lenore

I agree, buy the hoses and then take it to a trusted mechanic other than Lexus which wants to gouge the price.

Hey RX I have also instructed my wife to de select overdrive while in city commute driving. Hey good luck, but I suggest 15k fluid changes.

Thank you RX, very well said, I like you ,like the RX300 for driving, but feel as you do the Lexus Automobile Company did not stand behind their product. If I had been for warned to change the fluid at 15k I would have. Monarch is on another agenda, and has not been struck by the $4300 bill to replace something that should not have failed so early. Now I am committed to give out a survey to Lexus owners, I was thinking If I used postcards with self stamped and very short questions to the point I would get a better response. I will give feedback in the future. Maybe Monarch will see a card on his freinds RX in the future, since he is from my area.

Park Place Lexus in Texas has them for $43.00 apiece. Check there web site.

Dont forget, my car is on its third transmisson. I will conduct a survey randomly with owners in my area.

Both dealerships in Sacramento Area have had a lot of tranny failures according to the mechanics I spoke to. the mechanic told me he had changed five himself. Note he said in the AWD only though. Maybe the California summer heat, and slow commute mileages are the difference.

I know it holidays season, but maybe a survey of owners in your area about tranny failures and what mileage would stop this blame on only Five members. I will start taking a impromtu survey and ask about mileage just for grins. Maybe I will meet some nice people (heh heh, they are Lexus owners after all) Anybody want to participate?

Alldatadiy.com however you have to subscribe for a year, but yu can download breakdowns to your computer printer.

I agree LexKid, However it still would have shown how great a car company they were if they back their boo-boos with some compassion. Honda/Accura did.....where is the marketing backup at Lexus. None.

ditto

We all have our theories, but the engineers from Lexus or the transmission provider knew the limitations of this transmission with engine and vehicle weight. What we have is a car company that is not willing to step up to the plate and back their product like Honda/Accura did. We can't even get a adequate response from Lexus because they will not commit to their poor design, and as Barnum said their is a sucker born every minute. To bad we are on the receiving end, eating thousands of dollars for a vehicle failure that is not normal, no matter how much you service it. As a group I ask that you put pressure on Lexus when you feel concerned enough to do so. I personally feel cheated, I could have bought any number of other vehicles that do not experience such failures at such low mileage. Oh well Lexus, you suck! I will continue to destroy any potential future customers as long as I am taking the short end of the stick. I feel so sorry for all my fellow owners of the RX300AWD. Good Luck. I will continue to participate in this forum as I find it educational and I enjoy giving my expertise when I can.

Hey RX glad no gel problem so far, do you trust the dealership for their observation though?

Yes it is sad, great car, but self destructing transmission. I just went to Los Angelos this weekend from Sacramento, was going to take Lexus but ended up taking my Ford F150 Supercrew. Didn't want any tranny failures on my trip like last time. It is working fine, but I have lost my confidence in the long trips away from home. $43500. auto with 119k miles and third transmission, should have gone an easy 200k without tranny failures. Sorry ArnoldsLex in MO. Write a letter to Lexus of America and tell them how happy you are with their product. See what kind of response you get, keep us posted.

Sorry I have no pictures, but the kit was posted by SK, Once you mount the filter assembly on the left frame the rest is easy. I have no idea if this is a solution, but more of just extra insurance. Cooling fan on the aux cooler is next.

If it is not shifting all gears, the valve body assembly may well have metal debris in its passageways. I am so sorry to hear about your failure. Contact Lexus of America anyway, they need to hear how bad it is out there, 34t6g#$%^ they are such wonderful folks I am sure they will give a kind ear to your problem. SK and I both have filter solutions, he dissagrees with mine, but I do not knock his or mine. So far it is working well, and I must say the fluid actually appears to be looking better.

I agree, maybe the valve stem seals are leaking.

There is a new style filter that has filter medium in it.

go to alleurasianautoparts.com they list a filter gasket kit for the u140e transmission by build date of the car. another source is at Park Place Lexus in Plano, Texas. they have good prices and free shipping. they are on line

I doubt if the fuel filter is bad, mine has 119k on it. You probably have a dirty IAC sensor or something in the throttle body dirty.

hey RX my Lexus has 119k and has not used any oil between changes, I started the vehicle on synthetic blend oil and just switched to full synthetic on the last two oil changes, I do oil changes every 3k to 3.5 k miles. Good luck and keep us posted on the oil sludge, when I change the oil I noticed a build up around the the fill cap. but I have never removed the valve cover. The full synthetic should help I hope, but I do not know. Mine is a 99 RX300 by the way.

You absolutely should not unhook the battery after starting the engine. this could cause a spike which will destroy the regulator in the alternator. It is true that after the car is started the field voltage is provided by the alternator itself, but their is a leveling effect fromthe battery as the voltage from the alternator is not pure dC but pulsating DC in a three phase pulse from the regulators. It could cost you an alternator (Murphys law) if you go by SK's comment. If the battery is measuring 13.5 to 14.5 volts while the car is running the alternator is performing. The voltage should drop to 12.0 to 12.5 when the car is turned off.

I agree, never run car without battery, the Regulator in the alternator looks for the B plus voltage from the battery in order to work properly. And I suppose spikes might happen, but I doubt it.

The valve stem seals can be replaced without removing the heads by pressurising the cylinders with the valves in the closed position. this could save considerable money, however the valve guides could be worn and might cause failure of the valve stem seals again , it is a crap shoot. I had the seals replaced on a Mercedes 190E for less than $250 by a very respected german car garage nearby, It quit using oil, but lasted only a year. I then ended up rebuilding the engine. Lower end was fine but the head and the valve guides were bad.

Eurasian has one for $202 plus core charge Park Place Lexus in Plano Texas has one for 235

I have used my wetsaw for such u shaped cuts by making mutiple cuts diagonally after you make the two sides of the u. The tile saw for 88 should work fine. I have their 299 saw which is great, but I do alot of tile work. by the way Harbor Freight Tools has that saw on sale for 59.99