lenore

by the way I contacted Lexus of America to ask about this change and requested some assistance in my tranny replacement costs. They acted very diligent until I told them it was done 4 years ago. She repeated twice "do you really want assistance for a transmission change 4 years ago?" I said yes very politely and gave the reason of customers being missinformed for the maintenance schedule, and Lexus hiding the fact of a engineering mess up that they didnt want to address. She said she would send it to the technical department (dead file department) that was two days ago....Kind of funny but disheartening.....

So you lost a 1/8 qt and they said to drive it. what a bunch of knuckledheads. Could have been the halfshaft pulled out of the tranny and slinging oil...........Hope you didnt toast the transmission.....

Welcome, first give us the codes. When you replaced the plugs was there any corrosion on the ends of the plug where the coil packs plug on.? If so you may have a arcing problem on the new plugs because the coil spring was corroaded. Just a thought , but give us some codes and we we go from there. a too rich condition could be caused by the misfires (possible bad coil pack) easiest way is read code and move suspect cap and see if code changes. Also did you clean the MAF sensor....?

There is a gentleman on the Club Lexus site that has done drag racing, but as said there are not a lot of mods available. He experimented a lot with exhaust and intake....Try Lexmex on this site: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx300-forum-182/

You could do a fluid transfer will probably cost around $160, but did the tranny shop say why they didnt use Toyota Type IV or Mobil 3309 equivalent..???? I know alot of them claim they put additives in with the fluid to meet specs. Did they give you a warranty?

Usually when it is cold, the idle should be higher. Is it more than 750 rpm when cold....?? You could have a dirty IACV valve. You might want to read this posting. It may help.... http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...408&hl=iacv Here is even a better one... http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx300-foru...e-write-up.html

Somewhere here, dont know about reflashing

Here is a site that will help you, lots of good fixes.... http://home.comcast.net/~rx300how2/index.html

Look for a Reibes or Napa in your area, most turn rotors.....at least here in the Sacramento area....

Do you have service bulletins for 2002 dto 2003 Lexus RX300 concerning the transmission.

I would check and see if your brake lights work, could just be the brake switch which controls the cruise when disabling. That is your first and easiest step.

The unknown is that we dont know when the part was implemented, and even if Toyota/Lexus uses it. It may just be aftermarket when shops rebuild it. Mother Toyota is not giving me any information. To replace the Planetary gears would be just as much as to probably rebuild the transmission. I know the gears run around $900 and a rebuild kit is around $260. But without knowing when and what, it would be a waste until your transmission failed. The labor to remove and install alone would probably be around $1800 to $2000 at most dealerhips. That is how much mine was. I guess what I am saying is who knows if your 2003 already has the gears and that is why we havent been seeing the failures.....

You may have a bent or clogged vent pipe: see attached picture of pipe that is below the filler tube:This is on a Highlander, but probably same as es since they use basically the same tranny.

The failures from what I have seen are tend to be the AWD ones. Yes there are some FWD failures, but not like the numbers of AWD. However I would highly recommend replacing the filter and do drain and fills on both Transmissions.,

here is a great tutorial.....for an RX but probably very close to same... http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx300-foru...ter-change.html

Hey did your rebuilder put in the steel housing 6 gear planetary gear setup? I am just curious. Is that what they are all doing or just some.

Exactly RX, and it may give future failure replacement a decision to go independent if those shops are upgrading the parts. Knowledge is great, especially when it saves lots of money..... and reliability which gives peace of mind when the wife goes out the door in her daily quest...

After seeing the aluminum carrier for the planetary gears, and understanding how aluminum can fail under load, especially if there is not enough support to distribute the load, Changing fluid is a necessity. Keeping it cool and with proper lubricating properties is a must. the replacement Planetary gear being all steel carrier and more gears shows me Lexus knows they have a problem, but wont own up to it. I know, everybody makes improvements, but in the case of this transmission with AWD and heavy loads the engineering wasnt there. By the way folks I am pursuing Lexus of America again with my claim which they denied when my tranny failed with this new knowledge... wish me luck. As for the flushing machine it is probably ok on a non contaminated tranny, but one with lots of debris, beware....

You didnt get one from Kragens auto did you? I have had terrible luck with their alternators.... anyway here is a breakdown and price on brushes.... http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...playCatalogid=0 by the way the brushes last a long time, mine went 9 years 140k miles and still were good when I replaced them. washing your engine down may have caused your problem. I would unhook the battery and clean all terminals on both the alternator and battery and see if your problem is fixed. If it is a Kragens battery, (junk) replace it with something better like Walmart brand or costco brand. to troubleshoot the problem get a cheap VOM (volt ohm meter) and measure the output of the battery while the engine is running and stopped. While running the voltage should be around 14.5 volts DC and when the engine is stopped the battery should measure 12.5 volts approximately. If you are not getting 14 volts or more while the engine is running the alternator is blown, (regulator, brushes, commutator)

it also shows the lack of service as stated on some dipsticks that could cause the failure...I wish my didstick said 100k miles that, i would have a lawyer in a moments breath.... As I posted earlier today the real problem is a substandard design problem.... the Planetary gears mounted in aluminum are a very weak point for such a heavy vehicle. the rebuild part is a steel carrier with 6 gears instead of 4

Here are some a little cheaper http://trademotion105.reachlocal.net/partl...playCatalogid=0 or here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-06-lexus...sQ5fAccessories or here: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php

He wasnt sure about why they fail other than a weak design....I am sure heat, wear, etc all play into this thing. The improved part tells me that somebody knows that the old part was weak, especially moving from aluminum to steel as the carrier for the gears...

Good afternoon everyone, I just want to share some interesting information about the failures with the planetary gears. I stopped by an independent that I knew about 10 years ago and asked what his price was for rebuild and also what exactly fails. Being the very nice man he was he explained and showed an example of the failure. Apparently the original planetary gear had four gears mounted in an aluminum carrier... Who knows, heat, wear whatever the carrier fails and allows the gears to tilt, and then your tranny is toast.. The new replacement planetary gears are mounted in a steel carrier, with 6 gears instead of the original 4....very interesting.... and much stronger....see attached pictures of a failed 4 gear planetary gear....from a 140e tranny... this shows the theory of bad design issue, and what was done to make it stronger...Now the question is was this ever put in production or only on rebuilds...?????

Have not experience that, I use a very small funnel which does not much more than guide the fluid....I am sure If you tilt the funnel and allow air to enter also that it should flow better..

Good afternoon everyone, I just want to share some interesting information about the failures with the planetary gears. I stopped by an independent that I knew about 10 years ago and asked what his price was for rebuild and also what exactly fails. Being the very nice man he was he explained and showed an example of the failure. Apparently the original planetary gear had four gears mounted in an aluminum carrier... Who knows, heat, wear whatever the carrier fails and allows the gears to tilt, and then your tranny is toast.. The new replacement planetary gears are mounted in a steel carrier, with 6 gears instead of the original 4....very interesting.... and much stronger....see attached pictures of a failed 4 gear planetary gear....from a 140e tranny... this shows the theory of bad design issue, and what was done to make it stronger...Now the question is was this ever put in production or only on rebuilds...?????