[Eldi Z]

Car has 5K of 100% street miles since new (July 2017) and not changed the Diff fluid yet.
Do you think that it is overdue? Harmful?

I am not even referring to the official service schedule that states that it should be changed somewhere at ~ 60K Miles (or more?) cant remember.

However, seeing so many people here perform the change at ~ 2-2.5K Miles, I got a bit worried...

[Laststandard]

Not harmful, but new fluid never hurt anything. Rear diff is easy and you get plenty of metal in there from break-in.

For track use it's a good idea to change at 1500.

[Boost Creep]

Going by the amount of junk I had stuck to the drain magnet at 2300 miles, I'd go ahead and change your diff fluid.
Did it again at about 11,000 and there was barely anything stuck to the drain.

[Outahand]

Did mine before 2k miles and it looked dark and had some metal on the magnet.

Did it again a few days later and it still looked good.

Just did it again at 18k miles and there was some discoloration and a small amount of metal on the magnet.

Easy job. Do it too much instead of not enough.....

[cdrptrks]

Pg. 216 in the manual says:

Should the vehicle be used
for racing or competitive
driving (after break-in [1500 miles]), the
rear axle lubricant must be
replaced beforehand.

Pg. 206 in the manual is the only other thing I see that modifies the normal recommended diff fluid change interval of every 45k miles (pg. 339):

Rear Axle Fluid
Axles must have 2 400 km
(1,500 mi) before being used in
track driving.
The rear axle fluid temperatures
may be higher than when driving in
severe conditions. Drain and refill
with new fluid after the first racing or
competitive driving event, and then
after every 24 hours of racing or
competitive driving. See
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants 0 346.
Caution
During a first time track or racing
event, high rear axle
temperatures can occur. Damage
could be caused to the rear axle
and would not be covered by the
vehicle warranty. Do not drive as
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
long or as fast the first time the
vehicle is driven on the track or
raced.

It wouldn't hurt to change it now but if you don't drive the car hard it may not be necessary.

[carguy55]

I changed mine at 1500 and it was nasty

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

Pg. 216 in the manual says:

Should the vehicle be used
for racing or competitive
driving (after break-in [1500 miles]), the
rear axle lubricant must be
replaced beforehand.

Pg. 206 in the manual is the only other thing I see that modifies the normal recommended diff fluid change interval of every 45k miles (pg. 339):

Rear Axle Fluid
Axles must have 2 400 km
(1,500 mi) before being used in
track driving.
The rear axle fluid temperatures
may be higher than when driving in
severe conditions. Drain and refill
with new fluid after the first racing or
competitive driving event, and then
after every 24 hours of racing or
competitive driving. See
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants 0 346.
Caution
During a first time track or racing
event, high rear axle
temperatures can occur. Damage
could be caused to the rear axle
and would not be covered by the
vehicle warranty. Do not drive as
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
long or as fast the first time the
vehicle is driven on the track or
raced.

It wouldn't hurt to change it now but if you don't drive the car hard it may not be necessary.

Very nice of you to post. Ty

[CrazyCatGuy]

Changed mine at 3500 and felt I waited too long. I get nervous with break in fluids and tend to change them sooner rather than later. Changed engine oil at the same time.

[Eldi Z]

Thanks for all the inputs so far.

As to driving style, I am a bit ashamed to admit that I pretty much baby my 1LE and drive her too soft. Not tracked so far, but a bit of spirited street when situation allows. I plan to change the Diff fluid ASAP. Seems like a very simple job

[MR.1LE]

How much is the fluid change at the dealer?

Plan to do oil at 500 miles and diff at 1500...

[Boost Creep]

Originally Posted by MR.1LE

How much is the fluid change at the dealer?

Plan to do oil at 500 miles and diff at 1500...

I did my own, but due to a time issue I had to get the fluid at a local dealer rather than online.
Over the counter at the dealer the fluid was $32/quart, and you need two, so with tax figure about $65-70 for fluid, and they shouldn't charge you more than a half hour to do the fluid change.
So my guess would be about $130-140ish for a diff fluid change.


Since then I bought several quarts of fluid at a more reasonable $16/qt. making fluid changes reasonable. I'll climb under the car for 10 minutes to save myself $100.

[MR.1LE]

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

I did my own, but due to a time issue I had to get the fluid at a local dealer rather than online.
Over the counter at the dealer the fluid was $32/quart, and you need two, so with tax figure about $65-70 for fluid, and they shouldn't charge you more than a half hour to do the fluid change.
So my guess would be about $130-140ish for a diff fluid change.


Since then I bought several quarts of fluid at a more reasonable $16/qt. making fluid changes reasonable. I'll climb under the car for 10 minutes to save myself $100.

Thanks for the info...

[shawndean22]

I just had mine changed at 45k miles. I do not track the car. Definitely feels better, dealer charged 189.95

[MR.1LE]

Originally Posted by shawndean22

I just had mine changed at 45k miles. I do not track the car. Definitely feels better, dealer charged 189.95

Thanks...will be doing it at 1500 miles just for after break in purposes.