Signs Of Transmission Failure

[Rx330driver]

I recently, maybe three months ago, posted a transmission "weirdness" where it jolted mid speed, well today, i was driving 45ish and it was a slight donw hill so the car excellerated on its own, and i believe was in forth gear. So ofcourse the rpm meter went up and i expected it to turn to 5th gear but it did not. THe rpm meter stayed at 3-4 thousdand, without shifting. I heard the engine which was straining to accel but it didnt. So this went on for 10 seconds until i shifted into neutral to let it reset, then back to drive and everything was cool, but it did a little bit of jerky gear finding after. Am i seeing signs of future transmission issues or are these transmissions poor by design?:whistles:

[f iaconis]

I recently, maybe three months ago, posted a transmission "weirdness" where it jolted mid speed, well today, i was driving 45ish and it was a slight donw hill so the car excellerated on its own, and i believe was in forth gear. So ofcourse the rpm meter went up and i expected it to turn to 5th gear but it did not. THe rpm meter stayed at 3-4 thousdand, without shifting. I heard the engine which was straining to accel but it didnt. So this went on for 10 seconds until i shifted into neutral to let it reset, then back to drive and everything was cool, but it did a little bit of jerky gear finding after. Am i seeing signs of future transmission issues or are these transmissions poor by design?:whistles:

REPLY!!!

I feel your pain brother. I purchased a relatively low mileage 2002 RX 300 last June from a TOYOTA dealer (parent of Lexus).. I brought the car in for maintenance and told the service advisor that in the prior 3 days I noticed difficulty in acceleration and shifting.

Wouldn't you know. He came back to me in 2 days and told me I needed a new transmission and I had put about 30,000 miles on the car. After going back and forth with Lexus in No. VA and Lexus in California, the regional service rep for Lexus told the dealer service rep to tell me that " tell him to take his car back to the TOYOTA dealer that he bought the car from. It's not our problem it's the TOYOTA dealer's problem".

SO MUCH FOR SERVICE ON A LUXURY CUV. I'M NOT FINISHED YET. I WORK IN MEDIA RELATIONS IN DC. YOU CAN BET THAT LEXUS WILL HEAR FROM ME!!!!!!

[Rx330driver]

lol, if you do a bit of searching around, you will find that the rx series have bad transmissions, especially if you have AWD. Its not happening as much now, but if it does fail, i hope it happens within the next 500 miles, cause im reaching 50K and it will not be covered under warranty.

alot of people feel your pain here

[corrado_mr2]

My 04 RX330 too behaved that way most of the time on descending slopes before the latest tranny ECU software upgrade I did a couple months back. Today, it occurs far less frequently, but when it does, I attribute it to the tranny engaging in engine braking mode hence the higher rpms and the subsequent lack of upshifting. It doesn't always happen though...depends on how much the accelerator is depressed and how fast I'm going. It has never really been a problem or concern to me. To note, it has never happened on a straight.

Apart from a few bugs that got dealt with out over time, my RX330 (early Japan-made model) has 116000km (72500 miles) and still going strong.

[lenore]

I recently, maybe three months ago, posted a transmission "weirdness" where it jolted mid speed, well today, i was driving 45ish and it was a slight donw hill so the car excellerated on its own, and i believe was in forth gear. So ofcourse the rpm meter went up and i expected it to turn to 5th gear but it did not. THe rpm meter stayed at 3-4 thousdand, without shifting. I heard the engine which was straining to accel but it didnt. So this went on for 10 seconds until i shifted into neutral to let it reset, then back to drive and everything was cool, but it did a little bit of jerky gear finding after. Am i seeing signs of future transmission issues or are these transmissions poor by design?:whistles:

REPLY!!!

I feel your pain brother. I purchased a relatively low mileage 2002 RX 300 last June from a TOYOTA dealer (parent of Lexus).. I brought the car in for maintenance and told the service advisor that in the prior 3 days I noticed difficulty in acceleration and shifting.

Wouldn't you know. He came back to me in 2 days and told me I needed a new transmission and I had put about 30,000 miles on the car. After going back and forth with Lexus in No. VA and Lexus in California, the regional service rep for Lexus told the dealer service rep to tell me that " tell him to take his car back to the TOYOTA dealer that he bought the car from. It's not our problem it's the TOYOTA dealer's problem".

SO MUCH FOR SERVICE ON A LUXURY CUV. I'M NOT FINISHED YET. I WORK IN MEDIA RELATIONS IN DC. YOU CAN BET THAT LEXUS WILL HEAR FROM ME!!!!!!

Join the ranks of unhappy dissatisfied customers in the RX auto. I have posted about the poor decision to buy a RX300 numerous times. Lexus does not care and they do not support their product, except to take your $4300 to $5000 for the replacement of your transmission. Have you filed a complaint with the NHTS board online to show your displeasure?

[xfirechief]

Did anyone with this tranny problem have the fluid changed??

If so did you use synthetic fluid, AMSOIL, etc.??

I have not heard of any problems if the fluid was changed & synthetic put in.

[Rx330driver]

err im really not sure what they use at the dealership, but im a sucker and i get everything done there whether or not its the best place. So whatever they use, i use.

[xfirechief]

JUST HAD TRANNY FLUSHED & PUT IN AMSOIL ATF.

Can not believe how much better the tranny shifts. Like a new one.

If you think u got tranny problems change the fluid I guess that can be the difference.

Changed all the gear lubes & the tranny with synthetics at 50K

[lenore]

So how many quarts of Amsoil was required to do the flush? And At what cost? I however have a 1999 RX300 on my third transmission. The 330 may have a different fluid capacity.

[xfirechief]

So how many quarts of Amsoil was required to do the flush? And At what cost? I however have a 1999 RX300 on my third transmission. The 330 may have a different fluid capacity.

The '04 has a total fill of 9.5 qts. & they used 13 qts in total to flush. Charged $80 & I supplied the AMSOIL.

As a registered dealer I paid much less then retail for the ATF. Let me know if u need some, u can go to their website & click on to perferred customer, then use my reference #66180 & for $20 u can register & then purchase at wholesale for a year I believe. The more u order the more u save.

[jmbeam]

I just wanted to say that it was a very nice gesture to provide the information so that the person could purchase the trans fluid at a discount. There should be more people like you around!

So how many quarts of Amsoil was required to do the flush? And At what cost? I however have a 1999 RX300 on my third transmission. The 330 may have a different fluid capacity.

The '04 has a total fill of 9.5 qts. & they used 13 qts in total to flush. Charged $80 & I supplied the AMSOIL.

As a registered dealer I paid much less then retail for the ATF. Let me know if u need some, u can go to their website & click on to perferred customer, then use my reference #66180 & for $20 u can register & then purchase at wholesale for a year I believe. The more u order the more u save.