Leaking Transmission Fluid Rx300

[bwilmoth]

I have a AWD 1999 RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

[wwest]

I have a RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

Transmission fluid, the proper type, will have a definite pickish tone, colour.

And, IMMHO, failure of the front transmission/transaxle seal would be highly unusual.

I have heard rumors that if the engine is overfilled with lubricating oil Toyota engine's rear main seals are very prone to failure shortly thereafter.

[riwyle]

When you see a loss of 1/2 qt a week, are you measuring and adding to the engine oil or the transmission fluid?

[bwilmoth]

I have a RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

Transmission fluid, the proper type, will have a definite pickish tone, colour.

And, IMMHO, failure of the front transmission/transaxle seal would be highly unusual.

I have heard rumors that if the engine is overfilled with lubricating oil Toyota engine's rear main seals are very prone to failure shortly thereafter.

It is diffinitly transmission fluid.

When you see a loss of 1/2 qt a week, are you measuring and adding to the engine oil or the transmission fluid?

Engine oil is pretty, clean and always full. The transmission fluid is clean also because I am constantly putting fresh fluid in. My garage floor on the other hand is a mess.

[RX in NC]

There are many reports on this forum of RX300 transmission failures, but this is the first one I recall for just a transmission fluid leak. I'd have it examined at a well-respected transmission specialist shop to find out exactly where the leak is and what is probably causing it before I went any further. As long as you're adding the proper amount of fluid to keep the level where it needs to be, you'll be okay for quite some time. But you neither want to overfill nor underfill your fluid in order to avoid making your problem worse than it already is.

First things first, though - ensure that your transmission pan drain plug and front differential drain plug are both screwed in tightly. You'll need a 10 mm Allen wrench to tighten those plugs. Both of them should have aluminum crush rings (washers) keeping the bottom of the heads of the drain plugs from contacting the transmission pan and the differential casing. If your fluid has been changed before and those crush rings were removed by the guy who did your fluid change, that could explain your leak. The crush rings need to be in place on both drain plugs.

If tightening your drain plugs doesn't stop your leak, have it checked out and report back to us on what you discover. Good luck to you.

Oh, one more thing - clean up your garage floor and put down a catch tray that you can always position the vehicle over when you pull into the garage. Depending on how much is leaking and how quickly, this could be as simple as several layers of cardboard from broken-down cardboard boxes, covered by multiple sheets of newspaper. You'll need to keep refreshing the newspaper fairly frequently, though. But your garage floor will remain a whole lot cleaner, especially if you lay down some spread-out plastic trash bags on top of the concrete before you lay the cardboard and newspaper down....

[bwilmoth]

There are many reports on this forum of RX300 transmission failures, but this is the first one I recall for just a transmission fluid leak. I'd have it examined at a well-respected transmission specialist shop to find out exactly where the leak is and what is probably causing it before I went any further. As long as you're adding the proper amount of fluid to keep the level where it needs to be, you'll be okay for quite some time. But you neither want to overfill nor underfill your fluid in order to avoid making your problem worse than it already is.

First things first, though - ensure that your transmission pan drain plug and front differential drain plug are both screwed in tightly. You'll need a 10 mm Allen wrench to tighten those plugs. Both of them should have aluminum crush rings (washers) keeping the bottom of the heads of the drain plugs from contacting the transmission pan and the differential casing. If your fluid has been changed before and those crush rings were removed by the guy who did your fluid change, that could explain your leak. The crush rings need to be in place on both drain plugs.

If tightening your drain plugs doesn't stop your leak, have it checked out and report back to us on what you discover. Good luck to you.

Man I am just not lucky enough for it to be the drain plugs but I will check it for sure. The leak is dripping on the exhast between the engine and transmission. You can actually smell it burning at times. It is right before the exhaust bends to go up to the engine. I will take it to a dealer shortly and let you guys know the results. Thanks for your input.

[lenore]

there are some transmission cooler lines going across from front left to right front side of the car down in that area, maybe one of the lines has a loose or cracked line. look near and under the car radiator area for these lines. They go to the auxuallary cooler if it is a AWD RX300. If they are leaking the fluid could be being blown backward to the exhaust.

[bwilmoth]

there are some transmission cooler lines going across from front left to right front side of the car down in that area, maybe one of the lines has a loose or cracked line. look near and under the car radiator area for these lines. They go to the auxuallary cooler if it is a AWD RX300. If they are leaking the fluid could be being blown backward to the exhaust.

I'll check it thanks.

[riwyle]

I remember once seeing a reference that there was a TSB issued for a leaky transmission on the 2000 RX300. I have no idea what the details were. Does anyone have access to these? It may be of interest to you.

[bwilmoth]

I have a AWD 1999 RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

I have just gotten a diagnosis from lexus concerning my leaking transmission. They did a quick inspection while I was their and said they believe it was the front seal but would have to take it apart to be sure. The estimate to repair the seal would be $1500. Went to work with my loaner car. I got a call from them a couple of hours later saying I needed a new transmission cost $5200. Their explaination was the front seal apparently had blown out into my transmission fluid pump and was unrepairable. I would like to know from you guys does this scenario seem possible and am I doing the right thing having the tranny replaced verses attempting to rebuild. It just seems to me you could clean the seal out of the pump by flushing it and then put a new seal on and it would be fine. I had not noticed any performance issues with it other than the leak. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated. :cries:

[lenore]

That is crap, if the seal had blown out your tranny would not have been working. You would have lost all the fluid very rapidly. I had that happen on a truck my son owned. Run, go somewhere else.

[artbuc]

I have a AWD 1999 RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

I have just gotten a diagnosis from lexus concerning my leaking transmission. They did a quick inspection while I was their and said they believe it was the front seal but would have to take it apart to be sure. The estimate to repair the seal would be $1500. Went to work with my loaner car. I got a call from them a couple of hours later saying I needed a new transmission cost $5200. Their explaination was the front seal apparently had blown out into my transmission fluid pump and was unrepairable. I would like to know from you guys does this scenario seem possible and am I doing the right thing having the tranny replaced verses attempting to rebuild. It just seems to me you could clean the seal out of the pump by flushing it and then put a new seal on and it would be fine. I had not noticed any performance issues with it other than the leak. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.:cries:

That is the kind of bizarre crap I got routinely from the two Lexus dealers I frequented. For the life of me I have no idea how Lexus is able to continue pulling the wool over the American consumer's eyes. I guess if you keep telling people how great you are, eventually they will believe you.

[bwilmoth]

I have a AWD 1999 RX300 with a transmission leak. I have had a oil and lube guy tell me it was my front seal on my transmission. I call Lexus to get a price for the repair. They told me they have not seen that before. From my description to them they seemed to think it was the rear main seal leaking. They told me it was going to cost around $1850 to fix. I was curious if anyone else has had a similar problem and what it cost to fix. It leaks about a quart every two weeks. I was also wondering if the problem will get worse because $1850 will buy alot of transmission fluid.

I have just gotten a diagnosis from lexus concerning my leaking transmission. They did a quick inspection while I was their and said they believe it was the front seal but would have to take it apart to be sure. The estimate to repair the seal would be $1500. Went to work with my loaner car. I got a call from them a couple of hours later saying I needed a new transmission cost $5200. Their explaination was the front seal apparently had blown out into my transmission fluid pump and was unrepairable. I would like to know from you guys does this scenario seem possible and am I doing the right thing having the tranny replaced verses attempting to rebuild. It just seems to me you could clean the seal out of the pump by flushing it and then put a new seal on and it would be fine. I had not noticed any performance issues with it other than the leak. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.:cries:

That is the kind of bizarre crap I got routinely from the two Lexus dealers I frequented. For the life of me I have no idea how Lexus is able to continue pulling the wool over the American consumer's eyes. I guess if you keep telling people how great you are, eventually they will believe you.

Just got back from the lexus dealer. I wanted to see with my own eyes what they were telling me. I didn't let them know in advance I was coming by. I asked for a machanic to walk me through the problem with the transmission. They had the car up on a lift with the transmission underneath. The mechanic showed me the tourqe converter. It had a metal sleave from the oil pump seal stuck on it. It looked as if the metal sleave was almost melted into the walls of the tourqe converter. The oil had rubber from the seal inside of it. I know the repair is legit now. I know I should have took it to a good transmission shop. I know I probably don't need a whole new transmission I just need a new tourqe converter and oil pump but by the time I pay $1200 to have lexus put it back together and take it to real transmission shop for the repair I wont save that much money. Their is always that possibiliy the transmission repair shop could get into it and find something else wrong that would require a total rebuilt in which case I would be in the same boat or worse. I want to make it clear that the problem with my transmission does not seem to be related to the many AWD problems I have read about. My problem was caused by what appears to be an abusive young driver. Considering the condition of the oil pump, tourqe converter, and the fact that it probably ran with low levels of transmission fluid at times I am surprised the transmission had not had any shifting problems. We have owned this vehicle for about seven months and put about 6000 miles on it. I feel as if it may have kept shifting for quit a while If I would have kept putting fluid in it and ignored the problem.