About To Buy A 2Wd 2002 Rx300

[karlhoelscher]

looked at a clean 2002 (Build date 12/29/01) RX 300. 127k. Arizona car. 2 owner, good maintenance. tranny fluid darker, but no burnt smell at all. Just normal looking fluid after it been in a while. drives good, good shifting. My friend is 30 year Toy tech. says it is hit and miss on these trannies - you never know

really like the rx 300, fits in perfectly with the type of used car I need. while I have read the forums of all the exploding trannies in these vehicles, every single consumer guide gives the rx 300 good or above average reliability ratings. I can't believe with consumer guide ratings like that that either Lexus is paying them off, or that they didn't notice all the exploding lexus trannies

so, instead of asking and getting responses from those who have had failed trannies, how about how many who have had 200k plus miles with no problems on the tranny other than routine maintenance?

was also wondering if others may have installed an aux tranny cooler too

[LEXIRX330]

The 2wd rx did not have the issues with the tranny it was the AWD. Do some searches on here you will see loads of info on the tranny and the RX.

[karlhoelscher]

thx.. I have been pouring through all sorts of posts trying to determine if this was a AWD only sit or affected all... unfortunately most don't post which type of RX they have when the tranny failed. I suspected it to be more of a AWD problem.. however, it seems the siuation is related to the shifting software so I could see how that affects 2wd as well...

[pauljcl]

thx.. I have been pouring through all sorts of posts trying to determine if this was a AWD only sit or affected all... unfortunately most don't post which type of RX they have when the tranny failed. I suspected it to be more of a AWD problem.. however, it seems the siuation is related to the shifting software so I could see how that affects 2wd as well...

Most of the transmission issues seem to have been caused by a failing planetary gear, that was made of aluminium (later replaced by steel). It would appear that the failure is due to the inability of the part to withstand stress, which is caused when the transmission makes extra effort (e.g. towing). AWD RXs generally put some extra stress on the transmission compared to the FWD RXs, and, thus, the failure rate is higher with AWD RXs. Reading between the lines - and depending on the luck of the draw - I would guess that transmission where the car that has always/often carried a full load and has been driven with a heavy foot, will probably - other things being equal - suffer transmission failure more often than one driven gently with little load. In previous posts, there was some discussion about later RX300s having an improved planetary gear that is made of steel rather than the aluminium of the earlier ones. It may be that the 2002, particularly if a 'late' 2002 model, might have a 'good' vs. 'weak' transmission. If your Toyota friend can help people put a date on the change (to steel from aluminium), that would be useful to many, since there has been much speculation as to the date of change. Among 'posters' in this forum, 'lenore' has spent much time at, and written much about, this issue. It was from one of his posts that I learnt of the aluminium planetary gear weakness in early RXs. You might want to consult his posts....

I di not have a transmission problem in a 99RX300 I use dto own, but I did have a rear engine seal problem which costs a lot to fix. It seems early rear engine seals would harden over time (the RX motor runs 'hot')and then begin to leak. You should check out the state of the seal on any one you buy. If it has any semblance of humidity or weeping, it is shot.

Good luck!

[pauljcl]

thx.. I have been pouring through all sorts of posts trying to determine if this was a AWD only sit or affected all... unfortunately most don't post which type of RX they have when the tranny failed. I suspected it to be more of a AWD problem.. however, it seems the siuation is related to the shifting software so I could see how that affects 2wd as well...

Most of the transmission issues seem to have been caused by a failing planetary gear, that was made of aluminium (later replaced by steel). It would appear that the failure is due to the inability of the part to withstand stress, which is caused when the transmission makes extra effort (e.g. towing). AWD RXs generally put some extra stress on the transmission compared to the FWD RXs, and, thus, the failure rate is higher with AWD RXs. Reading between the lines - and depending on the luck of the draw - I would guess that transmission where the car that has always/often carried a full load and has been driven with a heavy foot, will probably - other things being equal - suffer transmission failure more often than one driven gently with little load. In previous posts, there was some discussion about later RX300s having an improved planetary gear that is made of steel rather than the aluminium of the earlier ones. It may be that the 2002, particularly if a 'late' 2002 model, might have a 'good' vs. 'weak' transmission. If your Toyota friend can help people put a date on the change (to steel from aluminium), that would be useful to many, since there has been much speculation as to the date of change. Among 'posters' in this forum, 'lenore' has spent much time at, and written much about, this issue. It was from one of his posts that I learnt of the aluminium planetary gear weakness in early RXs. You might want to consult his posts....

I di not have a transmission problem in a 99RX300 I used to own, but I did have a rear engine seal problem which costs a lot to fix. It seems early rear engine seals would harden over time (the RX motor runs 'hot')and then begin to leak. You should check out the state of the seal on any one you buy. If it has any semblance of humidity or weeping, it is shot.

Good luck!

[pauljcl]

thx.. I have been pouring through all sorts of posts trying to determine if this was a AWD only sit or affected all... unfortunately most don't post which type of RX they have when the tranny failed. I suspected it to be more of a AWD problem.. however, it seems the siuation is related to the shifting software so I could see how that affects 2wd as well...

Most of the transmission issues seem to have been caused by a failing planetary gear, that was made of aluminium (later replaced by steel). It would appear that the failure is due to the inability of the part to withstand stress, which is caused when the transmission makes extra effort (e.g. towing). AWD RXs generally put some extra stress on the transmission compared to the FWD RXs, and, thus, the failure rate is higher with AWD RXs. Reading between the lines - and depending on the luck of the draw - I would guess that transmission where the car that has always/often carried a full load and has been driven with a heavy foot, will probably - other things being equal - suffer transmission failure more often than one driven gently with little load. In previous posts, there was some discussion about later RX300s having an improved planetary gear that is made of steel rather than the aluminium of the earlier ones. It may be that the 2002, particularly if a 'late' 2002 model, might have a 'good' vs. 'weak' transmission. If your Toyota friend can help people put a date on the change (to steel from aluminium), that would be useful to many, since there has been much speculation as to the date of change. Among 'posters' in this forum, 'lenore' has spent much time at, and written much about, this issue. It was from one of his posts that I learnt of the aluminium planetary gear weakness in early RXs. You might want to consult his posts....

I di not have a transmission problem in a 99RX300 I used to own, but I did have a rear engine seal problem which costs a lot to fix. It seems early rear engine seals would harden over time (the RX motor runs 'hot')and then begin to leak. You should check out the state of the seal on any one you buy. If it has any semblance of humidity or weeping, it is shot.

Good luck!