Rebuilt Vs New Tranny For 99rx 300

nacha · May 14, 2004

hi all,

looks like i need a new transmission for my 99 rx that has 50,000 miles. lexus will cover it under warrenty, but they will replace it with a re-built one, not a new one. should i be concerned about this? if given the option of a new vs rebuilt, am i better off paying out of pocket for the new transmission? warrenty is same( 12months, unlimited miles). any thoughts?

thanks in advance.

douglasmiami · May 14, 2004

Curious what happened with the old transmission - did it just completely give out, or did it start slipping and then you had it checked out?

I too have a '99 RX 300. I've noticed that the transmission "hesitates" when I accelerate. But I wasn't convinced it was a problem.

Rebuilt transmission is standard practice. Similar to car thefts - insurance will rarely if ever replace with new parts. I don't think that it's worth paying for a new one, unless the difference between the two is very little.

nacha · May 14, 2004

hi douglasmiami,

on an incline, the car wont hold in park. it will jerk forward until the parking pawl is able to lock into a gear that hasn't been damaged. the hesitation that you notice is pretty common. i have that too. the dealer admitted that they get complaints re tha hesitation. its not a "problem" rather its a design, or engineering issue. not fixable since nothing is actually broken.

douglasmiami · May 18, 2004

I just replied to another post by someone with a transmission problem ('99 RX 300). The transmission issue is starting to concern me. I don't know if this is just a small, unique sample or if this forum could be considered an accurate predictor of issues, but I don't like it. Anyone else have problems with transmissions in the RX line?

JPI · May 20, 2004

The rebuilt unit is pretty much the same as new. I've replaced a couple of rx300 tranny in the past. Take care of your tranny and flush the transmission fluid every 15k miles.

JPI

SKperformance · May 20, 2004

A good reason to use the parking brake wether you are on an incline or not, as that is what it is for .

There are no new trannies available they all go into the vehicles just like alternators and other multiple peice components.

It makes no difference as everything that can wear internally is replaced anyway the only old part is the case made of cast and forged steel .

douglasmiami · May 20, 2004

JPI - do you recommend taking the RX to Lexus dearler to flush the transmission fluid, or can I take it to an oil change place? Is there a specific brand fluid that should go into tranny, or are they all similar?

SKPerformance, does not using the parking brake wear down the tranny? I've never heard that before. So you suggest always using the parking brake, regardless of make or model? I live in Miami, which is as flat as cities come, but if it wears down the gears, I'm all for using parking brake.

Thanks.

ps. how do you insert someone else's response as a quote, I guess, so that you can respond directly to that sentence or paragraph?

nacha · May 20, 2004

thanks everyone for responding.

Yep. no new transmissions available. only reman parts. one thing i learned with automatics (the rx is my 1st automatic trans ever) is to activate the parking brake first, then shift the car to park. if you park on an incline, this will help reduce the pressure the car puts on that parking pawl/transmission interface. fortunately, the warrenty coverd this issue.

KevinK · May 21, 2004

A good reason to use the parking brake wether you are on an incline or not, as that is what it is for .
There are no new trannies available they all go into the vehicles just like alternators and other multiple peice components.

It makes no difference as everything that can wear internally is replaced anyway the only old part is the case made of cast and forged steel .

Good point, skperformance. People don't use their parking brake anymore, instead they use their transmission for parking. My Cadillac has automatic parking brake release, so I use it every time. I wish Lexus has that function. :cheers: