Shifting From "reverse" To "drive" Hard Jolt!

[lexusrx2nv]

I have a 2001 RX300 w/ 77k miles. About 3 months ago, I developed a whine coming from the engine compartment.(only occurs when accelorating at low speeds). I also noticed that when ever I shift from "reverse" to "drive". My transmission jolts really hard while going to gear. The weird thing is that it only happens when I shift for the very first time in the morning.

Another thing that I noticed last week was that there was oil on the bottom of the engine between the engine and tranny. I wiped it, and yesterday I noticed a teer sized drop of oil in the same spot. The odd thing is that the amount of oil is never large enough for the oil to actually hit the floor.

Any input would be appreciated.

[lenore]

Please read the transmission posts on this site, I would not suggest a flush, but a drop the pan and replace the fluid, and make sure it is Toyota Type IV or you will cause more damage. When the pan is dropped replace the filter and unforturnately check for excessive shavings on the bottom of the pan. These could be tell tell signs. Good luck and I hope you dont join the ranks of failed trannys as it is expensive ($4300) typically for the repair. The fluid should be changed every 15K miles to prolong the failure. Of course LExus will not tell you this in their manuals. Keep us posted as to what happens, as I follow the failures.

[Benjamin Tang]

in addition... the oil seepage you are detecting between the engine and transmission could be a sign that the rear main seal is failing... hopefully a mechanic can confirm this.

[wwest]

I have a 2001 RX300 w/ 77k miles. About 3 months ago, I developed a whine coming from the engine compartment.(only occurs when accelorating at low speeds). I also noticed that when ever I shift from "reverse" to "drive". My transmission jolts really hard while going to gear. The weird thing is that it only happens when I shift for the very first time in the morning.

Another thing that I noticed last week was that there was oil on the bottom of the engine between the engine and tranny. I wiped it, and yesterday I noticed a teer sized drop of oil in the same spot. The odd thing is that the amount of oil is never large enough for the oil to actually hit the floor.

Any input would be appreciated.

Your ATF has a lower "volume" when cold vs warmed to normal operating temperature, so your ATF level (77k miles) may be just a tad low. I would normally tell you that ATF vs engine oil would have a definite red or pick tint, so if those droppets are pickish...

But there is some sort of problem with our 2001 RX300's. Mine is AWD and at ~40k miles the ATF was clearly burned, looked brown, and smelled burned. First I drained and replenished the ATF using 4 qts as recommended, sold to me, by the dealer. Not much later I noticed the ATF was yet again looking and smelling burned. This time someone on the internet informed me that I also needed to remove the ATF drasin plug in the diff't along with the transaxle drain plug. When I went back to the dealer to buy 5 qts I was even questioned as to did I really need 5 qts.

But having drained and refilled twice at about 40k miles I'm now at 60k miles with not obvious signs of the ATF being or smelling burned.

My current supposition/theory of the problem with our 2001 RX300's is:

A higher capacity fixed displacement ATF pressure pump was adopted after Toyota/Lexus came to realize that the primary causative factor for premature transaxle failures of the earlier RXes, particularly the 99 MY was due to their adopting of radically different transaxle shift patterns.

[lexusrx2nv]

Hello, let me start out by saying thanks for everyone's input. I dropped off my RX on Sunday to the Lexus dealer that I purchased the vehicle from, and today they called me and informed me that my rear main seal had gone out, and while the vehicle was there I'm having them look into the tranny for me. Anybody know how long the rear main seal takes to replace? I'm really not worried about the price because I still have 20,000 miles left on the extended warranty that I purchased. Oh well, I guess time doesn't really matter since they gave me 07 ES350 as a loaner.(VeryNice)

[ac7228]

I also experience harder shifting when i first start my 01 RX300 AWD in the morning. The car is parked in the garage but when it's first started and the car is shifted from Park to Reverse, it seems a little "tougher" to shift as compared to shifting from Reverse to Drive. After the car has been driven, the shifting becomes a lot easier.

There are no leaks of any kind that I can see.

Is this also an early warning sign of transmission and/or differential troubles?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[lexusrx2nv]

Well Lexus checked my RX and they told me that It's completely normal for it to shift a little harder when the engine/tranny are still cold, and that it's not an indication of any issues, but then again my model is a FWD model, so you might want to get it checked out.