Additional preventative maintenance @ 45k service (1 Viewer)

[GOHOGS]

Hi all. I will be scheduling my 45k lx570 service shortly @ my nearest dealer. On a whim, I traded my 14 LC on a 14 LX CPO with 19k at the end of '15. Both have been great, and I currently plan to keep the LX for a while... that being said, can I get your opinions on preventative maintenance? I'm not happy with some of the "lifetime" or lengthy drain intervals put out by Lexus / Toyota. If the car is built to be bulletproof for high miles, I'm fine with changing fluids to make sure that happens....

Driving habits:
-45k miles. I've done 5k Mobil 1 oil changes with TRD filter since I bought it (19k miles), simply because I get the oil @ about $2 a quart and the local Toyota dealer hooks me up on labor... so why not! Said another way....don't tell me it's overkill. It's cheap and I'm an old dog... I ain't changing
-My trips are generally either very short to and from work, or lengthy interstate drives of 350 miles. I'd say mileage is pretty close to 50/50 between the two.... no towing or off-road. No snow either

The dealer was extremely helpful with pricing via phone. The services I priced are as follows:

-Transmission flush: $268. I'm certainly not married to a flush vs a drain and fill, but this is one I need feedback on. All of my reading leads me to believe that the original fill takes a beating with break in. I'd like clean fluid, but not at the risk of transmission failure either. It's a large Lexus dealer & I'd expect them to have any necessary equipment to properly perform the job. Should I just do a few drain and fills instead?

-power steering flush: $107

-coolant: $168

-front and rear diff fluid change + transfer case: $247

Items I didn't price include a change of the height control fluid (brake fluid was done @30k). Should I consider this as well?

If you can give a yes / no / maybe (with explanation) on any or all of the items above, it's much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Chocolate]

I agree with being proactive about the fluid changes. I am at 35k on mine. I just did the rear and front diffs and transfer case.
I also changed the oil and oil filter and changed the engine air filter and cabin air filter.
Also drained and filled with new coolant.

I prefer the transmission drain and fill myself, but that's just me. In my experience, 3 drain and fills is sufficient to get the transmission fluid looking new. I did not change the transmission fluid yet. I will probably do the transmission fluid drain and fill closer to 50,000 miles.

RE the factory fill taking a beating, it sure was the case with the differentials. The diff oil looked like black coffee and had the distinctly toxic smell of well used oil. Also, the magnetic drain plugs are very effective at gathering a heavy coat of metallic sludge (about 2mm thick over the entire plug) so it's definitely good to change the factory fill before the 60 or 90K mark. By comparison, the Transfer Case oil looked fine, just a little dark. Thanks to MScruiser for making Youtube videos on how to do these three.

AHC change is something I will leave to the dealer, but mine wanted around $500. No thanks, at least for a while.

Brake and Power steering fluids are on the list for around this summer.

 

[GOHOGS]

I agree. I am at 35k on mine. I just did the rear and front diffs and transfer case.
I also changed the oil and oil filter and changed the engine air filter and cabin air filter.
Also drained and filled with new coolant.

I prefer the transmission drain and fill myself, but that's just me. In my experience, 3 drain and fills is sufficient to get the transmission fluid looking new. I did not change the transmission fluid yet. I will probably do the transmission fluid drain and fill closer to 50,000 miles.

RE the factory fill taking a beating, it sure was the case with the differentials. The diff oil looked like black coffee and had the distinctly toxic smell of well used oil. Also, the magnetic drain plugs are very effective at gathering a heavy coat of metallic sludge (about 2mm thick over the entire plug) so it's definitely good to change the factory fill before the 60 or 90K mark. By comparison, the Transfer Case oil looked fine, just a little dark. Thanks to MScruiser for making Youtube videos on how to do these three.

AHC change is something I will leave to the dealer, but mine wanted around $500. No thanks, at least for a while.

Brake and Power steering fluids are on the list for around this summer.

This is awesome info. Thanks for taking the time to outline all of it. So looks like the diff fluid for sure. The dealer packaged the diffs and transfer case at one price, so I plan on doing all 3. I'm assuming that was a DIY? How do you feel about price ($247 for all 3)? I'm not handy enough to risk damaging am expensive SUV under warranty (or ever), so I'll have the dealer perform all of it.

 

[Chocolate]

Yeah, thanks to MSCruiser for the Youtube videos. That price is reasonable. To do the service you need 8 quarts of Mobil 1 75W-90 for both diffs and transfer case, and that retails about 70 dollars.

 

[GOHOGS]

Yeah, thanks to MSCruiser for the Youtube videos. That price is reasonable. To do the service you need 8 quarts of Mobil 1 75W-90 for both diffs and transfer case, and that retails about 70 dollars.

Great info. Thank you.

 

[Narkhelek]

I would definitely do the diffs and transfer case if they haven't been done previously. Transmission won't need to be done before 60k, especially if you don't tow. $268 is a good price if they are going to do a full exchange with an exchange machine. Make sure your dealer has an exchange machine or is willing to do an exchange via the radiator coolant lines. The rest is unnecessary at 45k.

 

[Chocolate]

You may want to consider also changing the engine and cabin air filters if they haven't been replaced in a while. Easy, cheap maintenance you can do in a few minutes.

Engine air filter after 10 months

 

[GOHOGS]

I would definitely do the diffs and transfer case if they haven't been done previously. Transmission won't need to be done before 60k, especially if you don't tow. $268 is a good price if they are going to do a full exchange with an exchange machine. Make sure your dealer has an exchange machine or is willing to do an exchange via the radiator coolant lines. The rest is unnecessary at 45k.

Thank you for the great questions to ask. I'll certainly do the digs and transfer case, and ask about the specifics of the transmission service. Given the size of the dealer, I'd expect them to have all equipment, but I'll certainly ask before I have it done...

 

[GOHOGS]

You may want to consider adding the engine and cabin filters if they haven't been replaced in a while. Easy, cheap maintenance you can do in 2 minutes.

Air filter after 10 months

I got these carbon filters off Amazon, reasonable price:

Amazon.com: EPAuto CP285 (CF10285) Toyota / Lexus / Scion / Subaru Premium Cabin Air Filter includes Activated Carbon: Automotive

Thanks so much. They were done @30k, but I plan to order online and swap on my own at 45k

 

[AL LC2013]

The toyota diff and tc fluid costs that alone. Are they using M1 or OEM?

 

[GOHOGS]

The toyota diff and tc fluid costs that alone. Are they using M1 or OEM?

No idea. It's at my dealer so I assume it's OE spec? Should I ask additional questions at that price.

 

[Narkhelek]

Most people just run M1 synthetic 75W-90 gear oil or something similar (Amsoil, Royal Purple, etc). I bought 7 quarts of the M1 off Amazon in February for $8.24/qt. Looks like the price has gone up some since then but like @Chocolate said above it shouldn't cost much more than $70 for the gear oil.