uspilot

jojo69, Not sure on the hesitation when shifting out of park, but one thing I always complete when looking over a car is to pull the transmission dipstick and smell the fluid. If it smells "burnt" then there's an issue brewing. If they recently changed the transmission fluid this is harder to detect (most won't change the fluid prior to selling). You can also check the color... The fluid is ruby red and mostly clear when new. As it ages with use, turns darker towards a brown hue. See picture attached. You can bring a couple pieces of paper towel and check for yourself. Good luck! uspilot

Wondering if someone might know if a 2000 RX 300 rear driver's side door will fit a 2001 as plug-and-play? Thanks for your responses!

Just bought a used 2001 RX 300 with 156K for my daughter's 1st car. Didn't do the homework I should have and made the purchase decision on the the Lexus name and saftey of a larger car. Anyway... I was wondering if anyone is experiencing what I think/feel is the transmission not disengaging when taking your foot off the gas (i'm not sure if the trans is supposed to disengage, i'm just trying to explain the feeling...) It feels like the car is slowing at a faster rate than any other car I've driven. Seems to be most prevelant at speeds above 20mph. Even when traveling down a decent size hill, i'm finding that i'm losing speed or at best maintaining my current speed. When I put the car in neutural while going down hill, the car feels more normal to me and will slightly increase in speed. my stats and maintenance over the past 30 days: 2001 RX 300 156K No CEL Did trans pan drop and fluid/filter exchange (thank you LOC followed the DIY video!) Color/Smell seem ok Changed both differentials (not transfere case) oil using purple (again thank you LOC DIY!) Preformed the throttle body clean, IACV, and MAF clean (had low gas mileage, now up to avg 19) Changed oil Changed A/F sendsor, bank 1 sensor 1 (behind the engine) Had P1135, now no other CEL. New spark plugs Denso Iridiums Any thoughts? Ideas?

Thank you David. I'm reviewing the process and might wait until the trans shows failure.

David, good post! I was wondering if you could post the PDFs and outline your procedure in this thread? My story: I just bought a 2001 RX300 w/155K for my daughter (Looking for safety and AWD here in Minnesota). Didn't know about the transmission issues and after we bought it. We noticed what seemed like a downshift or wrong gear issue during certain times. When traveling about 40-45MPH and taking your foot off the gas, seemed like the car was slowing quicker than one would expect (like it was put into a lower gear, but not quite at the extreme of actually changing to L2 or L1, maybe never came out of it's current gear at 40-45?) I then began to research on-line what it might be and found the many issues with the RX300 transmissions. I went ahead and preformed the fluid drain/fill and filter change as outlined in another post (removed about 8 old quarts and replaced with T-IV at $6.20 a quart and after-market filter). After that, seemed like the transmission was running a lot better. Fluid is now clear and the correct color, but might have a light burned smell beginning...? As we've driven about 200 miles now, it seems like this might be happening again. The color of the fluid is still clear and red, but I'm not 100% sure about the smell and it's making me nervous. Based on other post and your comments above, I'm thinking there's not enough ATF flowing as you mention. I'm hoping if I can get to early enough, I might be able to save this thing! (or at least prolong failure.) Would the after-market filter have anything to do with reduced flow? When I researched the replacement, I read that the original from Lexus was only a screen and not a paper filter. When I took my pan off, it had a paper filter an not the OEM screen, so at least I know it was changed but not sure if the screen is required for better flow? Any thoughts or feedback would be great!