rcheong

The transmission rebuild was over $4,200.

I had to replace the shift solenoids as part of the transmission rebuild that was required on my 1999 RX300 AWD that was regularly maintained by the dealership since my original purchase (new).

My 1999 RX300 AWD was bought new, and serviced at the prescribed intervals at the dealership. Until now I wasn't taking note of specifically what type of transmission maintenance they were doing, but as an example, in January of this year, they flushed the transmission fluid (according to the service records I received).

Hindsight is 20/20. Well, I experienced the transmission issue (as mentioned in a previous post), and was told by the Lexus dealership that I needed the transmission rebuilt, and that Lexus Corporate no longer offered that service, so I'd have to take it to a transmission shop. I did this, and subsequently started reading all the entries of other owners with transmission issues. Thereafter, I contacted Lexus Support and after a couple of weeks of reviewing the case, they have advised me that yes, "a small percentage" of vehicles have experienced the transmission issue, but that they do offer a transmission refurbishment (something about them sending it overseas?) and sorry I was told otherwise, but since I wasn't advised properly there's nothing they can do for me except give me one free service. This car is NOT driven hard or fast, but feels like it's slowly breaking down. Recently, the transmission. Now, the creaking with the struts, and some sort of strange vibration perhaps coming from the drive train. And, intermittent problems keeping the engine started -- when this happens it doesn't idle at all, just shuts off unless I rev on the gas pedal. In my driving history, I've never had a transmission problem before (and I've kept most of my cars for more than 10 years) and have not spent nearly as much as I have on this Lexus between the normal maintenance charges and the corrective work. And, I've owned two Ford Mustangs so that's saying a lot! This was my first Lexus, and really I think there's more hype than reality about the quality. From the very beginning there were creaks and noises, and various little things that would repeatedly have to be replaced, especially tail lights and the inside hatch fasteners. Now with the magnitude of the repairs getting bigger and bigger, there's no way I'm going to even consider another Lexus. They're not even fun to drive. But, reliability was my number one priority. At this rate, I'd rather buy something that I at least enjoy, even if I have to have it fixed now and then. And "Maintainence included" would be a plus!

Just to close the loop on this one ... a few days after I made the initial posting, my 1999 RX300 AWD did indeed develop other problems - most notably, harsh shifts and loosing power in Drive and Reverse gears (almost like it was in Neutral). I took it to the Lexus dealer who ran diagnostics and said I needed a new/rebuilt transmission. He said Lexus Corporate doesn't allow them to rebuild transmissions, it would need to be a new one if they did it. Based on the estimated cost, he recommended that I take it to a transmission shop which I did a week ago. They ran the intitial diagnostics which confirmed that there was a transmission issue. Then, they pulled the parts out of the casing to find out the extent of the damage and give me a cost estimate. Today, they called with an estimate of $4100. This includes front and rear planetaries, solenoids, rebuilt torque converter and other parts - some of which need to be special ordered. I've subsequently read some of the other postings on this site regarding RX transmission design problems. I have about 75,000 miles on it, so I believe that's beyond the warranty. Most of the postings I read said there's little hope of having Lexus cover this, and since my car is already in the shop with a dismantled transmission, I've authorized them to start the repairs. Does anyone have experience with how long the 2nd (rebuilt) transmission lasts? Thanks.

My 1999 RX300 has recently started to whine at low speeds. This seems to be muted if I accelerate slowly through the first and second gears, or when I reach a higher gear. Does anyone have experience with this and/or recommendations? Thanks! :(