Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
No it's not lifetime. Lifetime translates loosely into long enough to make it through the warranty period.
While the black color can't be a good sign it's not necessarily useless yet. An analysis would tell you much more about the condition of the fluid.
It's best to get the first fluid change in early in the transmission life to remove early break in wear and contamination. I would always change the FF of an AT by 30k maximum. Ideally I'd want mine changed twice by then.
I guess it probably depends somewhat on the manufacturer recommendation regarding fluid changes, but when a manufacturer tells me...never change it, it's good for the life of the vehicle. I get leery. I too believe in 30k mile intervals for tranny fluid changes. I let my car go further than I ever intended, but still far short of what Lexus recommended (lifetime). I will be doing simple drain and refills every 30,000 miles from here on out.