fluiod with new cleaning agents clean gum varnish and other debris holding onto the sufaces inside the tranny. This makes them loosen and now cuirculate with the new fluid . Problem comes in that the metal mesh cannot catch the particles as they are too small for the mesh . Which then keep cuirculating till they slowly build up in the valve body at a specific tiny port causing a constriction of fluid. Thus being the same problem already experianced by others just it has been hibernating . My conclusion is to add the external filter then do a complete flush not drain. As the slow drain process lets enough of the debris stay suspended to not collect enough. A dead tranny can be brought back by a flush as mine was DEAD meaning i could not move forward or reverse . After numerous flushes i realised where my problem was by removing the filter and leaving it to sit in varsol then used a filter media to strain the left over debris. When i took it to a tranny shop for a hypothesis they said it was fibers from my TC backing . Also that the metalmesh could not filter it out. They said the filter would not help . But i tried it anyway. So all in all i can drive again and with very little change from when it was new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPI Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 Did the toyota actually flush it? When I say flush it means it they hook it up the machine and do a complete flush. Flushing the tranny is not a bad thing but there is a chance of clogging the valve body and some other components. BTW, there are three magnets on the bottom of your transmission pan. They collect all the shaving. Like I said I don't have enough facts to support my conclusion but I don't want to pay 4k for a tranny and an upset client! JP Importz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khhoang Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 i agree with SK and JPI statements. if my tranny was dead only then would i consider a machined 100% tranny flush. however my car being 10yrs old and the tranny still running smoothly (knocking on wood) without ever doing a tranny flush i would not put myself being liable for any tranny problems (as a result of clogged valve body. etc etc) by requesting a tranny flush without recommendation by Lexus/mechanic. to me why fix something that's not broken (at least in my situation). if i was concerned about my tranny fluid condition on a smoothly running transmission i would do a drain&fill w/ tranny pan drop cleaning every 3 months (DIY project) for a year then after that do it annually until i become concern again. that's what i'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadmg7 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 My daughter drives a 97 ES300 with about 115k miles on it. I have heard from friends with Toyotas and Lexus' of that vintage that the transmissions are really expensive to fix and they seem to go out at about 100k. If so, we're living on borrowed time. First, is this true? If so, is there any PM I should do (besides the obvious routine servicing) to extend the life of the trans.? ← If the transmission fluid was never changed for 115K miles then yes, the tranny could fail soon, especially if the fluid has turned black in color. If the transmission fluid was changed frequently - like every 15,000 miles - then 300,000 - 600,000 troublefree miles is possible (although if the car was driven hard and aggressively by a young kid then no amount of fluid changing will save the transmission. If the fluid was changed about every 30,000 miles then 200,000-350,000 miles of troublefree service is likely. The old pro mechanics as well as the Lexus service manual recommend just draining and refilling the tranny oil pan rather than doing a total fluid replacement. ← What do you consider to be hard and aggressive driving? I am a younger guy (20 yrs. old ) and I don't think I drive my car aggressively. I am interested to see what everyone here thinks *appropriate* driving means so I can see if I am driving too harshly, or if I am being too nice to my car, although I'm not sure that there is any such thing as being "too nice"... :D BTW, I know quite a few *older* adults who are tremendously hard on their cars... it's not just "young kids." :whistles: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunman Posted April 10, 2005 Share Posted April 10, 2005 I did a entire flush with Amsoil ATF. About 12 quarts. Runs very smooth now. Shifts are effortless. Can't even tell its shifting. I did it myself. Disconnected one cooler line and did the flush. It's been 2000 miles since then. I highly recommend Amsoil ATF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangloose4 Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 i have also heard that it is not recommended to flush the tranny of a toyota/lexus that has high mileage (something about the excess debris actually making the fluid more dense, and thus keeping transmissions with high miles from slipping). i am now at the junction point with my 92 having extremely darkened fluid, and am very nervous about messing around too much with a car that has 269,000 miles on it. is the best bet just to change the fluid out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayES300 Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 I had a '92 with 265,000 miles on it. Luckily, I knew the previous owner and he drained and filled his transmission every 6,000 miles. It seems like a little overkill, but I never had a problem with the transmission. When I got the car at 165,000 I changed the fluid every 12,000 miles and dropped the pan to clean it out and replace the filter (many say it is not necessary) every 24,000 miles. Other problems forced me to sell the car, but never had trouble with the tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camlex Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 if you don't mind to tell us "what type transmission fluid are you using with 265,000 miles car? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexusfreak Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 Did the toyota actually flush it? When I say flush it means it they hook it up the machine and do a complete flush. Flushing the tranny is not a bad thing but there is a chance of clogging the valve body and some other components. BTW, there are three magnets on the bottom of your transmission pan. They collect all the shaving. Like I said I don't have enough facts to support my conclusion but I don't want to pay 4k for a tranny and an upset client! JP Importz ← JPI, any experence with Amsoil synthetic ATF in place of Toyota type IV fluid? Please advise. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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