[MonkeyWrench]

Hey all, I just hit 92k on my 2015 base CT200h.

The only type of maintenance I can see that I'm due for is my thermostat and potentially a brake and engine coolant flush.

If I am not experiencing any problems with my thermostat, do I need to replace it?

I pasted my Excel sheet on the type of maintenance I've learned that's needed from browsing this forum and the manufacture's website.

A/C Belt - 60,000 Miles or every 3 years		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Engine Air Filter - 30,000 Miles or every year	33-2435	Installed a K&N reusable filter. Lifetime warranty. May need K&N filter cleaner
Alternator Belt - 60,000 Miles or every 3 years		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Brake Fluid - 30,000 Miles or every 3 years		Some people claim they have been on 70k miles without change
Cabin Air Filter - 30,000 Miles or every year	VF2000	Installed a K&N reusable filter. Lifetime warranty. May need K&N filter cleaner
Engine Coolant - 100,000 Miles or every 5 years		Pink
Distributor Cap & Rotor - 30,000 Miles		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Front break pads and rotors (Measure thickness) - Every 30,000 miles		Some people claim they have been on 70k miles without change
Fuel Filter - 60,000 Miles or every 3 years		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Fuel Treatment - 1 oz per 5 gallons of gas. Every tank
Engine Inverter Coolant - 150,000 or every 15 years
Key Fob Batteries - Every 15,000 Miles	Energizer 1632 Coin Cell
Motor Oil - 10,000 Miles (20k or higher possible)	Mobil 1 0W20 Fully Synthetic Motor Oil
O2 Sensor - 100,000 MIles		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Oil Filter Element - 10,000 Miles (20k or higher possible)	04152-YZZA6 or M1C-154A
Rotate Tires - 5,000 - 8,000 miles
Sea Foam - 3,000 - 5,000 Miles in fuel tank
Sea Foam Spray - 6 months in throttle body
Spark Plugs & Wires - 120,000 Miles
Thermostat - 80,000 Miles
Timing Belt - 90,000 Miles or every 7 years		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle.
Transmission Fluid - 30,000 Miles or 2 years		Doesn’t apply for this vehicle. It has a sealed tranny.

 

[TobiasSing]

Where did you find this information? Since you've included many items that "do not apply for this vehicle", it makes me wonder if any of it does. Like the brakes for example, those last a lot longer on a hybrid due to the regenerative braking. With the oil change, people claim all sorts of things, but I'd say 10k is fine. Really, as long as it has oil in it. But some people say it's "cheap insurance" to change it all the time. I don't care to do the work or make all the waste. Similarly to the thermostat, spark plugs, and key fob batteries. Those will let you know when they need to be replaced. The coolant is fine to leave alone, as long as there's enough. Changing it if the thermostat goes bad is fine IMO. Usually, thermostats get stuck open in my experience, which is better than stuck closed. But either way, you'll know. And then the "snake oils" like the seafoam and fuel treatment are not maintenance, but are up to you. I did seafoam in a car once and it made it worse lol. So the only real thing I'd be concerned about for this car is the EGR system cleaning.

 

[MonkeyWrench]

Where did you find this information? Since you've included many items that "do not apply for this vehicle", it makes me wonder if any of it does. Like the brakes for example, those last a lot longer on a hybrid due to the regenerative braking. With the oil change, people claim all sorts of things, but I'd say 10k is fine. Really, as long as it has oil in it. But some people say it's "cheap insurance" to change it all the time. I don't care to do the work or make all the waste. Similarly to the thermostat, spark plugs, and key fob batteries. Those will let you know when they need to be replaced. The coolant is fine to leave alone, as long as there's enough. Changing it if the thermostat goes bad is fine IMO. Usually, thermostats get stuck open in my experience, which is better than stuck closed. But either way, you'll know. And then the "snake oils" like the seafoam and fuel treatment are not maintenance, but are up to you. I did seafoam in a car once and it made it worse lol. So the only real thing I'd be concerned about for this car is the EGR system cleaning.

I made the Excel sheet. That's why it looks this way. The sections that say "Does not apply to this vehicle" is me writing in my Excel sheet for this specific car. I recycle my Excel sheet on other vehicles I've owned so that's why there's a lot of categories that don't apply on this vehicle. I could have taken them out when I pasted here, but I chose to leave it in.

I found the information that does apply to this vehicle on this website along with other Lexus forums from Google.

I will admit I gave up on the little stuff like regularly adding Seafoam and fuel treatments. I found it was just too annoying to keep up with it on a regular basis.

What is the EGR system cleaning? That wasn't on my mind as far as maintenance is concerned.

Someone on this forum said I should replace and clean my Hybrid fan battery to maintain good health. Do you know anything about this? First time I heard about it.

Thank you for the reply!

 

[TobiasSing]

The sections that say "Does not apply to this vehicle" is me writing in my Excel sheet for this specific car. I recycle my Excel sheet on other vehicles I've owned so that's why there's a lot of categories that don't apply on this vehicle. I could have taken them out when I pasted here, but I chose to leave it in.

Oh yeah that makes a lot more sense. It's good to acknowledge things that don't need work too, in case someone notices that maybe there is an incorrection there and maybe something does actually apply after all. But from what I know (not much) it looks good.

What is the EGR system cleaning? That wasn't on my mind as far as maintenance is concerned.

I don't have any specific links because it's so common. It is the #1 issue with this car. The EGR system gets clogged, leading to overheating, head gasket failures, coolant loss, fouled spark plugs, etc. Pretty much anywhere you look, you'll find information about this daunting task. But it is the one maintenance item above all others that really matters the most. It's not in the manual because it's a defect. But it doesn't seem to destroy every one of these engines, so who knows. Best to keep an eye on it and clean it. There is a theory that the earlier years of CT had more issues than the later ones, but who knows. It's one of the reasons I got a 2016.

Someone on this forum said I should replace and clean my Hybrid fan battery to maintain good health. Do you know anything about this? First time I heard about it.

I actually saw your other posts yesterday after making my reply here, so I did see some of the other places you were gathering the information for this post. In regards to the fan. If you go to the passenger rear door and open it and look at the back of the seat by the side seatbelt to the left, there is a vent. That is the duct for the hybrid battery cooling. Earlier models had no filter, so any dust or lint or hair or anything could just get in there and clog things up and coat everything, leading to overheating the battery. At a later year, a mesh filter screen was added up at the vent. I've never looked for mine, but if you have it, it should be easy enough to clean. If you don't have one, the recommendation is to add one yourself.

 

[sketron1]

+1 on that EGR system maintenance. Best to just get a new EGR off ebay, you can get em for a reasonable price. Get a new intake manifold as well since the EGR ports running to each head port gets clogged and causes just as many issues. I started having problems around 90k miles, doing those fixes it. I'm up to 140k now with no issues after those fixes