b0bo Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 My RX300 just developed a hesitation/slip while going from 3d to 4th gear. The Dealer has it currently and said it is a transmission problem. They changed the fluid and flushed it, but this has not solved the problem. Anyone else ever have this problems? K? thnxs.
dcfish Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 My RX300 just developed a hesitation/slip while going from 3d to 4th gear. The Dealer has it currently and said it is a transmission problem. They changed the fluid and flushed it, but this has not solved the problem. Anyone else ever have this problems? K? thnxs. OMG, I will be the first to reply on this although it has been covered more than LEXUS/TOYOTA would like to see. Please search the RX forums and you will discover more than you ever wanted to know. Excuse my not leading you to the exact thread, The learning experience doing it yourself is priceless.
LexKid630 Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 It is common for the Rx300 AWD transmissions to have failure early. I personally experienced it and it WAS horrible... You are probably going to end up paying a LOT for a new transmission if they can't find an easy fix for it. I spend $4400 for a new one on my old 99. you are NOT alone! :(
b0bo Posted January 5, 2006 Author Posted January 5, 2006 It is common for the Rx300 AWD transmissions to have failure early. I personally experienced it and it WAS horrible... You are probably going to end up paying a LOT for a new transmission if they can't find an easy fix for it. I spend $4400 for a new one on my old 99. you are NOT alone! :( Good news is when they changed the transmission fluid there was no metal shavings and the fluid looked good. I doubt I'm gonna need a new transmission. they mentioned something about a stuck valve?
phillyfan Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 I am not sure if this is what you are experiencing or not but I recall reading a post that the transmission is programmed to rev. higher when the engine is cold to warm up the engine quicker. I notice this with my RX for the 1st couple of minutes driving then it functions normally shifting from stop signs / lights etc... I can't recall between which gears it occurs but it maybe something you want to test out yourself. Certainly the AWD's have history of transmission problems but it would be nice if this is all it is. How long have you noted this? I see that your are in Syracuse, certainly it's been cold there for a few months. I am not a mechanic and can't verify with certainty my statement is correct but I have read it here on different posts and my car certainly behaves predictably in this manner. If engine is off only for a few moments after driving (e.g. getting gas) in the cold weather the car behaves 'normally' as engine is still warm. I only note it with cold starts.
wwest Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 First, some of us believe that Toyota/Lexus has instituted a "secret" warranty involving premature transaxle failures. So "push" the dealer as hard as you can to get the costs of repair covered. IMMHO these failures are the result of a firmware flaw in the engine/transaxle ECU. These transaxles upshift rather quickly during brief periods of throttle closed coastdown situations. If the driver happens to reapply gas pedal pressure just as the upshift is initiated then the engine torque level will rise with RPM just as the transaxle begins its new shift sequence back down into a more proper gear ratio for acceleration. In 04 and later RX models premature wear of the transaxle's internal clutches is prevented using a DBW system to keep the engine RPM from rising until the clutches are firmly and fully seated.
tmastres Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 B0bo, please keep us all posted on what transpires with your tranny. While I certainly wouldnt go as far as saying that tranny problems are "common" with RX's there can be no doubt that this is a weak point of the model and a significant number of people on this list have had them. Several people have "cured" their trans. problems or at least now keep them at bay so it'd be very interesting to see how yours is handled/fixed by you and/or the dealer. I have no boubt that there is some type of flaw or inferior part thats causing these failures, It'd be interesting to finally find out what it is.
wwest Posted January 5, 2006 Posted January 5, 2006 Methinks the "flaw" is the result of Toyota and Lexus assigning too high a priority to improving fuel economy. There may also be some modivation to reduce the number of accidents due to loss of control from engine compression braking on the drive, front, wheels. In any case IMMHO these transaxles are FAR too quick to upshift in throttle closed coastdown circumstances and that oftentimes results in being in too high a gear ratio if the driver suddenly re-applies pressure to the gas pedal. The result of that, for vehicles with hard connections from the gas pedal to the throttle valve, is that the engine RPM is rising at the same sime the transaxle is downshifting. Sorta like "feathering" the clutch with a stick shift with the throttle wide open, except with an automatic you don't get that horrid clutch burning odor until you check your ATF at about 40,000 miles. In 2004, and after, the RX uses the e-throttle control firmware to delay the onset of engine torque development and therefore "protect the drive train".
b0bo Posted January 6, 2006 Author Posted January 6, 2006 The dealer has had the vehicle for two days. The last call I recieved they told me they need to keep the car for one more day because they have not reached a final resolution yet.
lenore Posted January 6, 2006 Posted January 6, 2006 If the 2004 and later vehicles changed firmware to fix the problem, then why in the &*($# doesn't Lexus do a firmware solution for the old RX models and gain some faith from their customers of past. I would love to have a solution to my 1999 RX tranny early failures. I Love the car but hate the pain of having to pay again for the transmission. ($4300). Firmware cannot be that expensive compared to the tranny cost.
wwest Posted January 6, 2006 Posted January 6, 2006 Becareful, very careful, of what you ask. I have no doubt that many 04 and later owners would gladly trade their engine hesitation problems for your clutch wear-out. Trying to sort the wheat from the chaff but currently it appears that the 2006 models are still being shipped with the engine/throttle hesitation problem. A premature transaxle failure trumps a bunch of totally random life threatening engine delay/hesitations EVERY time.
monarch Posted January 6, 2006 Posted January 6, 2006 If the 2004 and later vehicles changed firmware to fix the problem, then why in the &*($# doesn't Lexus do a firmware solution for the old RX models and gain some faith from their customers of past. I would love to have a solution to my 1999 RX tranny early failures. I'd guess there is no firmware update for the older RX models because they don't have a drive by wire electronic throttle. Did you ever find out what specific parts inside your transmissions failed?
lenore Posted January 6, 2006 Posted January 6, 2006 I don't know if the dealership ever even looks for the failure, they said they do not rebuild transmissions but instead use rebuilts from their sources. So unless we could dial in on their transmission rebuilder for LExus and find out the failure points in the RX300 tranny we the John Que Public customer will never know. My transmissions both came from back east, so who knows? It would be interesting to know the failures, I know when I dropped the valve body assembly, it was contaminated with metal debris, from where I don't know. I could not see visually any fretted gears from the bottom. So goes the mystery of early failure of a tranny that was serviced every 30k miles.
b0bo Posted January 7, 2006 Author Posted January 7, 2006 I was informed by the Dealer that the inner clutch was bad and I need a new transmission. my warranty was up about 6 months ago so I have to come up with $3600. plus the 60,000 service and a new serpintine belt, I'm over $4,000. I am so disappointed with this truck. The service manager claimed less than 1% of all the cars he serviced needed a new transmission (3-4 a year).
monarch Posted January 7, 2006 Posted January 7, 2006 Sorry to hear that b0bo. If I was in your shoes I'd want to actually see the "bad clutch" and the wear debris the worn out clutch plates must have left in your transmission oil pan. Then I'd confront the Lexus dealer and ask them "what did I do to the transmission that could have caused such severe wear in only X number of miles"? In other words, I'd give them the $4,000, but I'd want to have the old transmission back in my physical possession so I could privately investigate the matter of whether or not the transmission has a design defect. But that's just me. Actually, I wouldn't pay the $4,000, but would get a used RX transmission from a Toyota / Lexus recycler like taprecycling.com for a fraction of the $4,000 cost.
katzjamr Posted January 7, 2006 Posted January 7, 2006 also since you are new you may not have seen the posts where some people with the same trans failures have complained enough to Lexus or their service managers that Lexus did pick up up to $2000 in labor cost on the job for goodwill. ask for it and be tough. its really an unwritten or what the industry calls secret warranty
G OSul Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 WOW. What a piece of junk my RX300 drivetrain is. Looking at the other posts, I think my experience is more common than dealers will claim. I replaced the transmission at about 105,000 miles (just out of warranty) about 13 months ago. The refurbished (according to the dealer, Lexus of Norwood, they don't have "new" transmissions, but the reburbished are really new) tranny cost me $5000.... ouch. The replacement tranny is now going out. It won't shift into reverse. That's 2 transmissions in about 120k miles. I'm steamed. This is after the sludge problem of the oil overheating and causing carbon deposits in the engine, resulting in knocking, that started at about 50k miles. That cost about $3k for mitigation of the problem. If the dealer asks for another $5k, I'm going to have a heart attack.
bluestu Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 $5,000 is outrageous for a rebuilt transmission. I know of a couple excellent shops that will rebuild any transmission for a lot less than that. 105,000 miles is about all you can expect to get out of a AWD transmission if you never had it flushed out. No car develops engine sludge if you change the oil every 3k or 3 months. If you switch to synthetic oil, you won't have to worry about that problem at all. The main problem with cars is that most people don't adequately maintain them, and then cry the blues when something goes wrong. I know people that don't change their engine oil at all, and hardly anyone is aware that they need to have their transmissions serviced.
roanokebarry Posted February 4, 2006 Posted February 4, 2006 bObo Ive been there and done that....the main problem it seems with the RX300 and RX330 transmissions is getting the fluid to the points that need it...I receintly tried the product TRANSMATIC and it has made a world of difference in the way my RX300 shifts and performs....I have 109k on my vehicle and at 80k or so the dealer said it needed a new transmission....the problem was the screen filter was clogged..and what was clogging it was shavings from the clutches and parts of the transmission that were not getting the lubrication that it needed. Transmatic costs about 30 bucks and to me it has been a blessing...I have recommeded it to friends that used it in Hondas and american cars and they cant believe how it helps the shifting and performance. anyway good luck roanokebarry
backwoods lex Posted February 6, 2006 Posted February 6, 2006 I was informed by the Dealer that the inner clutch was bad and I need a new transmission. my warranty was up about 6 months ago so I have to come up with $3600. plus the 60,000 service and a new serpintine belt, I'm over $4,000. I am so disappointed with this truck. The service manager claimed less than 1% of all the cars he serviced needed a new transmission (3-4 a year). Bobo, a car dealer in Syracuse, NY claiming to have only 3-4 cars that need new transmissions per year? That alone sounds very strange to me, especially with all of the other complaints and failures with this transmission. Push the dealer to help with the costs, and call Lexus Corporate for the same.
tmastres Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Barry, Not to go off topic too far but what is a "transmatic" sounds like it could be something quite usefull to people on this list. Thanks
monarch Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 the main problem it seems with the RX300 and RX330 transmissions is getting the fluid to the points that need it. No, the main problem is owners fail to regularly inspect the condition of the fluid and to change it BEFORE it becomes seriously darkened - before it has lost it's ability to prevent heavy transmission clutch disc wear and the subsequent side effects of heavy wear like clogging of the transmission filter screen. If the RX transmission was truly a defective design, even the owners who regularly inspect the condition of the fluid and change it BEFORE it becomes seriously darkened would experience failures too. But so far they have not.
RX in NC Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Once again, monarch is dead wrong. There are a number of us on this forum who have regularly changed the Type T-IV fluid in our AWD RX300 transmissions and have still suffered from transmission failure. There is definitely a design flaw or system weakness in play here. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain....
lenore Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Sometimes I agree with Monarch, but Along with RX NC I did change the fluid regularily and the tranny still failed, by the way the fluid was great looking before my trip to Utah, and was changed just 3k miles before the trip, and the tranny failed. Give it up Monarch.
roanokebarry Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Monarch and RX in NC You both are correct....I always have had my dealer service my 99RX if you check the manual and according to the service tech the fluid in the transmission should be changed every 30k and on the 2001 RX it actually says that you never have to change it.....lets get real.. I know they have now sent out an update to this and it is recommended every 15k....all that aside I want to try to help anyone (and it seems like we have alot) out there that is currently having problems to see how we can help them... The slipping and hard shifting and just not working transmission on the RX300 and RX330 is from a design flaw just as RX in NC states but we can use a product that I have found that helps tremendously and extends the life of our transmissions it is called TRANSMATIC and no I do not work for them or sell for them I only purchased and use the product. It costs about 30 bucks and is avail by just typing transmatic on google. I put it in my RX in December and for the first time since I can remember the transmission shifts properly and performance I was not expecting. The problem with the design of this transmission is getting and keeping fluid to the clutches and torque converter to keep it from failing. When fluid does not get to these points the metal rubs against the moving parts and thus shavings gather in the metal screen called the filter. This robs the transmission again of proper lubrication and so the transmission neutralizes...it shuts down. If you take your vehicle to a dealer or a transmission shop more than likely they will tell you "its internal" no kidding......if you flush your fluid and clean the screen filter and add a pint of TRANSMATIC you should really see a difference. Again I am only trying to help....I dont think any of us should have ever had this problem to begin with but we do and we have to handle it.... I now have 110k on my RX If I had listened to the dealer at 80k when I first had the problem It would have cost me 5 grand and my warranty would be gone as it is I have spent 300 to flush my transmission and clean the screen and 30 bucks for the Transmatic... so I ask who is the fool.? good luck roanokebarry
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