Transmission Problems/failures with RX300 awd/fwd

[Weekender]

Greetings All, I thought I'd chime in about my tranny woes as I picked up my 01 Rx300 awd 87,xxx miles with it's freshly rebuilt transmission just last night. We bought it certified with about 30k on it and changed the trans fluid at 60k which seems reasonable. I generally drive my cars pretty hard and maintain them carefully and thoroughly but I never have felt like this one responded well to being pushed so I have always driven it very delicately no hard starts (or stops) for that matter. The car has never really felt durable or solid I guess so I'm not too terribly surprised with the failure I might have expected it to completely detonate at 100k but at least this way it didn't leave my wife stranded. The failure was caused by fragments of what was thought to be the "overdrive bearing" if I have it right, clogging the filter and starving the pump causing bad or no shifts and the pump to whine very loudly. When I took the car to Lexus of Seattle they were extremely polite, courteous, and gave me a case number (and a beverage) to see if lexus corporate would be willing to help with costs or something to that effect but after a few days they said nope also implying that if I had used their service dept. for all the previous maintenance it might have helped my case. Whatever. My wife LOVES this car for some reason even more than the newer RXs so against my better judgement it stays but I must say I have been sizing up the Infiniti FX 45, a 2004 w/30k can be had for $30k and that feels like a solid car. Also I'd like to recommend Clary's Transmission in Seattle they didn't offer me a beverage but they are good people do excellent work and they stand by their work.

Thanks for reading my first post. Chris

[lenore]

Welcome, sorry you joined as I did with a tranny story. Please file a complaint with the NHTSB online you will need a vin #. It adds to the database and maybe ( I doubt it) Lexus might get off their High Horse and do a recall and treat their customers right. I will add you to the over 70 failed trannies that I have documented. Love a good Saturday night story. Good luck and remember to do the tranny fluid changes every 15k miles (recommended by dealerships because they live in the real world) not the ivory tower of Lexus corporate.

[wwest]

Greetings All, I thought I'd chime in about my tranny woes as I picked up my 01 Rx300 awd 87,xxx miles with it's freshly rebuilt transmission just last night. We bought it certified with about 30k on it and changed the trans fluid at 60k which seems reasonable. I generally drive my cars pretty hard and maintain them carefully and thoroughly but I never have felt like this one responded well to being pushed so I have always driven it very delicately no hard starts (or stops) for that matter. The car has never really felt durable or solid I guess so I'm not too terribly surprised with the failure I might have expected it to completely detonate at 100k but at least this way it didn't leave my wife stranded. The failure was caused by fragments of what was thought to be the "overdrive bearing" if I have it right, clogging the filter and starving the pump causing bad or no shifts and the pump to whine very loudly. When I took the car to Lexus of Seattle they were extremely polite, courteous, and gave me a case number (and a beverage) to see if lexus corporate would be willing to help with costs or something to that effect but after a few days they said nope also implying that if I had used their service dept. for all the previous maintenance it might have helped my case. Whatever. My wife LOVES this car for some reason even more than the newer RXs so against my better judgement it stays but I must say I have been sizing up the Infiniti FX 45, a 2004 w/30k can be had for $30k and that feels like a solid car. Also I'd like to recommend Clary's Transmission in Seattle they didn't offer me a beverage but they are good people do excellent work and they stand by their work.

Thanks for reading my first post. Chris

Clary overhauled your old transaxle or did they simply sell you a remanufactured one...??

I ask because with an overhaul the cause of the failure should have become obvious.

Where did you buy it certified, Lexus dealer?

[Weekender]

Clary's did an overhaul on my transmission and I was told where the clogging debris came from (overdrive bearing fragments) but at that point I just wanted the car back asap. One sticky thing I wasn't going to mention was I found a rebuilt tranny online and purchased it for a pretty good price and clary agreed to recieve it from UPS and install it (they really were working with me) only to have the tranny rebuild guys call a few days later and say they wanted three hundred more dollars! I told them to bite the wall and had the overhaul done locally w/ a 12-12 warranty and no funny stuff. oh and I bought it from Lexus of Seattle in Lynnwood. and if we still have it we'll be changing the fluids this time next year.

thanks all. Chris

[neuf150]

Just thought I would update this list. I have called Lexus customer service 8 times. They deny any knowledge or complaints about transmission failures. I will find out on my case on Monday if they will absorb any further cost of repair. The dealer offered to cover half of the repair but I am asking for 100% coverage.

Neuf150

2nd update:

After an additional 6 calls to customer service and the dealer the original $4200 transmission cost was reduced to $1100. I told them I thought they needed to put out a recall and pay 100% but would settle since they were paying about 75%. I started every day for over 2 weeks calling the dealer and calling customer service until I got an answer. The car runs great and shifts smooth. I'm just not confident it will make it to 230,000 like our Previa.

Neuf150

[lenore]

You got a great deal on the tranny, good luck and remember to have it serviced every 15k miles from this point on.

[ZAPP]

So, with an 01 RX300 2WD, I'm assuming Ihave the U14OE.

it gets [ambient] doggone hot here.

Are we quite sure that the factory-spec tranny fluid is the right thing to use? Don't the race guys use cooler-running tranny fluids and oversize coolers?

I'm assuming my best hope is to change Tranny fluid like underwear, and always allow the car to warm up to operating temp.

Anything else?

I'm still under the 8 year ext. warranty, so I plan to make several dealer visits before that expires in Sept of this year, then maybe trade it on a nice GMC truck!

If the RX transmission is so bad, why don't Toyota Highlander owners have the same complaint? It's the SAME engine and drivetrain. Search the Highlander forums and you'll find few, if any, transmission complaints. Its already been posted that Consumers Reports shows no transmission issues either. If anyone were to highlight a problem with the RX unit it would be CR. The only other comment is that if, and when, transmission service is performed you MUST use the Toyota Type IV transmission fluid.

Actually I belive the transmission issue is with 99/00 and maybe 01? models. I think the highlander came out in 02/03 after the problem (whatever it was) was "fixed"

The U140F AWD transaxle was used in the 98-03 RX300, the 01-03 Highlander and the 00-03 RAV4. The U140E (the two wheel drive unit) was used in the 98-03 RX300, 01-03 Highlander, 99-01 ES300 and the 2002 Camry.

[ZAPP]

lenore, a variant of this idea would be to make a pump & clean system... sorta like dialysis for Lexus's .

I have seen something similar to this for brake systems ... sorta a turbo-bleeder that runs the fluid outside the vehicle system, purging air etc and it would be a snap to add a filtration device. Just hit the pump then and keep at it until the tranny fluid cleans up?? is that workable?

also over in motorcycle land there are lots of innovative small coolers for oil-cooling etc. hooking up a small oil cooler like that to the system might help prevent overheating but I dunno how to calibrate so that the reverse condition does not prevail

Yes West, your right about the filter screen, the aftermarket filters are true filtering medium. I add an external filter to my system that is basically an old PH8 filter in size. Made by puralator. Adds almost a quart to the entire system as It hangs vertically in my car. But at least the fluid truely gets some filtering. Seems the Japanese dont believe in filters ie Honda, toyota, etc. I would do another drain and fill when you do your next regular oil change, you will find the fluid getting cleaner then.

[lenore]

lenore, a variant of this idea would be to make a pump & clean system... sorta like dialysis for Lexus's .

I have seen something similar to this for brake systems ... sorta a turbo-bleeder that runs the fluid outside the vehicle system, purging air etc and it would be a snap to add a filtration device. Just hit the pump then and keep at it until the tranny fluid cleans up?? is that workable?

also over in motorcycle land there are lots of innovative small coolers for oil-cooling etc. hooking up a small oil cooler like that to the system might help prevent overheating but I dunno how to calibrate so that the reverse condition does not prevail

Yes West, your right about the filter screen, the aftermarket filters are true filtering medium. I add an external filter to my system that is basically an old PH8 filter in size. Made by puralator. Adds almost a quart to the entire system as It hangs vertically in my car. But at least the fluid truely gets some filtering. Seems the Japanese dont believe in filters ie Honda, toyota, etc. I would do another drain and fill when you do your next regular oil change, you will find the fluid getting cleaner then.

Yes they do make evac systems for changing the fluid.

[tgun08]

has anyone solved their trainy issues by changing a sensor, transmision speed sensor. i was told by a reputable trainy shop to buy a speed sensor for 75 dollars and replace it. he said that should do it. my problem is in my 00 rx300 it slips at 1000rpms in reverse everytime unless there is too much pressure on initial backup up, uphill or similar. the o rings tend to leak on the sensor. the two trainy sensors are counter gear speed sensor, and a turbine input sensor, i was thinking of the counter gear because of counter be back the reverse may be affected by the defected sensor.. someone help me on this.....any similar stories

[bluestu]

has anyone solved their trainy issues by changing a sensor, transmision speed sensor. i was told by a reputable trainy shop to buy a speed sensor for 75 dollars and replace it. he said that should do it. my problem is in my 00 rx300 it slips at 1000rpms in reverse everytime unless there is too much pressure on initial backup up, uphill or similar. the o rings tend to leak on the sensor. the two trainy sensors are counter gear speed sensor, and a turbine input sensor, i was thinking of the counter gear because of counter be back the reverse may be affected by the defected sensor.. someone help me on this.....any similar stories

I had a counter gear speed sensor replaced at a tranny shop, and they had to check all the speed sensors to determine which one was bad. My car would randomly miss between 2nd and 3rd gear. The first shop I took it to replaced the wrong speed sensor, so I suggest letting the tranny shop do the diagnostics and replacement for you so you do end up wasting time and money like I did.

[artbuc]

I have a 1999 Lexus RX 300, and have had about 71K miles on it, and recently had the car breakdown about 240 miles away from my home. My car would shift to neutral gear at speeds higher than 45 mph, requiring me to turn the ignition off and back on to drive ( only at lower speeds). Any one seen this? The local dealer at the place where my car broke down wants to replace the entire transmission for 4K!!

We were not too sure about the cost and timeframe she proposed, and got it towed to our city for our local dealer and Lexus cust service to take a look at. I am surprised to see that RX300 had so many transmission issues, and am hoping Lexus will take a look at all the anguish the owners are experiencing and take some positive action.

Has anyone lodged official complaints with Lexus customer service, and how was the response? I Have reseacrhed on the net and saw many complaining about transmission issues with '99 RX. Shouldn't this be a recall? I was a die-hard Lexus fan, but now I am very disappointed with the transmission dying so early.

Rather than repeat my thousands of words on this subject go to the RX300 Forum and type transmission. You will find a lot from RX NC and Lenore (Me) Lexus of America could give a damn about your satisfaction or dissatisfaction on this problem. I Wrote 5 pages of explanation why they should recall and support their product and all they would say is too bad, its past warranty, and basically suck it up. I personally am disgusted with Lexus, and will never buy again, I have played phone tag and been thoroughly messed up by the dealership ( Roseville Lexus) the worst dealership on the face of earth. I am on my third tranny and the damage done by the dealership installing them was beyond belief. Good Luck

Lenore, if you think Roseville Lexus is the worst dealership on the face of the earth, I know you have never experienced Lexus of Wilmington (DE). Saturday Night Live could do a really funny parody of L of W. Bold faced liars and not one qualified mechanic in their whole shop.

[lenore]

I have a 1999 Lexus RX 300, and have had about 71K miles on it, and recently had the car breakdown about 240 miles away from my home. My car would shift to neutral gear at speeds higher than 45 mph, requiring me to turn the ignition off and back on to drive ( only at lower speeds). Any one seen this? The local dealer at the place where my car broke down wants to replace the entire transmission for 4K!!

We were not too sure about the cost and timeframe she proposed, and got it towed to our city for our local dealer and Lexus cust service to take a look at. I am surprised to see that RX300 had so many transmission issues, and am hoping Lexus will take a look at all the anguish the owners are experiencing and take some positive action.

Has anyone lodged official complaints with Lexus customer service, and how was the response? I Have reseacrhed on the net and saw many complaining about transmission issues with '99 RX. Shouldn't this be a recall? I was a die-hard Lexus fan, but now I am very disappointed with the transmission dying so early.

Rather than repeat my thousands of words on this subject go to the RX300 Forum and type transmission. You will find a lot from RX NC and Lenore (Me) Lexus of America could give a damn about your satisfaction or dissatisfaction on this problem. I Wrote 5 pages of explanation why they should recall and support their product and all they would say is too bad, its past warranty, and basically suck it up. I personally am disgusted with Lexus, and will never buy again, I have played phone tag and been thoroughly messed up by the dealership ( Roseville Lexus) the worst dealership on the face of earth. I am on my third tranny and the damage done by the dealership installing them was beyond belief. Good Luck

Lenore, if you think Roseville Lexus is the worst dealership on the face of the earth, I know you have never experienced Lexus of Wilmington (DE). Saturday Night Live could do a really funny parody of L of W. Bold faced liars and not one qualified mechanic in their whole shop.

You know its hard to find a good dealership of any kind, I can only count on one hand the number that I trust in my lifetime.

[wwest]

Single marque sales shops have a smallish "fleet" to work from and then you have the fact that the upscale cars are just plain better designed, built, and therefore have greater reliability makes me wonder how these shops even keep a service bay open at all.

But I agree, there is NO dealer service shop I would trust to do work on my cars, PERIOD!

[tgun08]

i have fixed my trainy problem by switching the two transmission sensors, the counter gear speed sensor and the turbine input sensor. i just switched to two and i have my reverse back and fully functioning trainy. i didn't replace them with new just switched them it works.... dunno why i took them out to test and didn't get really anything from testing them with a magnet.

[LEXSMEX007]

BEEN THERE HAD TO DO THAT THANK GOD IT WAS STILL UNDER LIKE SOME KIND OF WARRANTY BUT IT WAS NO WARRANTY I KNEW OF MY FRIEND WALTER POWERS OVER AT LEXUS OF OAKLAND DUG DEEP AND FOUND IT FOR ME...OH BY THE WAY THE THING WENT OUT A WEEK AFTER I BOUGHT IT FROM SOME LOW-LIFE DEALER IN SALINAS HE TOLD ME I COULD TAKE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE BUT THANK GOD FOR WALTER I JUST TOOK IT TO THE PRO'S AND HAD IT HANDLED! GOOD LUCK....

[ZAPP]

BEEN THERE HAD TO DO THAT THANK GOD IT WAS STILL UNDER LIKE SOME KIND OF WARRANTY BUT IT WAS NO WARRANTY I KNEW OF MY FRIEND WALTER POWERS OVER AT LEXUS OF OAKLAND DUG DEEP AND FOUND IT FOR ME...OH BY THE WAY THE THING WENT OUT A WEEK AFTER I BOUGHT IT FROM SOME LOW-LIFE DEALER IN SALINAS HE TOLD ME I COULD TAKE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE BUT THANK GOD FOR WALTER I JUST TOOK IT TO THE PRO'S AND HAD IT HANDLED! GOOD LUCK....

what year model is yours?

[valleyd01]

i have fixed my trainy problem by switching the two transmission sensors, the counter gear speed sensor and the turbine input sensor. i just switched to two and i have my reverse back and fully functioning trainy. i didn't replace them with new just switched them it works.... dunno why i took them out to test and didn't get really anything from testing them with a magnet.

Does anyone know how to checkout the two transmission sensors ? Not sure what you mean by using a magnet. Do you look for resistance being in range or opens with a meter.

[kenpomasta]

We had a 03 RX AWD Tranny die @ 48k. It was services from day 1 @ lexus. Since then we have had the tranny services every 15k, and now we are past the 80k mark, and was looking to get another RX. Was looking @ 06 RX 330, does the 330s have tranny problems, or has it been corrected. I havnt seen many complaints about them.

[wwest]

We had a 03 RX AWD Tranny die @ 48k. It was services from day 1 @ lexus. Since then we have had the tranny services every 15k, and now we are past the 80k mark, and was looking to get another RX. Was looking @ 06 RX 330, does the 330s have tranny problems, or has it been corrected. I havnt seen many complaints about them.

Seemingly there is no easy solution for the 1-2 second transaxle downshift delay/hesitation provided by the adoption of DBW, e-throttle, that was Toyota's latest fix.

The delay/hesitation occurrance has been somewhat alleviated on the Avalon (and most likely fleetwide) via adoption of a new firmware implemented "feature". The NCF, New Car Features for the '08 Avalon indicates that the engine/transaxle ECU control firmware "watches" the rate at which you release/reduce pressure on the accelerator pedal immediately subsequent to a period of acceleration, "slight" acceleration. Apparently a quick release will indicate a desire to decelerate and thus the transaxle will be more likely to remain in the previous low(er) gear ratio. On the other hand a slow and easy release of pressure more likely means the driver wishes to enter cruise mode, simply sustain the current roadspeed and the transaxle upshifts.

Apparently this all began back in the last century during the design phase of the RX300. Using, adopting, the Camry engine and transaxle in the heavier and larger RX300 series meant making the transaxle a bit more robust and that was not as easy task given the sideways mounting of the engine/transaxle assembly in the engine compartment.

So some had to give....GO...

So the ATF pressure sustaining/holding accumulator was eliminated to make more space for larger gears and clutches.

And that resulted in the inability to sustain enough fluid pressure to support two gear changes in quick sucession.

Apparently Ford, with the new Edge, encountered the very same problem. But their solution was to adopt a variable displacement ATF pump so enough fluid flow could be provided for quick sequential gear changes even with the engine at idle.

[ayb]

Welcome, sorry you joined as I did with a tranny story. Please file a complaint with the NHTSB online you will need a vin #. It adds to the database and maybe ( I doubt it) Lexus might get off their High Horse and do a recall and treat their customers right. I will add you to the over 70 failed trannies that I have documented. Love a good Saturday night story. Good luck and remember to do the tranny fluid changes every 15k miles (recommended by dealerships because they live in the real world) not the ivory tower of Lexus corporate.

Please add me as well to your list (I am sure soon will be indefinite) of unfortunate owners with transmission problems.

So, you do not think we'll have a case for a class action? Have you tried?

[pcan]

We had a 03 RX AWD Tranny die @ 48k. It was services from day 1 @ lexus. Since then we have had the tranny services every 15k, and now we are past the 80k mark, and was looking to get another RX. Was looking @ 06 RX 330, does the 330s have tranny problems, or has it been corrected. I havnt seen many complaints about them.

Seemingly there is no easy solution for the 1-2 second transaxle downshift delay/hesitation provided by the adoption of DBW, e-throttle, that was Toyota's latest fix.

The delay/hesitation occurrance has been somewhat alleviated on the Avalon (and most likely fleetwide) via adoption of a new firmware implemented "feature". The NCF, New Car Features for the '08 Avalon indicates that the engine/transaxle ECU control firmware "watches" the rate at which you release/reduce pressure on the accelerator pedal immediately subsequent to a period of acceleration, "slight" acceleration. Apparently a quick release will indicate a desire to decelerate and thus the transaxle will be more likely to remain in the previous low(er) gear ratio. On the other hand a slow and easy release of pressure more likely means the driver wishes to enter cruise mode, simply sustain the current roadspeed and the transaxle upshifts.

Apparently this all began back in the last century during the design phase of the RX300. Using, adopting, the Camry engine and transaxle in the heavier and larger RX300 series meant making the transaxle a bit more robust and that was not as easy task given the sideways mounting of the engine/transaxle assembly in the engine compartment.

So some had to give....GO...

So the ATF pressure sustaining/holding accumulator was eliminated to make more space for larger gears and clutches.

And that resulted in the inability to sustain enough fluid pressure to support two gear changes in quick sucession.

Apparently Ford, with the new Edge, encountered the very same problem. But their solution was to adopt a variable displacement ATF pump so enough fluid flow could be provided for quick sequential gear changes even with the engine at idle.

[pcan]

We had a 03 RX AWD Tranny die @ 48k. It was services from day 1 @ lexus. Since then we have had the tranny services every 15k, and now we are past the 80k mark, and was looking to get another RX. Was looking @ 06 RX 330, does the 330s have tranny problems, or has it been corrected. I havnt seen many complaints about them.

Seemingly there is no easy solution for the 1-2 second transaxle downshift delay/hesitation provided by the adoption of DBW, e-throttle, that was Toyota's latest fix.

The delay/hesitation occurrance has been somewhat alleviated on the Avalon (and most likely fleetwide) via adoption of a new firmware implemented "feature". The NCF, New Car Features for the '08 Avalon indicates that the engine/transaxle ECU control firmware "watches" the rate at which you release/reduce pressure on the accelerator pedal immediately subsequent to a period of acceleration, "slight" acceleration. Apparently a quick release will indicate a desire to decelerate and thus the transaxle will be more likely to remain in the previous low(er) gear ratio. On the other hand a slow and easy release of pressure more likely means the driver wishes to enter cruise mode, simply sustain the current roadspeed and the transaxle upshifts.

Apparently this all began back in the last century during the design phase of the RX300. Using, adopting, the Camry engine and transaxle in the heavier and larger RX300 series meant making the transaxle a bit more robust and that was not as easy task given the sideways mounting of the engine/transaxle assembly in the engine compartment.

So some had to give....GO...

So the ATF pressure sustaining/holding accumulator was eliminated to make more space for larger gears and clutches.

And that resulted in the inability to sustain enough fluid pressure to support two gear changes in quick sucession.

Apparently Ford, with the new Edge, encountered the very same problem. But their solution was to adopt a variable displacement ATF pump so enough fluid flow could be provided for quick sequential gear changes even with the engine at idle.

Just wanted to share with all about my experience.

I bought a used 2004 rx330 in Nov 06 with 40K miles on it. It's been making whining noise from the start, but didn't realize what it was... Now it has 60K miles on it and finally I got annoyed with it enough to take it to the dealer... still under warrenty... till 72K miles. They said the whining noise was from the transmission and replaced it with a rebuilt transmission free of charge.

No more whining noise.... runs great. I am happy with Lexus service :)

[Bend Oregon RX300]

Anyone have trouble getting their rx300 out of Park into Reverse ?

No other problems - just want to know if this is first indication of trouble to come ...

Difficult park to reverse, just moving out of park, really, is generally an indication that the electric solenoid (Audi) safety shiftlock is beginning to stick/fail or the brake light switch on the brake pedal is intermittent.

Check your owners manual, they is a manual over-ride procedure for this.

Thx wwest.

BTW - seems to occur only when car is cold.

Some of you may have read my post back in October in the Lexus Owners Club forum, where we first noticed a two "klunk" sequence on backing out of the home garage. Pulled forward and found that with the shift lever in Reverse, the transmission would not engage. Next morning, I gave the engine more throttle with the lever in reverse and something slipped into place in the transmission and reverse gear worked. The problem returned several time that day, and always after leaving the stuck vehicle for 30 minutes or so, reverse would work. Reported this issue to Kendall Lexus in Eugene, 125 miles away and had the ATF drained and refilled. RX had 66,000 miles at that time and was 1.5 years beyond the 6 year/70,000 mile drivetrain warranty.

Problem went away until earlier in April 2008, when Drive Gear began having the same "klunk" noise. Last week, the wife managed to drive (cold ATF in the morning) 100 yards before another "klunk" was heard and grinding in the transmission. Fortunately, we had been documenting every heartbeat of the RX gear issue since October and communicating with Lexus Customer Care. We even filed a complaint at the NHTSA OIC. Let the vehicle sit 2 hrs and could still not get Reverse to engage when the shift lever was in Reverse position. In neutral, I could freewheel on the gentle slope, so thought of trying to limp home in Drive and use Neutral to reverse my direction on the hill. Straddling both lanes of my street, I slipped the RX into Neutral and could not freewheel. The gearbox seemed to be in Park. Drove forward one foot and tried Neutral and now could freewheel; slipped the lever into Reverse and heard something engage in the transmission and Reverse did function. Drove home the 100 yards and backed into the garage.

Lexus Customer Care in Torrance (1-800-255-3987) and they insisted that the local Toyota of Bend dealer could not conduct any good will warranty inspection and we would need to drive over the snowy mountain pass to Eugene and the Lexus dealer. Emailed all the history to the Torrance CC folks at Lexus Customer Satisfaction [Customer_Satisfaction_Inquiries@lexus.com]

My wife (with broken leg and crutches) and I began the journey to Eugene on Monday this week and got 0.7 mile and at 20 mph the transmission began making a low frequency rumble and vibration similar to a manual clutch slipping, ie. clutch chattering. Pulled to the side of the roadway and cycled the shifter through the gear selections. Gently moved out in forward gear and had no more problems enroute to Kendall Lexus of Eugene. The excellent service staff had an RX350 ready for us and took our RX300 into evaluation. The service manager called yesterday to say that they too had observed the chatter and upon pulling the pan down, noticed numerous metal fragments, as the transmission was trying to digest itself.

The deal that came back from Torrance was they would provide a good will service at 50% and the dealer helped reduce our expense down to a total out-of-pocket of $1,700.00 We thanked the Torrance folks for their offer and accepted the deal. Meanwhile, we have free use of the 350 loaner.

My personal non-mechanic thoughts are that the TSB 00504 relating to the five solenoid switches may bear on the eventual failure. Once the solenoids de-energize over a couple of hours of roadside rest, things work properly...for awhile. The U140E/F (Camry or RAV4?) transmission in the RX300 is extremely complicated, relying on firmware and solenoid switches to get some fuel economy from the vehicle. All of the 10K - 15K ATF changes/drains/flushes could be addressing contamination associated with these switches or the things (are there really 6 clutches in this U140? Wow) they operate.

Your description of problems with reverse gear are very similar to ours. Maybe you can save the transmission by changing the screen/gasket and draining on the accelerated 10K-15K schedule, using the ATF already specified in this forum. Good luck and drop at line sometime baileybc2007@gmail.com

[Bend Oregon RX300]

Anyone have trouble getting their rx300 out of Park into Reverse ?

No other problems - just want to know if this is first indication of trouble to come ...

Difficult park to reverse, just moving out of park, really, is generally an indication that the electric solenoid (Audi) safety shiftlock is beginning to stick/fail or the brake light switch on the brake pedal is intermittent.

Check your owners manual, they is a manual over-ride procedure for this.

Thx wwest.

BTW - seems to occur only when car is cold.

Anyone have trouble getting their rx300 out of Park into Reverse ?

No other problems - just want to know if this is first indication of trouble to come ...

Difficult park to reverse, just moving out of park, really, is generally an indication that the electric solenoid (Audi) safety shiftlock is beginning to stick/fail or the brake light switch on the brake pedal is intermittent.

Check your owners manual, they is a manual over-ride procedure for this.

Thx wwest.

BTW - seems to occur only when car is cold.

Some of you may have read my post back in October in the Lexus Owners Club forum, where we first noticed a two "klunk" sequence on backing out of the home garage. Pulled forward and found that with the shift lever in Reverse, the transmission would not engage. Next morning, I gave the engine more throttle with the lever in reverse and something slipped into place in the transmission and reverse gear worked. The problem returned several time that day, and always after leaving the stuck vehicle for 30 minutes or so, reverse would work. Reported this issue to Kendall Lexus in Eugene, 125 miles away and had the ATF drained and refilled. RX had 66,000 miles at that time and was 1.5 years beyond the 6 year/70,000 mile drivetrain warranty.

Problem went away until earlier in April 2008, when Drive Gear began having the same "klunk" noise. Last week, the wife managed to drive (cold ATF in the morning) 100 yards before another "klunk" was heard and grinding in the transmission. Fortunately, we had been documenting every heartbeat of the RX gear issue since October and communicating with Lexus Customer Care. We even filed a complaint at the NHTSA OIC. Let the vehicle sit 2 hrs and could still not get Reverse to engage when the shift lever was in Reverse position. In neutral, I could freewheel on the gentle slope, so thought of trying to limp home in Drive and use Neutral to reverse my direction on the hill. Straddling both lanes of my street, I slipped the RX into Neutral and could not freewheel. The gearbox seemed to be in Park. Drove forward one foot and tried Neutral and now could freewheel; slipped the lever into Reverse and heard something engage in the transmission and Reverse did function. Drove home the 100 yards and backed into the garage.

Lexus Customer Care in Torrance (1-800-255-3987) and they insisted that the local Toyota of Bend dealer could not conduct any good will warranty inspection and we would need to drive over the snowy mountain pass to Eugene and the Lexus dealer. Emailed all the history to the Torrance CC folks at Lexus Customer Satisfaction [Customer_Satisfaction_Inquiries@lexus.com]

My wife (with broken leg and crutches) and I began the journey to Eugene on Monday this week and got 0.7 mile and at 20 mph the transmission began making a low frequency rumble and vibration similar to a manual clutch slipping, ie. clutch chattering. Pulled to the side of the roadway and cycled the shifter through the gear selections. Gently moved out in forward gear and had no more problems enroute to Kendall Lexus of Eugene. The excellent service staff had an RX350 ready for us and took our RX300 into evaluation. The service manager called yesterday to say that they too had observed the chatter and upon pulling the pan down, noticed numerous metal fragments, as the transmission was trying to digest itself.

The deal that came back from Torrance was they would provide a good will service at 50% and the dealer helped reduce our expense down to a total out-of-pocket of $1,700.00 We thanked the Torrance folks for their offer and accepted the deal. Meanwhile, we have free use of the 350 loaner.

My personal non-mechanic thoughts are that the TSB 00504 relating to the five solenoid switches may bear on the eventual failure. Once the solenoids de-energize over a couple of hours of roadside rest, things work properly...for awhile. The U140E/F (Camry or RAV4?) transmission in the RX300 is extremely complicated, relying on firmware and solenoid switches to get some fuel economy from the vehicle. All of the 10K - 15K ATF changes/drains/flushes could be addressing contamination associated with these switches or the things (are there really 6 clutches in this U140? Wow) they operate.

Your description of problems with reverse gear are very similar to ours. Maybe you can save the transmission by changing the screen/gasket and draining on the accelerated 10K-15K schedule, using the ATF already specified in this forum. Good luck and drop at line sometime baileybc2007@gmail.com