I recently bought a 2010 lexus rx 350 with 118k miles on it. My assumption is the transmission fluid was never changed. Is it safe for me to drain and fill the transmission even if it was never done before or should I just leave it as is?
Thanks in advance!
of course you should change it
Most will tell you to only drop the pan and change the filter. However, my personal opinion and from experience alone, if the fluid is red and it doesn’t look burnt, I would do a full fluid exchange. It doesn’t make me right and it doesn’t make me wrong. I drive a 2008 Chevy Impala with 198,000 miles on it. I’ve done a full fluid exchange every 50,000 and it still runs. You on the other hand have never changed it, so it’s gonna be totally up to you. Whatever way you decide to change it, request full synthetic fluid which will protect the unit against heat and friction. Good Luck.....
Check the fluid - how does it look? If it is red and relatively clean, I would drain and fill the fluid and also change the filter. Do not overfill or underfill! It also can’t hurt to keep the old fluid just in case there are issues afterwards. After all this is done, make a note of your mileage and from that point onward change the ATF at regular intervals so the transmission can last as long as possible.
Thank you for your response. If the fluid is black or dark, should I still do drain and fill?
yeah do it use toyota oem in it. do drain and fill every 30k from now on
