Overdrive Noise

[rfg1944]

I have a 2000 LX 470 with 70K on the odometer. I recently had the trans fluid changed at an oil change facility because it is a long ways to a dealership and one third of the cost. They used Multi Trans Fluid to refill. I have noticed a low noise almost like a quiet but discernable growling noise when car shifts into overdrive. Still shifts smoothly though. I have had responses of wrong tranny fluid must use only Toyota T IV. Called oil facility and they state nonsense their oil companies fluid exceeds manufacturers specs and has been used for years with no problem. Took it to Lexus dealership and of course it took 2 seconds to get a diagnosis of internal transmission problems with overdrive unit and fix is to R&R the transmission. Nonsense as they want over $3 Grand to do that. Click the overdrive button off and noise goes away. Almost sounds like something is vibrating. Any ideas?

[rfg1944]

I have a 2000 LX 470 with 70K on the odometer. I recently had the trans fluid changed at an oil change facility because it is a long ways to a dealership and one third of the cost. They used Multi Trans Fluid to refill. I have noticed a low noise almost like a quiet but discernable growling noise when car shifts into overdrive. Still shifts smoothly though. I have had responses of wrong tranny fluid must use only Toyota T IV. Called oil facility and they state nonsense their oil companies fluid exceeds manufacturers specs and has been used for years with no problem. Took it to Lexus dealership and of course it took 2 seconds to get a diagnosis of internal transmission problems with overdrive unit and fix is to R&R the transmission. Nonsense as they want over $3 Grand to do that. Click the overdrive button off and noise goes away. Almost sounds like something is vibrating. Any ideas?

Forgot to add that this goes away when you let off power.

[rfg1944]

I have a 2000 LX 470 with 70K on the odometer. I recently had the trans fluid changed at an oil change facility because it is a long ways to a dealership and one third of the cost. They used Multi Trans Fluid to refill. I have noticed a low noise almost like a quiet but discernable growling noise when car shifts into overdrive. Still shifts smoothly though. I have had responses of wrong tranny fluid must use only Toyota T IV. Called oil facility and they state nonsense their oil companies fluid exceeds manufacturers specs and has been used for years with no problem. Took it to Lexus dealership and of course it took 2 seconds to get a diagnosis of internal transmission problems with overdrive unit and fix is to R&R the transmission. Nonsense as they want over $3 Grand to do that. Click the overdrive button off and noise goes away. Almost sounds like something is vibrating. Any ideas?

Forgot to add that this goes away when you let off power.

Now I am really confused. I also posted this on JustAnswer.com and got response from Lexus experts that totally contradict each other. One says Type T-IV no exceptions which I paid for the answer and the other says this model year took Dextron Type III and type T-IV was for later years. Who to believe?

[NicLX470]

Maybe it's just a transmission mount that has gone bad or something causing a vibration in the cabin. I'd get someone to check that first.

I doubt that using anything but Toyota ATF would cause massive transmission failure.....especially ONLY in the overdrive components.

[hoser]

Have you since changed the fluid back to the correct fluid, Toyota Type T-IV? That would be the logical thing to do.

There was a bad batch of transmissions, 2000 model year included. May or may not be related to what you are seeing.

[lx470tuner]

It sounds like the problem is with your torque convertor and what is commonly known as TCC (Torque convertor clutch) shudder. The main reasoning behind this diagnose is the fact that you mentioned that it comes on only during applied power. There are two direction in which this problem can lead to and it relates to when (time) the shudder is occuring. If the shudder is occuring during the engagement of TCC then you may have an actual problem with your TCC. If this is the case, the problem is mostly caused by some issue that won't allow the clutch to fully engage or release. In a bit rarer case the issue can be caused because the clutch is attempting to engage and release at the same time, causing hesitation (shudder). All in all, if you find yourself in this predicament, your issue might be turbine seal leakage, misalignment in converter bolt causing surfaces to slip or the actual frictional material has been degraded. The easiest solution here it to just replace your TCC. Also another things you should check for is the pump and the filter. It may be that the pump isn't running effective enough causing the clutch to slip or it may be the filter just isn't filtering properly letting loose debris bypass causing engagement issues. However, if the TCC shudder is occuring after engagement you're in luck! TCC in this case is rarely the problem and chances are your TCC is perfectly fine. The problem in this case is else where. Two most common part that cause this issue is the spark plug and plug wires. Replacing the spark plugs is easy and relatively cost effective (you should replace them anyway just for maintainence sake). As for the plug wires, look for discoloration such as blackened regieon or sometime reddened regieons. These are the signs for contamination from such things as carbon. Also look for white discoloration. This is the sign or arcing. The solution is to replace the plug wire.

However, the problem you have might not have anything to do with what I've mentioned, or perhaps it does but the issue is not of the ones I've listed. I hope it does help a bit though. Best of luck.

-Dave