1999 Rx300...help! Please Read

[1992gsrforsale]

I just bought a 1999 RX300 w/ 56k on the odo. I paid 15500. I thought it was very low miles, we were looking at 4runners but they all seemed to have 90k+ on them...so I thought what the hell why not a Lexus after all it is a Toyota. Got good reviews on edmunds.com and consumer reports said is was a good buy. Anyway I have been reading the posts about the 1999 rx300 AWD tranny and sludge problems and am now second guessing myself. I told my wife that we may sell it to try to avoid huge problems later...she started crying...Help. I dont want to sell it, I really like it, and obviously my wife does too. It has had a trans fluid change at 30k and I just did it at 56.5k. It has never been flushed, as far as I know. The sludge thing, if there is any (the oil has been regularly changed every 3-5k see my other post titled "Rx300 Sludge...engine Flush?"), seems pale in comparison to the tranny issues discussed on LOC USA.

I guess my question is, if the tranny is well taken care of, ie. regular flush and change every 30k, and the oil is properly dealt with, is this a gamble? In other words, am I taking a risk that is greater than any other used car...is this thing a time bomb...how many people experience this problem, out of the thousands of 99 RX300 AWD's, do all of them have this problem, It just seems that I would have read something about this in places other than LOC USA. I guess I just want to know how realistic it is for me to experience problems...remember this is a well taken care of, one owner, senior driven vehicle. I know that I have asked a lot of questions...I am just searching for real world no bs answers. Please help!!!!! I just want a nice car that will last! Thank You for your help.

[LexKid630]

My 1999 rx300's transmission went at about 69k miles. It only had it's regular services, and the trany fluid was never flushed. The repair was exactly $4,400 and it was all fixed; pretty much a brand new transmission.

If you were to sell/trade your rx right now you would lose about 4-5 thousand dollars anyway in deprication. Even if the transmission went, you would put $4400 in to fix it. Just keep the rx. If it goes, you're still out about the same, but guess what; you have a brand new transmission!! You'll lose either way. Well i guess you could say you win eaither way.

If you want you could flush the fluid. It's not gonna matter; the first 60k miles are a kiler anyway. The damage's pretty much already done. You can only slow down the rate.

Lexus screwed us!

[LexKid630]

and i don't think everyone has these problems as i do. My cousin has a 2000 rx with over 250k miles on it! NOTHING has ever gone wrong with it. It's just the few that do have problems.

Just keep the rx. You'll probably be fine.

[1992gsrforsale]

I just bought a 1999 RX300 w/ 56k on the odo.  I paid 15500.  I thought it was very low miles, we were looking at 4runners but they all seemed to have 90k+ on them...so I thought what the hell why not a Lexus after all it is a Toyota.  Got good reviews on edmunds.com and consumer reports said is was a good buy.  Anyway I have been reading the posts about the 1999 rx300 AWD tranny and sludge problems and am now second guessing myself.  I told my wife that we may sell it to try to avoid huge problems later...she started crying...Help.  I dont want to sell it, I really like it, and obviously my wife does too.  It has had a trans fluid change at 30k and I just did it at 56.5k.  It has never been flushed, as far as I know.  The sludge thing, if there is any (the oil has been regularly changed every 3-5k see my other post titled "Rx300 Sludge...engine Flush?"), seems pale in comparison to the tranny issues discussed on LOC USA. 

I guess my question is, if the tranny is well taken care of, ie. regular flush and change every 30k, and the oil is properly dealt with, is this a gamble?  In other words, am I taking a risk that is greater than any other used car...is this thing a time bomb...how many people experience this problem, out of the thousands of 99 RX300 AWD's, do all of them have this problem, It just seems that I would have read something about this in places other than LOC USA.  I guess I just want to know how realistic it is for me to experience problems...remember this is a well taken care of, one owner, senior driven vehicle. I know that I have asked a lot of questions...I am just searching for real world no bs answers.  Please help!!!!!  I just want a nice car that will last!  Thank You for your help.

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Thanks for the reply...I do have a question about the prices of the vehicle though. I just bought it three weeks ago and found that other 99's were going for about 16k(asking price) with 75-90k on the odo. KBB on the rx is 16.8k private party and dealer trade in is 14.5K. Anyway, I am not trying to change the subject. I was just curious about why you think I would take a 4-5k hit in depreceation if I sold it now. Thanks again for the help!

[LexKid630]

If you were to go to a dealer and want to buy a 99 rx300, you would see prices on the windows like $16,000 - $18,000. At least this is what i see around here. You got a good deal LOL

All those rx's on the dealer's lots came from past owners (obviously). Remember this; dealer's NEVER EVER lose money on deals.!! If the sticker is 18,000, the dealer probably gave the previous owners around 14k for it. The dealer jacks the price up a little so THEY get more money. This is how it works with dealers. You won't lose that much b/c you got it for a GREAt deal.

[LexKid630]

In 1999 when i bought my 1st rx300, i first got it in a light blue color. After 3 days i decided that i didn't like it and traded it in. It didn't even have 30 miles on it!! I traded it in for a black one with the same features.

I lost $6,500 on that deal. As soon as it leaves the lot, it's no longer considered "new". The same goes for buying a used one.

I guarantee that my dealer sold the blue one for $6,500 more!! They robbed me!

[sgriffith]

I just bought a 1999 RX300 w/ 56k on the odo.  I paid 15500.  I thought it was very low miles, we were looking at 4runners but they all seemed to have 90k+ on them...so I thought what the hell why not a Lexus after all it is a Toyota.  Got good reviews on edmunds.com and consumer reports said is was a good buy.  Anyway I have been reading the posts about the 1999 rx300 AWD tranny and sludge problems and am now second guessing myself.  I told my wife that we may sell it to try to avoid huge problems later...she started crying...Help.  I dont want to sell it, I really like it, and obviously my wife does too.  It has had a trans fluid change at 30k and I just did it at 56.5k.  It has never been flushed, as far as I know.  The sludge thing, if there is any (the oil has been regularly changed every 3-5k see my other post titled "Rx300 Sludge...engine Flush?"), seems pale in comparison to the tranny issues discussed on LOC USA. 

I guess my question is, if the tranny is well taken care of, ie. regular flush and change every 30k, and the oil is properly dealt with, is this a gamble?  In other words, am I taking a risk that is greater than any other used car...is this thing a time bomb...how many people experience this problem, out of the thousands of 99 RX300 AWD's, do all of them have this problem, It just seems that I would have read something about this in places other than LOC USA.  I guess I just want to know how realistic it is for me to experience problems...remember this is a well taken care of, one owner, senior driven vehicle. I know that I have asked a lot of questions...I am just searching for real world no bs answers.  Please help!!!!!  I just want a nice car that will last!  Thank You for your help.

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I have a 99 RX with about 94K on it....bought it with 32K on it. I stumbled across this site when I had about 55K on the vehicle and learned of the tranny problems. Now, mine isn't AWD, but I have done a drain and fill every 15K since I found out about the issues. I THOUGHT I was feeling some slip in the tranny & had an extended warranty so I took it to a mechanic. After they had it a week they decided that my fluid was a quart low....totally my fault. He dropped the pan, looked for metal shavings etc. and said that everything looked great. So, I have decided to stop worrying about the issue and just do my maintenance because that is all I can do at this point in time...other than sell it....and my wife would probably divorce me!! You might find a good reputable independent mechanic and have them drop the pan and inspect the fluid to see what they think. If you see an abnormal amount of metal shavings then you might consider trading it off or selling it. But if you don't then you might just decide to do the 15K tranny fluid drain & fills and consider it the best you can do for prevention. After reading about all of this I had decided to trade it off, but after thinking about it for a while, I just decided to do the maintenance and hope for the best. My extended warranty runs out at 100K though....so I might start worrying more about it before too long!! Anyways...just my 2 cents worth.

[1992gsrforsale]

I just bought a 1999 RX300 w/ 56k on the odo.  I paid 15500.  I thought it was very low miles, we were looking at 4runners but they all seemed to have 90k+ on them...so I thought what the hell why not a Lexus after all it is a Toyota.  Got good reviews on edmunds.com and consumer reports said is was a good buy.  Anyway I have been reading the posts about the 1999 rx300 AWD tranny and sludge problems and am now second guessing myself.  I told my wife that we may sell it to try to avoid huge problems later...she started crying...Help.  I dont want to sell it, I really like it, and obviously my wife does too.  It has had a trans fluid change at 30k and I just did it at 56.5k.  It has never been flushed, as far as I know.  The sludge thing, if there is any (the oil has been regularly changed every 3-5k see my other post titled "Rx300 Sludge...engine Flush?"), seems pale in comparison to the tranny issues discussed on LOC USA. 

I guess my question is, if the tranny is well taken care of, ie. regular flush and change every 30k, and the oil is properly dealt with, is this a gamble?  In other words, am I taking a risk that is greater than any other used car...is this thing a time bomb...how many people experience this problem, out of the thousands of 99 RX300 AWD's, do all of them have this problem, It just seems that I would have read something about this in places other than LOC USA.  I guess I just want to know how realistic it is for me to experience problems...remember this is a well taken care of, one owner, senior driven vehicle. I know that I have asked a lot of questions...I am just searching for real world no bs answers.  Please help!!!!!  I just want a nice car that will last!  Thank You for your help.

←

I have a 99 RX with about 94K on it....bought it with 32K on it. I stumbled across this site when I had about 55K on the vehicle and learned of the tranny problems. Now, mine isn't AWD, but I have done a drain and fill every 15K since I found out about the issues. I THOUGHT I was feeling some slip in the tranny & had an extended warranty so I took it to a mechanic. After they had it a week they decided that my fluid was a quart low....totally my fault. He dropped the pan, looked for metal shavings etc. and said that everything looked great. So, I have decided to stop worrying about the issue and just do my maintenance because that is all I can do at this point in time...other than sell it....and my wife would probably divorce me!! You might find a good reputable independent mechanic and have them drop the pan and inspect the fluid to see what they think. If you see an abnormal amount of metal shavings then you might consider trading it off or selling it. But if you don't then you might just decide to do the 15K tranny fluid drain & fills and consider it the best you can do for prevention. After reading about all of this I had decided to trade it off, but after thinking about it for a while, I just decided to do the maintenance and hope for the best. My extended warranty runs out at 100K though....so I might start worrying more about it before too long!! Anyways...just my 2 cents worth.

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Thanks for the reply...its nice to know that I am not the only one...with a wife who might...well lets not go there! Thanks for the 2 cents, and lets pray for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wwest]

You will not find metal shavings in the sump pan. What you will find is a thick layer, ~1/8th", of what appears to be carbon pencil lead ground up into a fine powder. I suspect the origin to be the frictional surface of one or more of the transaxle's clutches.

That's what I found at 45,000 miles.

There are three flat permanent magnet attached to the floor of the sump pan and those had some metal filings attached but not to a level that was worrisome to me.

Mine is an AWD 2001 RX300 and the factory agrees that like the manual says there is NO recommended fluid maintenance for the life of the vehicle.

But something is definitely very wrong in these transaxles. I fully expect a transaxle failure by the time my RX reacheds 70 - 80,000 miles. If/when that time comes and Lexus doesn't step up to the plate they will be hearing from my attorney in very short order.

[RX in NC]

The all-wheel-drive versions appear to be more susceptible to transmission failure than the two-wheel-drive ones. We have a 2000 AWD model - the transmission failed at about 48,000 miles. Lexus replaced it under warranty. The vehicle is now approaching 87,000 miles. Although the gears have always shifted more harshly than we believe should be the case for a supposed luxury SUV, the replacement transmission appears to be holding up okay at this point.

Here are my recommendations:

1. Change your transmission fluid at least every 30,000 miles regardless of how clean it looks or smells.

2. Use only Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid. Nothing else goes into your pan, period. A regular drain-and-fill requires 4 fresh quarts or just a touch more.

3. When you drain your transmission pan, don't forget to also drain the front differential. Its plug is located behind and slightly above the transmission pan. Both the transmission pan plug and the front differential plug can be pulled with a 10mm hex wrench. They share fluid from the transmission pan. This is such an easy job to do at home, you don't need to pay someone else a hefty price to do it for you.

4. Always take it easy when driving through the gears. This is an underpowered baby SUV, not a sports car - don't even try to pretend it is.

5. In temperatures below freezing, allow your vehicle to warm up for a minute or two before you pull out of your driveway. A warm Toyota transmission shifts much more smoothly than a cold one, and this could help preserve your transmission over time. With AWD, you just can't be too careful....

[1992gsrforsale]

The all-wheel-drive versions appear to be more susceptible to transmission failure than the two-wheel-drive ones.  We have a 2000 AWD model  -  the transmission failed at about 48,000 miles.  Lexus replaced it under warranty.  The vehicle is now approaching 87,000 miles.  Although the gears have always shifted more harshly than we believe should be the case for a supposed luxury SUV, the replacement transmission appears to be holding up okay at this point.

Here are my recommendations:

1.  Change your transmission fluid at least every 30,000 miles regardless of how clean it looks or smells.

2.  Use only Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid.  Nothing else goes into your pan, period.  A regular drain-and-fill requires 4 fresh quarts or just a touch more.

3.  When you drain your transmission pan, don't forget to also drain the front differential.  Its plug is located behind and slightly above the transmission pan.  Both the transmission pan plug and the front differential plug can be pulled with a 10mm hex wrench.  They share fluid from the transmission pan.  This is such an easy job to do at home, you don't need to pay someone else a hefty price to do it for you. 

4.  Always take it easy when driving through the gears.  This is an underpowered baby SUV, not a sports car  -  don't even try to pretend it is.

5.  In temperatures below freezing, allow your vehicle to warm up for a minute or two before you pull out of your driveway.  A warm Toyota transmission shifts much more smoothly than a cold one, and this could help preserve your transmission over time.  With AWD, you just can't be too careful....

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Thank You to all who have helped!!!