Guys I am new at this forum and would like to share my story of complete ATF replacement in my 2017 Lexus LX 570 with 53k Florida miles.
Although the procedure is very similar to the one described in this thread
Complete Transmission Flush DIY - VIDEO - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/complete-transmission-flush-diy-video.988261/ (Thank you
@NLScooby for the video) there are some differences that Lexus owners may find useful.
For the fluid replacement I bought 3,5 gallons (14qt) of AmsOIL Fuel-Efficient Synthetic ATF. They have 2.5 gallon and 1 gallon jugs.
I took a short 15 minutes ride to warm the things up a little bit and set up the vehicle in the garage to be level at the frame, I had to remove left and right fender splash shields (3 10mm bolts at 15Nm and 2 screws on each) all the skid plates (10 bolts on engine cover @1 and 2 bolts on engine cover #2 - 12mm bolts at 29nm) and transmission pan protector assembly (4 bolts 14mm at 50Nm) in order to get to the transmission pan.
After removing transmission case cover (this is a black plastic cover on the transmission case on the driver’s side, use 12mm wrench because access is obstructed by the front driveshaft) and fill plug (27mm at 39Nm) I removed drain plug and small plastic overflow tube both were 5mm hex. For the drain plug torque is 16Nm for the overflow tube is super low basically stop when you fill it is in all the way.
Initially I didn’t want to drop the pan but after the pan drain I decided to do so to clean up the pan and magnets (4 of them) at the bottom of the pan.
I drained around 3,25 litter of ATF with the drain plug and overflow plug out. Fluid was blackish with a bit of burnt scent.
Transmission pan had also almost 1.3 litter of ATF in. Pan bottom and magnets where covered in the fine metal dust and a bit of sludge.
I then installed an overflow tube and drain plug back and cleaned up the pan gasket and transmission case pan housing with alcohol for it to be clean and DRY. Installed the pan on transmission case. I was able to find just a torque spec for the pan bolts but didn’t find any sequence for installation procedure. Below is the sequence I used for bolts installation and torque. (First bolt on hand tight (be easy here) then torque to spec (7.5 Nm).
View attachment 2657014
Using fill hole on the transmission case I have added 5.5 qts of fresh ATF. And installed fill plug without tightening it all the way.
Initially I was going to drain ATF from the auxiliary transmission cooler and add fresh fluid at the same point at the same time using 2 buckets connected with PVC hose with airtight lids. But new thermostat type or thermostat valve ruined these plans.
It appears 2017 Lexus LX570 does not have a mechanical thermostat anymore that you can just press in and block with the paper clip as shown in the NLScoobys video. Instead ATF return coolant line has an electrical valve installed that blocks the flow when AT is cold. (see picture below). Luckily the return line still allows ATF to be drained out form the transmission. But unlike NLScoobys video fluid drained not from the radiator end but from the top hoses end. (see picture below).
View attachment 2657019
Using access point at the auxiliary cooler I was able to drain old ATF and was adding new ATF using fill plug at the case. When draining the ATF be careful as the flow was pretty strong and fluid was draining fast. My procedure was to start the engine and cycle AT thru Reverse -> N -> Drive to S (S4 -> S3 –> S2 -> S1 -> S2 -> S3 –> S4 -> S5 -> S6 ->S7 -> S8) -> Drive -> N -> Reverse -> Park turn the engine off. And that was draining around 2.5 QT at a time. After each drain, I was adding the same amount back. Not once I have seen bubbles in the drain hose. Did it 4 times till all the fresh ATF have been spent.
ATF Level Adjustment
I did fluid adjustment using OBD2 terminals jumping method. Worked pretty much as described in Toyota TIS or NLScooby’s video. Jus want to mention please do not forget to disconnect terminals after D indicator disappeared for 2 seconds and you moved the shift lever to park and released the brake pedal. After you move shift lever to Park you will NOT see P symbol on the dashboard. Keep idling the vehicle till the D appears and quickly drain the excess of fluid out. (I took me good 5 minutes of idling to see the ‘D’ on the dashboard.)
I had around 500ml of fluid drain as excess.
After you install you drain plug and shut the engine off, torque fill and drain plugs to spec and do all the installation of skid plates and transmission case cover. (Don’t forget transmission case cover I did and had to do everything twice).
And that was it. Overall, I recommend to by a really nice hand pump for the ATF. I was using Walmart transfer pump with a suction cup and that one was taking and hour to transfer a gallon of ATF.
After the ATF replacement I can say that the car drives and shifts much smoother than before. Now I can even tolerate 1st to 2nd gear jerk when coasting at low speed. I think Toyota WS fluid is garbage and cannot be ‘lifelong’ or even long-term fluid. I would say WS fluid should have been replaced at 50k or at least one drain and fill at 30k miles. AmsOIL SS ATF seems to be nice, but it is too early to judge. Will do drain and fill after 30k miles and see how it looks. Below are some photos of the old fluid from the drain pan.
View attachment 2657021View attachment 2657024View attachment 2657031
