Leaving The Family

[Lex3486]

Well my transmission went out again two days ago. That's it-I'm done with my car. Soon as I get it back operational, it's outta here. :cries: I know it's not really the car itself but rather the "service" that I've gotten, but nevertheless it's never gonna be right again and I can't afford the time or money to keep it goin now. The search is on for an early model SC300 with a 5speed, or maybe, but probably not, an early model LS400. Only reason I'd consider an LS is b/c I know of one I can get a deal on. Anyhow, no more fwd or automatics for me, but I am remaining faithful to the Lexus name (if I can find one I can afford). I'm gonna miss my baby though. Wish I had chosen a better shop that wouldn't kill my car :cries:

[gbhrps]

Sorry to hear of your problems with a much loved car, and that you've decided to part with her. I'm happy to know that you're staying in the family. Wise decision. A newspaper out this morning with an article on the best used cars to consider buying, listed every model of Lexus available, among certain models of other manufacturers as well. Sure its a Canadian newspaper you say, but we're not all snow, hockey and Tim Horton's up here you know, eh.

[SKperformance]

Sure its a Canadian newspaper you say, but we're not all snow, hockey and Tim Horton's up here you know, eh.

i feel bad for the guy who buys your car :(

[Lex3486]

Yeah, I do too sadfully. I'm not one to screw people over (seeing how I obviously know how it feels to be screwed over after all this transmission crap) but I'm in need of a more reliable car. I looked at a 93 SC300 yesterday and I drove a 94 LS400 too-the LS is a FINE car but seems a little too much for me (I've always wanted a sportier car, so I don't think this would be a wise decision for me). The SC however seems absolutely perfect. Just one problem-the LS is priced right and the SC is too expensive...these 2 anyway <_<

[HRP]

DO NOT GET THE LS400!!! You'll never be happy with any other car again. The LS series is flat out addictive. Quiet, smooth, comfortable, luxurious. I'll take a trip just to drive mine. As one of my friends who also owns an LS says, some folks think driving it is boring. So bore me!

[Senna4ever]

we're not all snow, hockey and Tim Horton's up here you know, eh.

Amen, Brother!

[Lex3486]

I KNOW! The LS's ride IS amazing, but it just felt almost as if I were sitting on my living room couch watching a movie of driving down the road-it's SO comfortable that you feel almost "detached" from the road. Now maybe in about 15 years that's what I'll be looking for, but for right now, I want something a little sportier-something that keeps me awake when I'm driving it. I also would've thought that with 250hp that the LS would be more motivated, but the one I drove didn't seem any quicker than my ES and maybe not even as quick. It seemed reluctant to downshift from second to first if I stomped it-reminded me much of our Toyota Land Cruiser. I never thought I'd see the day when I get into my ES and think to myself, "man, this is a sporty car" but that's what I thought when I got outta that LS.

[blake918]

Yeah, there was something definantly wrong with that LS because when you floor it, it should pin you back into the seat. The LS's speed is most definantly in a different leauge than the ES's...I drive both regularly, so I know! The downshift should be smooth and quick followed by the controlled roar of the 4.0 V8. B) Sounds like this LS might have some issues going by how you said it drives, so keep on looking. I looked at 6 different LS's before I found the right one for me.

I'm with you here...the ES is definantly a sports car when compared to the LS! :D

[Lex3486]

It seems pretty flawless other than that one thing though, I mean it's just got 106k on it. I did floor it after already doin like 25-30 so maybe it just was goin too fast to downshift. I also tried it with the ECT both on and off and no difference. You really think that I should avoid this one or is that pretty normal seein how it was already underway?

[blake918]

Don't let the mileage weigh too much on whether or not the car is in good shape or not. My 95 LS has 225k on the clock, and she goes like a bat out of hell in any situation!!! Tell us some more about the possible LS. Year? Maint. history? etc. I'm the same age as you, and I love the silky ride(and extra space) of my LS. It's really not floaty at all. They will lean, but it's a very controlled lean. I've taken a lot of sharp turns and other manuvers in the LS at very quick speeds, and it always fells secure and confident. This isn't like your grandparents Lincoln TC! It never puts me to sleep; I guess because I'm in constant awe that a car can be this nice. :D

[Lex3486]

Yeah, I love the ride-I mean, who wouldn't?! But at the same time, in the back of my mind I've always wanted a smaller more nimble car than even the ES, so...but also in the back of my mind since my family's first ES when I was 13 (and this thought has grown ever since) is that I love everything about the LS-the size, the status quo, the options (unsurpassed in any car I've ever seen...amazing) the attention to detail-it's just simply the best Lexus has to offer and that's alot to be impressed by. ANYHOW, I'm drifting The car; first of all, I'm pretty sure it's sold but I'll get to that. It's a 1994 model, pearl white and silver (beautiful) with gold package, tinted windows and silver wheels. It appears that there's been a little paint work on the driver's side doors-it looks almost as if someone sanded it down with some coarser grain sandpaper and then painted over it with some white; you can see some scratches but they're like under the paint...wierd. Anyhow, barely noticeable I might add. All VIN's match on body panels and it's never been wrecked according to the owner. There is, however, a little doubt in the owner's mind about the mileage, but I truthfully think that's just b/c he's an idiot. Lemme explain; the car was his daughters and she bought it 2 years ago. His daughter has since moved to FL and bought a new ES330, leaving the LS to be sold by her father. The father thought that it had 170 something thousand b/c it had a sticker inside the hood regarding the timing belt that had that mileage on it but Lexus says that the most recent service they've done was in 02 and it had about 100k on it then, whereupon they replaced the timing belt and some other stuff-over 2k worth of work, so they did SOMETHING. He's not sure of the specifics though-obviously not much of a car guy...so that's why he was only asking 5500 for it, so naturally when he found out that it's really got 106k, we were on it like white on rice for that price, but someone else has offered more and he hasn't called us back like we asked him to if he didn't sell it to that guy. The car seems perfectly straight though, and it drives like a dream, although keep in mind that I've never driven another one. The LCD on the A/C works and so does the CD changer and the sub isn't blown. It doesn't have the pesky expensive air shocks, and it doesn't have heated seats or traction control but everything else-CD changer, sunroof, memory seats. As far as how much maintenance other than that in 02, I have no clue. Lexus would know but they don't disclose that info. unless you're the owner of the vehicle. Put it this way though, even if it did have 170k, it'd still be a good buy for 5500. I just don't know if it's what I want, and if it's not what I want, then there's no point in buying it good price or bad. Unless of course I could re-sell it to get enough to buy the dream 5speed SC that I was lookin at that same day...

[Lex3486]

I had thought previously that the mileage actually may have been wrong if the digital odometer had quit somewhere down the line, but I've grown to doubt this possibility b/c the end of the needle for the speedometer doesn't light up, so I doubt that the cluster is new or else it'd work like new. Plus, it works now so I doubt it'd quit and the magically start workin again. I dunno, how can you ever tell with this digital stuff?! It's nice when it works, but a pain when it doesn't. That's one thing I think the 90-92's have goin for em is an analog odometer.

[hummin'along]

Hello, hello!

I just want to write and tell any ES300 owners (with cars in the early 90's) my story.

I just bought an ES300 for a song because the woman was told she had tranny problems. In fact, when I called Lexus to have them look the car over they said that there is a problem with the tranny in these earlier models....but that if the car had been regularly serviced he would still recommend buying it.

I had them check the transmission and they said it was fine. This confirmed what a friend of mine (mechanic) had told me. He checked it out and said it was fine BUT THAT I SHOULD CHANGE THE TRANSMISSION FILTER.

Of course I did not do this right away, and sure enough one morning about 30 days after buying the car, I was unable to shift into any gear. Boom Done. My mechanic friend scolded me for not changing the screen. But he came over to inspect car so that if it was something simple, like a belt....I would not be taken for a full tranny job when I had the car towed to Lexus.

Well. GUESS WHAT! He came over, dropped the pan and inspected the fluids for shavings, etc...then CHANGED THE TRANNY FLUIDS AND THE SCREEN! MY CAR IS HUMMING ALONG!!!! I PROMISE YOU! This car went from completely no action in shifting...to purring pure perfection.

Now. My friend said the transmission fluid was burnt pretty bad. SO we changed all the fluid PLUS the screen again a week later. His diagnosis...the transmission on my '93 Lexus is too small for the motor...His remedy...WE ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE FLUIDS AND THE SCREENS TWICE A YEAR!!!!

I cannot tell you how exciting this was. I really thought I was in trouble here. The transmission kit at an auto store cost $20.00 for the screen and the gasket etc. nd then it took 5 bottles of tranny fluid. That was it.

Good luck. I hope this helps somebody out there!

hummin'along

[Senna4ever]

Do the trannies in the 1997~2001 have pans, or are they the ones that have to be taken out to be inspected? Sorry, I'm not very mechanically inclined. :(

[Lex3486]

Well that's all well and good, but let me tell you MY story. Many of you probably already know the most of it but there is one part that is very appropriate for what humminalong has to say. Way back in November or December, before I had replaced my head gaskets even, I was noticing transmission problems, i.e. slipping from a dead stop and just generally strange shifting behavior so I decided that soon I'd change out the fluid and filter b/c the fluid did look and smell burnt. Well, one day I pulled in my neighborhood and on my way to my house, it slipped instead of shifting into a gear and I had to push it home with our other Lexus (lol). So I get it home, drain the fluid (notice that there's a considerable amount of shavings on the magnets) and put a new filter in. I got away with that for a couple weeks and then it crapped out completely. Moral of the story here; if your early model ES is having transmission problems of any kind, chances are that you're not gonna get away with it for long. Sorry to ruin anyone's high hopes, but that's just been my experience. BTW, how many miles does your ES have on it humminalong?

[NeiLtYmE]

hey lex ...

what kind of shifting behavior did you exactly observe? Like were the shifts really hard? Too short... long? How was it exactly slipping ?

[hummin'along]

"BTW, how many miles does your ES have on it humminalong?"

Hi, Lex.

I just rolled over 120,000. :o Uh oh! You may be right...and I have been told that a transmission probably won't last more than 170,000 miles...but I am just grateful that I won't need to do that transmission job right away! (Hopefully.) Heck, I just bought the car.

My plan is to baby it for the next three years. Then, if I business stabilizes. I will be ready for a new(er) car.

I do think, however, that the information is pertinent. Luckily, we found no metal shavings in the fluid or on the magnets. I DID think it was interesting that having gone through all of the original owner's paperwork (she kept ALL her service records) the servicing NEVER included changing the transmission screen (filter). It puzzles me that the dealer never inspected nor replaced this part in the 11 years this woman took the car in for servicing.

Hope things work out for you with your new car. Haven't read thread real carefully, have you made a decision about your next purchase?

hummin'along

[hummin'along]

Quick afterthought. You said that when you changed the filter and the fluids there were already metal shavings on the magnet. My mechanic also warned me b4 he inspected my screen that if we found any metal in the fluid or on the magnets, that I was in for trouble. So you are correct.

I am hopeful that his having found NO metal on the magnets, in the fluid, on the screen, is reason for me to feel cautiously optimistic. I still think that people might benefit from checking their screens on a routine basis. It seems that the servicing at dealership rarely includes this despite the fact that so many folks have transmission problems.

hummin'

[Lexusfreak]

After checking with several Lexus dealers (they all told me the same thing), it is not a regular thing to "replace" the transmission screen mesh (filter as some call it). If you do a complete fluid change or repairing a leak, they suggest to replace the tranny pan gasket & while the pan is dropped, to clean out the mesh screen, not replace it......as according to the service guy's, it should last the life of the car. None of them stocked one in their parts department either & they thought it was odd that one would ask for that part to start with.

[hummin'along]

. If you do a complete fluid change or repairing a leak, they suggest to replace the tranny pan gasket & while the pan is dropped, to clean out the mesh screen, not replace it......as according to the service guy's, it should last the life of the car. None of them stocked one in their parts department either & they thought it was odd that one would ask for that part to start with.

Hmmmm. Thanks, Lexusfreak. Very interesting, indeed. It's odd that they don't stock the screens. The kits I bought at Kragens have both the gasket and the transmission screens. I am not saying that it is NECESSARY to change it...but as long as it doesn't HURT to change it I think I will make a practice of it.

My concern is that the one thing the dealer DID tell me before I bought my vehicle from a private party, was that the transmissions on the ES300 around '93 were truly its Achilles Heels. He told me that unless the original owner could document routine transmission servicing, he would recommend that I not bother bringing it in for inspection or buying it at all.

While I saw evidence in the records that the fluids had been replaced, I did not see any that the pan had been dropped and that they cleaned the filter. At least they did not record this if it had been done. Most folks pull the plug and drain without dropping the pan...whether or not you change the screen may not be the important issue.

Once I saw the considerable gunk(no metal) accumulated on this screen, it seemed appropriate to change it plus the gasket. We did it again (only the screen this time) a few days later because although we had replaced the fluids, there was still residual burnt fluids that had not passed out in the original draining. We will see what is there when we do this again in ...Sept-Oct. Perhaps there will be no reason to change the screen at that time...perhaps we can simply clean the screen.

I guess my warning is that people should ask questions about what is done during their tranny servicing. I know that I had never asked in the past, with my other cars, whether or not the pan had been dropped when they routinely replaced fluids.

Another thing we noticed was how difficult it was to remove some of the spark plugs. VERY hard to reach! The ones that were placed more conveniently had FAR LESS wear and tear than the more challengingly placed plugs. It made us wonder whether the original owner was getting her money's worth when she went in for her servicing. BTW, she was absolutely "religious" about getting each and every servicing done by the dealer...

Like I wrote in previous post, I am not here gloating...I have fingers crossed and hope upon hope that being a little more proactive where I am told there is a weakness, may give me a chance at some longevity.

FYI, my mechanic was a former Toyota technician if that makes ANY difference at all.

hummin'along (4 as long as possible!)

[hummin'along]

found this in General maintenance forum:

Apr 8 2004, 09:04 PM

New Club Member

Group: Members

Posts: 1

Member No.: 7554

Joined: 8-April 04

GS 300

Norfolk, VA.

This TSB from the "Filter Manufacturers Council" should aid anyone in the maintenance of their transmission. And... always use a fluid with the same specification that is required from your owners manual or Lexus. Hope this helps!

http://www.filtercouncil.org/techdata/tsbs/98-2.html

BB

[Lexusfreak]

I think the fact your mechanic was a former Toyota tech is a good thing for sure! :) The reason why I suggest to do a "complete" fluid change is simple (but I understand why you are doing it the conventional way), just a regular "drain & fill" only gets about 1/3rd of the total fluid out & the rest is still in the torque converter and such. The transmission screens don't need to be replaced regularly like an oil filter, but I'm sure every 5 years or so if you wanted to change it (sooner if that's what you prefer), I was just making the point that they are infact re-usable & it can be cleaned hence the reason why the Lexus dealers I contacted (4 of them) didn't carry that part in stock but could order one if they had too. Proper fluid type when changing is vital as well. I'm just wondering if your tranny filter is different than my 01'? or the same type of deal? As I don't think you need the same tranny fluid as me (I need Toyota type IV & I think you need Dexron II or III), maybe consider to switching to a synthetic tranny fluid for better shifting & a more durable overall fluid to prevent foaming at higher temps in an older transmission. Just a suggestion. Mobil 1 synthetic ATF is one of the best out there.

I've heard too that the spark plugs can be a pain in the butt to change (3 at the back of the engine compartment), I let the Lexus dealer take care of that only maintenance item (with the exception of the timing belt when it's time) since they have all the proper tools (a general mechanic might have difficulty if they do not change plugs on that engine very often) & expertise. Depending on the type of plugs one uses, it is wise to put some anti-seize compound on the plug threads as well so when it comes time to replace them again down the road, they should come out nice & easy. :)

[Lexusfreak]

Also hummin, you might want to check out the recent thread on the ES forums entitled: "Tranny fluid change". There is some intresting info on that thread as well. B)

[hummin'along]

Thanks, LexusFreak.

My mechanic advised NOT putting the synthetic fluid in...it was his preference. Said that once you put synthetic in you can't go back. So I just went with his advice.

Read about the Type IV vs Dexron...got real worried cause he had put Dexron III in. Called LExus they said that was fine for my car. I am not sure about the filter and whether or not they are the same for your car. Mine is a mesh screen.

I would love to know what they are doing differently with the new transmissions...I remember talking to the LEX mechanic magr who warned me about the ES300. HE had said that the problem with the 93 model was that it overheated the transmission to quickly...and so if there was not proper servicing, he would not recommend the vehicle. WHen I asked him what that meant for the life of any new transmission they would give me, he said they "worked that out for the replacements." Wonder what they do differently.

hummin'along (and hopin it lasts)

[Lex3486]

SO the Lexus people are saying that the 93's have an overheating problem? Ya know, if that's true, it makes me wonder if when my head gaskets were acting up and the car was overheating, if the transmission was doing the same as a result of the radiator becoming too hot (the transmission cooler is integrated into the radiator) thus causing my initial transmission failure...and it also makes me wonder if the new radiator that I installed is really doing what it's supposed to for the transmission b/c I had my doubts as to its' quality to begin with (it's a plastic-topped one and we bought it b/c it was affordable, something I've found won't always cut it in a Lexus. Apparently the words affordable and Lexus do not ever go together when it comes to buying parts) I doubt that overheating would be the cause of my issues now though; I truly think that now it's just a matter of getting the stupid shop I've sold my soul to to fix my car the RIGHT way instead of the EASY, CHEAP and TIME EFFICIENT way (yet another group of words that don't cope well with the Lexus name) Hmm...the more I think about it, the more I come up with what could be causing my problem; the shop is using Advance Auto store brand transmission fluid (I know b/c I saw a huge case of it in their garage)...are all tranny fluids created equal (or equal enough to suit a Lexus anyway?...stupid picky cars :P )