Newbie With Transmission Trouble

ashley · February 17, 2004

Hi everyone. I just found this site yesterday and have enjoyed reading all of your posts. I own a 1994 es300 with approx 110,000 miles. I have had NO trouble with the car since I bought it in 1998. I have had all the maintenance (including oil changes) at the dealership, since my mom works there and they give me her discount. I recently brought the car in for a humming noise and was told it was the compressor clutch to the AC going out. When they went to fix the clutch they said the whole compressor was bad and and so I got a new one. I changed my belts(all except timing) 2 weeks ago, new front and rear brakes, new tires and battery within last month. These were all optional things I chose for maintenance purposes. Last night when I picked up my car I noticed the humming was not fixed and more pronounced. It hums loudly only when I am at a stop or the car is not in gear yet. Once I hit the accelerator the noise goes away. There is also vibration in my steering wheel when the humming occurs. This morning they told me they think it's the torque converter in the transmission. Can just this part be replaced or do I need a whole new transmission? I was in tears this morning when hearing this because i have just spent about 1200 on the car in the past month. I don't know if it's worth putting more money into, but I am also worried I would get hardly anything if I tried to sell it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

SW03ES · February 17, 2004

Thats the problem when dealing with high mileage cars, what repairs are worth doing? I had my 97 Explorer in the shop (146,000 miles) for grinding brakes and it came back $2600, new 4WD hubs, all new brake pads and rotors, a bad axle seal, bad ABS sensors, all kind of things after spending $1500 in Early December to repair the gauge cluster and do routine maintenance and flushes. I know how you feel. I figured hell, I've got so much invested in it now that theres no point in selling it until something major breaks down again. The $1590 was mostly elective work like with you.

Fact of the matter is that the Lexus is a reliable car, moreso than my Explorer (there hasn't been a service under $500 in like 3 years lol) and probably at this juncture I would say its worthwhile to spend some money on it. Depending on the transmission replacing the torque converter is usually a partial rebuild at least. Since you haven't frozen any gears yet and the tranny still shifts I would take it to somewhere like AAMCO and see what they think. On a car as old as that one is, even with your mom's discount there's really no reason to service it at the dealer. In all honesty the dealer is so expensive theres no reason to service a brand new one there...

Keep us posted ;)

SKperformance · February 17, 2004

It could be the T/C but i would look at the power steering unit first.

ashley · February 17, 2004

Thanks. Supposedly the power steering is fine, but who knows at this point. I am just afraid to find out how much a trans. or torque converter cost.

SKperformance · February 17, 2004

re and re and a rebuild tranny about 1500 -2000

adam1991 · February 18, 2004

I received my 125K miles 94 ES on Christmas day, and it arrived with the whining noise that I hoped was just a belt. Nope; a week later it showed itself: transmission. $2350 for a complete rebuild.

FWIW, the engine appears bulletproof and the car rides smoothly. It was worth the transmission work.