roanokebarry Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I have a 1999 RX300 and have experienced transmission problems over the past 2 years and I think I have discovered a product that will help most of us. My problem started at about 88k miles I noticed that when I put it in reverse sometimes it acted like it was in neutral....this progressively got worse. Eventually as I would drive along it would stop, not engage the transmission....this was caused from the transmission fluid not getting to the torque converter or clutches and therefore as a protection of the transmission it more or less shuts down. If you take it to your dealer they of course want to replace the transmission at a cost of about 5 grand.... The screen filter needs cleaning.... and have them flush out the old fluid in the transmission...this should cost about 300 dollars.....I have also discovered that you need to do this every 15k miles and I found that there is a product on the market called TRANSMATIC it cost about 30 bucks but since I put it in my vehicle back in December my transmission does not have that lag between shifts, when put in drive it pulls the vehicle forward, it just changes gears like it should have when it was new. The transmatic thins the fluid so it gets to all the parts that need to be lubricated. Hey what do you have to loose, 30 bucks.... or pay out 5 grand.... Your dealer may say that this wont be a permanent fix, but of course he does want your 5 grand..... good luck roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mh6 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 I have a 1999 RX300 and have experienced transmission problems over the past 2 years and I think I have discovered a product that will help most of us. My problem started at about 88k miles I noticed that when I put it in reverse sometimes it acted like it was in neutral....this progressively got worse. Eventually as I would drive along it would stop, not engage the transmission....this was caused from the transmission fluid not getting to the torque converter or clutches and therefore as a protection of the transmission it more or less shuts down. If you take it to your dealer they of course want to replace the transmission at a cost of about 5 grand.... The screen filter needs cleaning.... and have them flush out the old fluid in the transmission...this should cost about 300 dollars.....I have also discovered that you need to do this every 15k miles and I found that there is a product on the market called TRANSMATIC it cost about 30 bucks but since I put it in my vehicle back in December my transmission does not have that lag between shifts, when put in drive it pulls the vehicle forward, it just changes gears like it should have when it was new. The transmatic thins the fluid so it gets to all the parts that need to be lubricated. Hey what do you have to loose, 30 bucks.... or pay out 5 grand.... Your dealer may say that this wont be a permanent fix, but of course he does want your 5 grand..... good luck roanokebarry This the correct item you are talking about http://www.transmaticsc.com/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX in NC Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 For those of you who own vehicles that are still under warranty, be very aware that adding any foreign substance to your transmission fluid will legally void your transmission warranty and Lexus will take every opportunity to use that to their advantage. To stay within your transmission warranty requirements, nothing but Toyota Type T-IV fluid should be used in your transmission system. Many transmission additives on the market have long claimed to improve performance and lifespan of any vehicle, and perhaps some of them may do that. But these products should only be tried once you've exceeded your transmission warranty or you have no intent of requiring Lexus to repair or replace your transmission in the event it fails. Long-time owners of any RX300 realize that the best protection you can muster is to change the Type T-IV fluid on a regular basis along with driving the RX300 sanely and safely - it is not a performance vehicle and it never will be. To protect your warranty, do NOT pour foreign substances into your transmission until you are 100% ready to assume all liability and responsibility for what may occur as a result. As an owner who experienced our RX300 transmission failing under warranty at 48,000 miles, as long as we own this vehicle I'll run nothing but T-IV fluid, change it every 30,000 miles as our dealer recommends, and therefore keep Lexus on the hook for continuing to be responsible for any future transmission failures that may occur. It's the simple but smart approach, period.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanokebarry Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 I have a 1999 RX300 and have experienced transmission problems over the past 2 years and I think I have discovered a product that will help most of us. My problem started at about 88k miles I noticed that when I put it in reverse sometimes it acted like it was in neutral....this progressively got worse. Eventually as I would drive along it would stop, not engage the transmission....this was caused from the transmission fluid not getting to the torque converter or clutches and therefore as a protection of the transmission it more or less shuts down. If you take it to your dealer they of course want to replace the transmission at a cost of about 5 grand.... The screen filter needs cleaning.... and have them flush out the old fluid in the transmission...this should cost about 300 dollars.....I have also discovered that you need to do this every 15k miles and I found that there is a product on the market called TRANSMATIC it cost about 30 bucks but since I put it in my vehicle back in December my transmission does not have that lag between shifts, when put in drive it pulls the vehicle forward, it just changes gears like it should have when it was new. The transmatic thins the fluid so it gets to all the parts that need to be lubricated. Hey what do you have to loose, 30 bucks.... or pay out 5 grand.... Your dealer may say that this wont be a permanent fix, but of course he does want your 5 grand..... good luck roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanokebarry Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 To all RX300 and RX330 owners...In reply to RXinNC's comments I agree totally if your vehicle is still under warranty follow all the instructions in the manual and the dealers recommendations, but most of the RX300's are now past the 70k mile warranty period unless you purchased extended warrantys and I have experienced personally the dealer here not wanting to fix the transmission only to replace it. I personally think when you pay 40k for a Lexus the transmission should not even be an issue of a problem until maybe 200k miles or more....instead we are all having problems at 80 or 90 thousand miles just as the warranty is over.. I am only offering a possible solution to a problem that should not exist in the first place. My transmission in my RX300 AWD has now 110k on it when I first began to have problems at 80k or so the only dealer answer was replace the trans at a cost of 5 thousand or so... if I took it to a transmission shop the price for repair was anywhere from 2500 to 3000 with a 6 month 6000 mile warr. ... the problems I experienced was the screen filter clogging and the fluid was not getting to the areas to lubricate the transmission properly therefore the neutralizing kicked in and I was stuck. For all the owners out there that have had similar problems or if your RX lags in shifting or has hard shifts then you can purchase a product that will help and that is TRANSMATIC... Now if you are worried about voiding your warranty dont use it....but I have to ask how would the dealer be able to tell...it does not change the color of the transmission fluid... and if it works and you dont have to replace the transmission you are dollars ahead......if you just want a new transmission buy it....5 grand if you want to repair what you have repair it 3grand...if you want to try an additive that just might work 30 bucks... duh ...this is a tough decission. Good luck to all of you and hope whatever you do your RX will continue to perform properly..lets face it none of us should even have to have this problem with the transmission in the first place with this quality of a vehicle but we are experiencing it and I hope you all make the right decision. roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestu Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Have your AWD transmission flushed every 15k and you won't have to deal with transmission problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fobintx Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 :cries: Hello all, Well looks like I am one of those that have had problems within and after the warranty period and would like to make all who own a 2000 RX300 further aware of the problems. My RX300 has been serviced @ a Goodyear service center for the entire time I have owned it. They have always advised me that they adhere to Lexus specifications. My transmission failed @ 115000 miles last Tuesday and I have since discovered that they have used a product in my transmission that is not approved by Lexus and does not meet the requirements of Toyota Type IV. Anyway just wanted to add my story and tell all of you if you are not servicing your RX @ the dealership make sure they are using Toyota Type IV in your transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanokebarry Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 I have a 1999 RX300 and have experienced transmission problems over the past 2 years and I think I have discovered a product that will help most of us. My problem started at about 88k miles I noticed that when I put it in reverse sometimes it acted like it was in neutral....this progressively got worse. Eventually as I would drive along it would stop, not engage the transmission....this was caused from the transmission fluid not getting to the torque converter or clutches and therefore as a protection of the transmission it more or less shuts down. If you take it to your dealer they of course want to replace the transmission at a cost of about 5 grand.... The screen filter needs cleaning.... and have them flush out the old fluid in the transmission...this should cost about 300 dollars.....I have also discovered that you need to do this every 15k miles and I found that there is a product on the market called TRANSMATIC it cost about 30 bucks but since I put it in my vehicle back in December my transmission does not have that lag between shifts, when put in drive it pulls the vehicle forward, it just changes gears like it should have when it was new. The transmatic thins the fluid so it gets to all the parts that need to be lubricated. Hey what do you have to loose, 30 bucks.... or pay out 5 grand.... Your dealer may say that this wont be a permanent fix, but of course he does want your 5 grand..... good luck roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanokebarry Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 To FobinTX When you say your transmission failed what is it doing....what are the symptoms....does it act like it is in neutral when you have it in reverse or drive????? does it clunk when you put it in gear..... If you had the transmission fluid changed and flushed regularly check the color of the fluid is it redish looking or does it look brown or black....... You also may need to have the screen cleaned...these transmissions do not have a filter persay they do have a screen that will get clogged from time to time.....usually it starts after the warranty is out around 80k but it all depends on your driving habits..... Unless you have damaged your tranny....and you have the sypmtoms I mentioned above you have what is called an enternal problem...most shops want 2500 to 4500 to pull tranny...this may not be needed....if you flush all the transmission fluid out and it is about 15 qts clean screen and replace with new fluid type IV your transmission should be ok.....I have used a new product called Transmatic....it thins the fluid so it can better get to all the critical parts.... my RX has never shifted better...it is smoother in shifts and I have 110k on my 99 RX... Whatever you do good luck ....but if this will save you from big tranny expense its worth the try... roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenore Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Not to rehash the subject, but the failures just keep rolling in, Boy I bet the dealerships love the profit off the tranny replacements. So far my third tranny is rolling, I have added an external fluid filter, and change the fluid every 15k or less. Hope to roll a couple more years or until my wife says get rid of it and buy something with rear wheel drive and a normal transmission. good luck to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbarhorst2 Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Dealers routinely send a sample of the fluid to the lab to be analyzed if there is a problem. An additive would be easily discovered. GC, MAS SPEC, IR - any one of these woud identify the constituents of the fluid submitted. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fobintx Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Hello Roanokebarry, Thank you for the comments. I was on the highway stopped behind an accident, when I went to accelarate, it wouldn't move, threw it in 2nd to get some accelaration and then low to get more accelaration. Ironically enough I was able to get it into the Lexus dealership which was right across the street. I have always had my vehicle serviced regularly. This time I took it in on Saturday 2/11 w/114,600 miles (before this it was flushed @ 82000) and was advised it was time to flush the transmission fluid as it was dirty and I was noticing some minor slipping. My problem occured the following Tuesday 2/14. I then discovered that Goodyear had been using a fluid called Versatrans ATF which after doing some research does not show meeting the requirements of Toyota Type T IV nor does it show it can be used in Lexus vehicles. I have also been told that my transmission was overfilled by about 3 quarts. The dipstick is showing about an 1 1/2" to 2" past the cool mark. To FobinTX When you say your transmission failed what is it doing....what are the symptoms....does it act like it is in neutral when you have it in reverse or drive????? does it clunk when you put it in gear..... If you had the transmission fluid changed and flushed regularly check the color of the fluid is it redish looking or does it look brown or black....... You also may need to have the screen cleaned...these transmissions do not have a filter persay they do have a screen that will get clogged from time to time.....usually it starts after the warranty is out around 80k but it all depends on your driving habits..... Unless you have damaged your tranny....and you have the sypmtoms I mentioned above you have what is called an enternal problem...most shops want 2500 to 4500 to pull tranny...this may not be needed....if you flush all the transmission fluid out and it is about 15 qts clean screen and replace with new fluid type IV your transmission should be ok.....I have used a new product called Transmatic....it thins the fluid so it can better get to all the critical parts.... my RX has never shifted better...it is smoother in shifts and I have 110k on my 99 RX... Whatever you do good luck ....but if this will save you from big tranny expense its worth the try... roanokebarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmastres Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 So far my third tranny is rolling, I have added an external fluid filter, and change the fluid every 15k or less. Hope to roll a couple more years or until my wife says get rid of it and buy something with rear wheel drive and a normal transmission. good luck to all. Just curious, what changes did you make after the first trans failure? Did you add the cooler and begin to change fluid often at that point or was that after the second failure? Just trying plan a strategy if mine goes bad, its about at that time frame. Thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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