sandydennis

Good points.. but my service guy showed me the fluid sample in a vile that he saved, and it was as dark as a Coca Cola and viscosity of thin maple syrup. And then showed me the color and visicosity of the new ATF. That got my attention. Why wouldn't Lexus have that as a service requirement at 60k and maybe 100k. They would make money doing it and clean clear fluids throughout the car would obviously keep these cars going for years. An oil sample sent to a lab, like Chevron's labs here in Sf Bay area, would have cost a bundle, proving a point to no one who would really care.

The main cost was the 32 quarts of ATF @$348.00 plus tax and labor brought it to $540.00. Definite improvement in shifting smoothness. Why would anyone believe what Toyota or Lexus says about service requirements after the mess they are in the past month. After they sell you the car the only way corp. makes more money is to sell you another one after you have traded and pass the possible trans problems to next owner who thought all is well because all service was done. And that new owner will take it to an independant sevice guy to keep costs down when trans fails, after 150k miles

Sandy, I have an '04 LS430 with the same problem. I have been told that it is not possible to have the glass buffed so have come up with my own solution, but it is only practical for the larger nicks. I take a permanent black magic marker with a fine point and dot each nick. Let it dry well and then get a sharp razor blade to shave off any extra black next to the dots. When you are in the car looking through the windshield, the black dots are much harder to notice than the untreated ones, since they don't catch the light. You will have to repeat the exercise every few months. Let me know how it works for you. DandyDon Thanks DandyDon, I'll try it today.

My '06 LS 430 looks like it might have had contact with a little sand storm somewhere in it's previous ownership. Under certain bright light, like at gas station at night, the windshield looks like the sky at night, million microscoptic stars. Can these be removed safely? Is the windshield clearcoated? Will buffing/sanding ruin a clearcoat? Body finish has some issues from this possible sand storm/road mess but that is an easy fix.

Since it took a little over a day to get info from this site, I did take the '06 LS 430 with 53k to my independant who does many out of warranty Lexus and BMW's... AND order up a tranmission flush using a system called BG. (quite well known at high shops). Not a drain and refill. This machine hooks up to the trans coolant line somehow and new fluid is intro duced into trans and the old stuff runs out through the BG machine and is collected for inspection all the while the new fluid goes in with no added pressure except the trans pressure. Cost $550.00 including fluid. WELL WELL the fluid coming out looked like chocolate syrup, not burnt yet but close. It took 32 quarts and two complete cycles to get it bright pink again. Will be taking sample to Lexus to show. THis car was totally maintained by Lexus with all records, that's why they certified it i guess. My local service Rep said when they do sealed systems on BMW and MB it's all the same stuff, quite often worse. Of course by this time the unsuspecting car has been traded/sold to the next person who actually pays for the new trans. that it is going to need. I also have a '96 Q45. Infiniti also never really specifies trans maintainence. I have it changed every 30k and the trans is great. 230k miles on that baby.

just purchased '06 430 with 53k miles. Certified + xtra warranty. I Have been told tranny fluid never needs changing. No dipstick too see color and clarity of fluid. My independant service rep says this is why trans fail at around 125/150k miles. Need clarification. Thank you. Sandy