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99 Gs400 E-Shift Not Working And Shift Solenoid Error


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I recently purchased a 99 GS400 with only 100k miles on it... Everything about it is working fine except the E-shift will not work and there is a CEL error P0763 shift solenoid 9 electrical. In addition the the e-shift not working (which I am assuming has to do with the solenoid)the transmission is a little bit more sluggish than what it should be and sometimes takes an extra second to catch.

My question is how serious is the solenoid issue in the overall big picture of my transmission? I don't want to spend a fortune on it just to use the e-shift, but if there are other consequences for not fixing the CEL error I guess I will get it done.

Also, I don't think it has had a transmission flush since i purchased it @ 100k miles... could this be part of the problem?

Any advice would be great... i am on a budget because we have a baby due any day now!

Thanks for any input you guys can offer!

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First of all, congrats on baby and car.

There are some things to consider. When a CEL is thrown, it's very likely that your ECU retards the engine, running it in 'safe' mode. Although that sounds great, it is not. Besides a sluggish transmission, your engine now runs rich, overdrive will not engage, bad gas/milage etc. This alone can and will hurt your engine/transmission/exhaustsystem in time.

CEL P0763 could also point to other problems: the ECM, the wiring harness from the ECM to the solenoid, the solenoid itself or perhaps it's stuck by some particles in the transmission fluid. That way, a 'small' problem can grow worse and it will.

You might get away with it by flushing the transmission a couple of times, so I wouldn't recommend leaving it this way. When your on it, refresh your other main fluids as well.

A lexus and low budget are opposites. Although very reliable and cost effective (compared to equals), it all comes down to proper maintenance and scheduled service intervals. Even then, you can expect steep prices for maintenance or replacing faulty parts in time.

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Thanks for the follow up!

I am glad to hear some honest feedback from someone who knows what they are talking about. When you said it would drive "thirsty" I never really realized it but now it makes a lot of sense. I always thought b/c it was a big V8 that was the cause for the poor fuel economy. With that being said- it is definitely more thirsty than it should be- so good call on that!

I took it today and had the transmission fluid drained and refilled hoping that the light would go off and things would be back to normal but no such luck. it looks like I am going to have to get someone in there to actually check the solenoids or whatever else may be causing this problem. It's all good- i wasn't sure if the previous owner ever changed the tranny fluid anyways- so better safe than sorry.

Do you suggest i take it to a tranny expert or take it to a good shop to get this sovled in the least painful way possible?

Thanks agian for your help!

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By the way, how much time would you expect someone to have to be checking it out to be able to tell something is wrong with it if it is indeed the Solenoid?

The reason why i ask is that if it is a while, i will have to wait until the baby is out to take it in... I don't want to have the Lex in the shop and have my wife going into labor... That would be ridiculous!

I know it's hard to say but how complicated is it to get a look at the Solenoids in the tranny? Are we talking an hour, 2 or3 or more?

Your best guess would really be appreicated!

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As I recall, the solenoid is serviceable when removing the ATF pan and filter, no need to remove the valve. From that perspective, I estimate labour and/or replacement a few hours and around $400-700 (I'm not aware on prices for labour and parts in your country, so I could be way off +/-).

Make sure you focus on the electrical stuff first, like cleaning the harness/contacts/solenoid itself, as the P-code points to an open or closed loop. If cleaning is the solution, you can affort a lot of baby stuff :)

With above info in mind, you should be able to select a lexus qualified shop. Also, get quotes from different shops and lexus too. Sometimes it pays to shop for a part and let it replace by a shop.

There's a slight chance the solenoid is only the 'incident', where the real problem could be worse. I don't think it's likely at 100K miles, but sh*t happens. A good shop might be able to tell you the current state of the trans, by inspection of the fluid or related components.

Good luck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the follow up!

I am glad to hear some honest feedback from someone who knows what they are talking about. When you said it would drive "thirsty" I never really realized it but now it makes a lot of sense. I always thought b/c it was a big V8 that was the cause for the poor fuel economy. With that being said- it is definitely more thirsty than it should be- so good call on that!

I took it today and had the transmission fluid drained and refilled hoping that the light would go off and things would be back to normal but no such luck. it looks like I am going to have to get someone in there to actually check the solenoids or whatever else may be causing this problem. It's all good- i wasn't sure if the previous owner ever changed the tranny fluid anyways- so better safe than sorry.

Do you suggest i take it to a tranny expert or take it to a good shop to get this sovled in the least painful way possible?

Thanks agian for your help!

It is a good idea to have the code cleared and wait to see if it comes back. CEL's don't always clear themselves after the problem is fixed. If the fluid change fixed it then the code shouldn't come back. If the code returns then you will know for sure that you have to take it a step further. Good luck!

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