Transmission Problem (on A 3-yr Old Car?!)

[lexusk8]

OK here's what happened:

It all started about a few days ago when the outside temps have gotten close to freezing numbers, and I began to hear a faint buzzing sound under the hood in my '01 ES (w/ roughly 98,500 miles right now). This buzzing sound can obviously be heard from even inside the car when started up, and the sound would grow louder when driven upon each gear change shift points (i.e. idle to 1st, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc.) To be honest, it really sounds like I'm running a supercharger or turbo in my ES

Anyways, this behavior continued on like it until the middle of today, when the transmission starts hesitating as I downshift when I come to a stop light. The braking is perfectly fine, but when I accelerate, the RPMs would reach higher numbers (around 2K) to get to 1st gear, and then 2nd gear sometimes could not be caught at the right RPM (the needle would climb higher). I'd have to let the foot off the gas pedal just a little bit until the transmission can "catch" that 2nd gear. This is obviously not normal transmission behavior at all! Much as I hated for it to happen, the check engine and TRAC OFF lights came on about 50 miles after I noticed the transmission hesitation :o

So unfortunately, that's what's going on with the transmission in my ES right now, and I can't believe this is happening on just a freakin' 3 to 4-year old car, aaargh! I plan to go to Autozone first to have the CEL error code checked out before I take it to the dealership. If anyone could pitch in and provide any feedback on what could be causing the buzzing sound under the hood AND the transmission hesitation problem, that'd be much appreciated.

FYI, so far, my "car buddy" friends have said that the timing in the engine computer could be off, or that the transmission filter could be clogged up. I had the tranny fluid changed (drain-and-fill method) about 22,000 miles ago at Lexus, and when I checked it, the fluid is darkish but still has a slight hint of red in it. It doesn't smell burnt either. They have told me that it could be a multitude of possible problems when the transmission acts up like that :(

Dying for help,

Doug

P.S. I do have extended warranty that covers up to 100K miles, so that is my only savior at this point. Still, I really want to find out what exactly the problem is before I walk into the dealership (as they too often employ a "trial-and-error" method on problems like this)

[ArmyofOne]

OK here's what happened:

It all started about a few days ago when the outside temps have gotten close to freezing numbers, and I began to hear a faint buzzing sound under the hood in my '01 ES (w/ roughly 98,500 miles right now).  This buzzing sound can obviously be heard from even inside the car when started up, and the sound would grow louder when driven upon each gear change shift points (i.e. idle to 1st, 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc.)  To be honest, it really sounds like I'm running a supercharger or turbo in my ES

Anyways, this behavior continued on like it until the middle of today, when the transmission starts hesitating as I downshift when I come to a stop light.  The braking is perfectly fine, but when I accelerate, the RPMs would reach higher numbers (around 2K) to get to 1st gear, and then 2nd gear sometimes could not be caught at the right RPM (the needle would climb higher).  I'd have to let the foot off the gas pedal just a little bit until the transmission can "catch" that 2nd gear.  This is obviously not normal transmission behavior at all! Much as I hated for it to happen, the check engine and TRAC OFF lights came on about 50 miles after I noticed the transmission hesitation :o

So unfortunately, that's what's going on with the transmission in my ES right now, and I can't believe this is happening on just a freakin' 3 to 4-year old car, aaargh!  I plan to go to Autozone first to have the CEL error code checked out before I take it to the dealership.  If anyone could pitch in and provide any feedback on what could be causing the buzzing sound under the hood AND the transmission hesitation problem, that'd be much appreciated. 

FYI, so far, my "car buddy" friends have said that the timing in the engine computer could be off, or that the transmission filter could be clogged up.  I had the tranny fluid changed (drain-and-fill method) about 22,000 miles ago at Lexus, and when I checked it, the fluid is darkish but still has a slight hint of red in it.  It doesn't smell burnt either.  They have told me that it could be a multitude of possible problems when the transmission acts up like that :(

Dying for help,

Doug

P.S. I do have extended warranty that covers up to 100K miles, so that is my only savior at this point.  Still, I really want to find out what exactly the problem is before I walk into the dealership (as they too often employ a "trial-and-error" method on problems like this) 

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cross poster... :chairshot:

i really dont know much about ATX's, so someone else will have to help...

[SKperformance]

flush the fluid and add an inline tranny filter

I did after having the same problems and it has now cleared up to almost nothing.

From being stranded quite a few times from a plugged filter.

The filter in the tranny is useless and does not stop anything but large particles the ones i buy are about 40 and attach to the tranny cooler lines and remove debris and metal fragments which caused my valve body to get plugged up.

[lexusk8]

I went to Autozone today to have the error codes scanned. It turns out I've received the following codes:

P0765 (2x) - Shift Solenoid D Malfunction

P0770 - Shift Solenoid E Malfunction

Why the hell these solenoids suddenly go bad after not even 100K miles?! This is highly inexcusable for a Lexus :chairshot:

Sorry for the venting. It seems that the transmission solenoids would have to be replaced by the dealership tomorrow (that is, if I'm able to drive my car down there). My car is already deemed unsafe to drive since I can't go any faster than 40 mph w/out keeping the revs under 3K RPM, and when I put the car into 'P' and shift into either 'R' or 'D', the car just stalls :( Very dangerous if I'm stuck in the middle of a busy parking lot, and I would have to turn the car off, then back on in order to get the car can get properly in gear.

Since Lexus service is gonna get under the transmission to access the solenoids, I may have to tell them to check the filter and see if it's clogged up.

[Lexusfreak]

Doug,

you mention that you have a extended warranty with Lexus till 110k miles......are these parts that have failed covered by this?? Have you ever done a 100% tranny fluid change & had the filter mesh screen completely cleaned?

[SW03ES]

My guess is both of those solenoids are going to have to be replaced. This is going to be expensive, hope the warranty covers it. Lotsa zeros.

If the fluid was dark when you changed it 22k miles ago something's not right. First of all Lexus submitted an addendum to the maintenance schedule on the ES stating that the transmission should be flushed every 15k miles. How often was the fluid changed (if at all) before you changed it 22k miles ago?

Sounds to me like this is caused by the fluid not being changed often enough.

[lexusk8]

Lexusfreak (as I mentioned to you earlier from chat), I'm fairly positive that parts of the transmission system should be replaced by extended warranty. The tranny fluid service done 22K miles ago was a "drain-and-fill" method, and so it wasn't the complete flush. I don't think the tranny filter has ever been touched.

SW03ES, I could not pull up any history of service done to the ES prior to the purchase, so I have no way of knowing how many times the tranny fluid had been replaced (if any) before I bought the ES. For peace of mind, I may opt to have the dealership do a complete tranny flush system on my ES (in addition to replacing the solenoids), and also change out the tranny filter. We'll have to see tomorrow <_<

[SW03ES]

Definately have them do that and make sure that it gets flushed every 15k from now on, shouldnt have any more problems.

[SKperformance]

I also had codes from the valve body being plugged causing the sensors for pressure to activate a cel since they were not receiving any.

[Lexusfreak]

SW, when did Lexus adjust their service recommendation to change the tranny fluid every 15 k miles? and more importantly why exactly & for what year(s) of ES models? It sounds like Lexus is or has been hit by a huge increase of major tranny fixes or replacements. :o

[SW03ES]

Sometime before I got mine, so probably 2002. Not sure about the years but I assume its all of them, ES' and RX'.

[lexusk8]

Just an update folks. I had the car towed yesterday to the dealership since I concluded that it was unsafe to drive after stalling when the gear is in 'R' or 'D'. Luckily the service advisor I know pretty well was at the dealership at the time of the towing, so he has made it a point to work with me and the tranny issues on the ES. I gave him my extended warranty info and the list of issues to look at, including the malfunctioned shift solenoids, tranny fluid and filter, and as a side, the rear main seal. Without waiting, they have given me a free '01 ES loaner (Graphite Gray Pearl on black interior... one of the most attractive color combos made for the ES) :D

Onto today's status, service told me that the ES is rendered undriveable at their facility, so it seems that the transmission on my 3-year old car is pretty much gone! :cries: I called up the warranty myself to make sure they're able to cover ALL the tranny work, and they said that as long as they can verify at the dealership that the tranny is defective, everything will be repaired at no charge. That may most likely mean a new transmission. We'll have to see tomorrow when the warranty adjuster comes over to the dealership..

[Lexusfreak]

Keep us posted Doug & let us know exactly what the problem(s) were & why they happened if possible. It would be awesome for you if the whole fix is covered by your extended warranty!! :) B)

[SW03ES]

its 3 years old but its also really high mileage, and you can't verify the service history of it before you owned it. If I remember correctly you said it was a corporate car? That probably means it was driven a lot and cared for very little. A car is like a breifcase to people who get them as company cars, a free breifcase.

[lexusk8]

its 3 years old but its also really high mileage, and you can't verify the service history of it before you owned it. If I remember correctly you said it was a corporate car? That probably means it was driven a lot and cared for very little. A car is like a breifcase to people who get them as company cars, a free breifcase.

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Yes it was used as a business/corporate car before I purchased it. Lots of highway miles were put into it (as noted by the numerous rock chips on the hood and bumper), but maybe the car also underwent a tremendous amount of stop-and-go traffic. Disregarding the tranny issue, I'm at least happy that the car doesn't have any oil sludge problems as sometimes seen in other ES.

[SW03ES]

Yeah and you can bet nothing but the occasional oil changes were done to it.

[Lexusfreak]

Good point Doug. B)

[NeiLtYmE]

Hey if all is well, at least youll be getting a brand new transmission. thats kind of A good thing, heh... in a cynical kinda way.

[Lexusfreak]

Any news to mention at all Doug?

[lexusk8]

Any news to mention at all Doug? 

 

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As someone in life has mentioned, "No news is good news" :D ;)

Seriously I have yet to hear a word from my service advisor regarding the tranny work and the warranty authorization for the work. Like I said before, I had already given the warranty company a heads-up on the deal with my car, so they can't forget me now. The dealership will definitely contact me as soon as a representative from the warranty company shows up and verifies the work to be done, whenever that will be. It may take some time since the warranty company is based out of Missouri, and they may have to gather up all the paperwork.

In the meantime, it looks I'll have my loaner ES for this entire weekend. Good time to put more miles into it with no worries (except for a defective fuel gauge)

[SW03ES]

Yeah having the Lexus loaner always takes the edge off being without mine when its in the shop, I always request an RX so I can have fun driving something different.

[nicksan]

I had my 2001 in the shop for 3 weeks.

They gave me a RX330 this time around.

Much better than the Pontiac rent-a-car they gave me last time!

Still like my MDX better than the RX...but I enjoyed the RX anyways!!!

[lexusk8]

Bumping this up for an update (well, not too much). Apparently the warranty inspector guy was not fully cooperating with my dealership in the beginning of tearing down the transmission on my ES, but my dealership has informed me that the tranny is already down to just the nuts and bolts. This is one thing I absolutely don't like about those aftermarket warranty companies ; they're highly reluctant when it comes to signing and paying off vehicle repair claims. Since my transmission is involved, which is almost like the heart of the car, they really have no outs. I signed and paid the warranty contract when I purchased the car, therefore everything from the agreement must be followed by the warranty company, word for word.

At any rate, it's been a little more than 2 weeks so far w/out my car, but the dealership has assured me over and over that a new transmission will be replaced. Even they hate working with this warranty company :D , but I guess that's all part of how the auto consumer business works these days. In the meantime, I've already put in more than 1,000 miles on the loaner, so as you can see I'm enjoying it

[boRXis]

What kind of warranty company is it? Let us know to stay away from them in future <_<

[lexusk8]

What kind of warranty company is it? Let us know to stay away from them in future <_<

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http://www.heritagewarranty.com