1994 Es300 Doesn't Shift Properly

[kitop310]

My wife and I bought a 1994 Lexus ES300 about a month ago with 220K miles on it. (A little on the high side, but I figured, "Hey, it's a Lexus.")

Now after backing out of a parking spot and shifting into drive, the transmission doesn't make the shift all the way, it seems to get stuck in neutral. we've tried shifting to low, back to reverse, park and back to reverse. The only thing that seemed to work, for a few days anyway, was to rev the engine a little, then it would engage and move as normal. But today she sat in the parking lot at work revving away to no avail.

The speedometer works fine (with the exception of the needle not glowing), so I don't think it's the speed sensor as suggested in other posts. I suspect it may be the transmission solenoids, but which ones and where can I get them? I've seen several sites with a placemarker for transmission parts/transmission solenoids, but nothing listed.

Anyone have any ideas?

(This is sounding a lot like the same thing her old Kia was doing before it bit the dust.)

[kitop310]

Seriously? No one as any ideas? :-?

[SRVCM]

Seriously? No one as any ideas? :-?

Same problem with my wifes es300. The "Fix" was a master rebuild kit from transmissionsusa.com where I rebuilt the transmission. Upon inspection of the parts it was found the 1st gear clutches were shot (car had 189,000miles on it). I thought it was the solenoids but after checking them they were found to be good. BTW if the solenoids go out there will be a code and the check engine light will activate. Anthing non electrical with the tranny will not show a code.

Check the shift position sensor to determine if the not has not slipped as that will affect shifting. Its location is on the front of the transmission where the shifter cable bolts to the tranny.

Srvcm

[kitop310]

Seriously? No one as any ideas? :-?

Same problem with my wifes es300. The "Fix" was a master rebuild kit from transmissionsusa.com where I rebuilt the transmission. Upon inspection of the parts it was found the 1st gear clutches were shot (car had 189,000miles on it). I thought it was the solenoids but after checking them they were found to be good. BTW if the solenoids go out there will be a code and the check engine light will activate. Anthing non electrical with the tranny will not show a code.

Check the shift position sensor to determine if the not has not slipped as that will affect shifting. Its location is on the front of the transmission where the shifter cable bolts to the tranny.

Srvcm

Thanks, the car's in another state now, but I'll be going there later this week and I'll check on it.

[George_Jetson]

220k on a trans is doing very well, proof that these cars are well built. I agree that a major rebuild is due. If you do not feel comfortable rebuilding it yourself (auto tran rebuild take considerable skills, and a good toolbox), I would suggest looking on ebay. There are several places that sell used, low mileage tans from Japan at a price of several hundered dollars. I have purchased several engines and trans from these sources, most of the units have about 40 to 60k miles on them. It is a very cost effective way of getting you car back on the road, generally less than a rebuild will run.

[kitop310]

Well, we've taken it to a few places to see if they knew anything, and kept getting the "Yeah, we can do a free *wink* diagnostic." Yeah, "free," until we want them to put the tranny back together so we can go...

So we've decided to sell it because we just don't have the finances for a "project car." Kelley Blue Book puts the value at $2385 in "Fair" condition, but we'd like the get at least $2400 to pay it off. The few things that are wrong with it, really aren't all that major or expensive on their own, and if taken care of soon they'll prevent major problems down the road. But as I said, we just can't do that right now, she needs a car that is reliable for the travelling she does for her job.