I own both a 2011 450 SUV and a 2004 GX 470 SUV. The GTX 470 bucked like a bronco yesterday and felt like it would not change gears. The Lexus dealer said it needs a new transmission plus a seal on the transfer case. They said the transmission fluid was down 2.5 quarts - which they
replaced. After replacing the fluid they test drove the car in both a "highway speed" mode (~60 mph) and a "traffic mode" (stop and go) and
experienced no problems. They also said the all of the "warning lights" went out, as one would expect. They also explained that the transmission
is a "non-serviceable" item and therefore does not have a dipstick to allow one to check the fluid levels. With that being the case, one would
LOGICALLY conclude that when one takes vehicle in for at least a MAJOR service like the 100K check, the transmission would be one of the
things that are checked as a part of the service.
Frankly I'm really irritated that a supposedly quality car that has had every scheduled service can have a transmission go bad at 109K miles. The car was just in for the last service a few weeks ago (110K).
I'm not happy to think of a $5800 bill. Has anyone had success in negotiating the price of a new transmission? Does anyone think that a fluid check should be part of the normal service? Thanks in advance!
