DennisG Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I've been experiencing transmission problems with my 2000 ES 300. I live in MN and if the weather is below 20F, my transmission will not shift into overdrive until 5-10 minutes into my highway drive home. Just got off the phone with the local Lexus dealer's service dept. and they claim this is "totally normal". I have my doubts. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mburnickas Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I've been experiencing transmission problems with my 2000 ES 300. I live in MN and if the weather is below 20F, my transmission will not shift into overdrive until 5-10 minutes into my highway drive home. Just got off the phone with the local Lexus dealer's service dept. and they claim this is "totally normal". I have my doubts. Any thoughts? ← I am not tranny guru, by what kind of ATF is in there? Or something is not letting fluid through. My 98 goes in auto about .75 to 1 mile from startup. It better, I get on a freeway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mehullica Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 It is normal to not go into OD when cold. Keeps engine RPM higher. This is due to heat up the trans fluid, & catalytic converters soon as possible to enter closed loop and reduce HC's and CO's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKperformance Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Unless you park at the end of a freeway ramp and the temp is -20 outside it should take about 3 minutes of normal driving in cold weather to shift at lower normal points. Are you sure it is 5-10 minutes how long do you drive before you get to the highway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexusfreak Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Unless you park at the end of a freeway ramp and the temp is -20 outside it should take about 3 minutes of normal driving in cold weather to shift at lower normal points.Are you sure it is 5-10 minutes how long do you drive before you get to the highway ← Agreed. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DobieG Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I've been experiencing transmission problems with my 2000 ES 300. I live in MN and if the weather is below 20F, my transmission will not shift into overdrive until 5-10 minutes into my highway drive home. Just got off the phone with the local Lexus dealer's service dept. and they claim this is "totally normal". I have my doubts. Any thoughts? ← My 99 does the same thing if I don't let it warm up after it sits un-driven for several hours. I'm in SoCal where it's about 60 degrees in the morning and it still takes a coupla minutes for the rpms to drop to under 1k. The car also shifts in drive and reverse with a clunk if I don't let it warm up. Dealer said it's "totally normal"...sound familiar? <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meeters Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 My 99 will take up to 5 minutes depending on how cold it is and the driving conditions. It takes longer on my way to work, the car's sat all night and there's a lot of stop and go driving until I get out of town. On my way home its pretty steady 45-55 for about 10 miles so it warms up and shifts quicker. It was about 20 this morning here in MI and it took 4 or 5 minutes before it shifted. I usually have my heater on auto and the fan starts to kick in at about the same time the car shifts into OD. As far as clunking when you shift the lever, have someone check the throttle sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khhoang Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 ..As far as clunking when you shift the lever, have someone check the throttle sensor. ← also check the bushing in the dogbone engine mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DobieG Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 ..As far as clunking when you shift the lever, have someone check the throttle sensor. ← also check the bushing in the dogbone engine mount. ← Should I have the throttle sensor and dogbone mount bushing checked even though the clunk doesn't occur after the car is warmed up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin97 Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 u ever notice, that at full throttle while the car is cold it shifts at 4000 rpms? that is because the oil and tranny fluid is still cold... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mburnickas Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 This morning at 5:30 am it was 13 degrees and it took 2.2 miles to shift into OD on my es. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpallenman Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 I have a 2000 ES300, and my transmission does exactly the same thing. Extensive research on the net has lead me to conclude this behavior is totally normal. I read that the lack of shifting serves to warm the engine quicker, if that makes any sense. Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted March 11, 2005 Author Share Posted March 11, 2005 Great feedback -- I feel better already. I truly enjoy owning a Lexus. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meeters Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 I have a 2000 ES300, and my transmission does exactly the same thing. Extensive research on the net has lead me to conclude this behavior is totally normal. I read that the lack of shifting serves to warm the engine quicker, if that makes any sense.Darren ← Actually, this behavior is described in the Owners Manual. From what I recall it mentions keeping the rpms high to reduce the exhaust emissions when the engine is cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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