lexrx3

Chris, for what its worth, I bought my 2001 RX 300 for $19,000 in September 06. It had 32,700 miles on it. I love it. Most of the issues appear to be corrected by 2001 but i do pay close attention to the tranny and cha nge the fluid every 15,000. I also run synthetic oil because these engines are hard on oil.

Ok, I had the problem for a second time today. The first ocurred or at least I noticed it about 5 months ago. I paid$ 100. bucks for Toyota to as they called it 'reboot the system' and then everything worked fine. This morning the same thing happened. No floor heat only panel heat. I followed Lenore's suggestion (thanks Lenore) and disconected the battery for approx 30 minutes and it now works fine again!! I don't know what causes the proble but the solution was an easy fix.

Did you disconnect the battery or pull a fuse? If fuse, which one was it? I've searched before when having this problem but couldn't find the right fuse.

I had my local Toyota dealer flush and fill. It was called a BG machine flush. It took 12 qts and cost $125.00 parts and labor. I plan on having it done every 15,000 miles. I know it was done right and with the correct ATF. I'll pay the $125 every 15,000 but do not want to pay the $4,000. plus for a new trans. Just curious, what Toyota dealer in NJ did you use that had a flush machine? Most Toyota and Lexus dealers seem to be offering drain and fill only. James Toyota in Flemington. I've been happy with their service overall. They recommended the flush but would have done just a drain and fill if thats what I wanted.

RX330driver - Thats interesting and good to know about the diesel sound. I notice it too and have looked for a truck next to me at times because of that sound. Glad to hear thats normal. I thought I may have the beginning of an exhaust issue.

I'm positively sure. I just had mine flushed about a month ago and the fluid looks like new, pinkish in color. I did some pretty extensive research on this matter and found that the only way to completely change the transmission fluid is to have it flushed. Not only does this completely replace the existing fluid, but also cleans the wire mesh filter inside the transmission. Make sure you replace the fluid with the right type of fluid which is clearly marked at the top of the dipstick. You should also have your differential and transfer case gear oil drained and replaced every 30k mi. The reason your transmission fluid looks dark is because you've just been having a portion of the fluid drained out and new fluid added. The new fluid just mixes in with the dirty fluid, so your fluid just keeps getting dirtier and dirtier. Any qualified mechanic will tell you that the drain and fill performed by Lexus and Toyota is useless and a waste of money. I take my cars to a place called Mostly Toyotas and they say that they haven't had any problems with the cars they have flushed. They 100%, absolutely recommend flushing the transmission every 30kmi. I had my local Toyota dealer flush and fill. It was called a BG machine flush. It took 12 qts and cost $125.00 parts and labor. I plan on having it done every 15,000 miles. I know it was done right and with the correct ATF. I'll pay the $125 every 15,000 but do not want to pay the $4,000. plus for a new trans.

CCB - Here is a very good website for a lot of "basics" and some not so "basic" maintenance projects for your car. Certainly the cabin air filter you can do. It doesn't sound like you're ready to change your own oil so let somebody else do it. This site will at least show you whats involved and probably answer some questions for you. http://rx300how2.home.comcast.net/index.html

Ok, hope this helps. OEM is short for original equipment manufacturer. Dino oil is conventional petroleum based oil or mineral oil. There is dino oil and synthetic oil. There are good private garages out there if you can find them or you can go to a Toyota dealer. Many or perhaps most will work on Lexus since they are Toyota and the real benefit is that they are always cheaper than a Lexus dealer. You can trust them too because they have the knowledge base needed. Good luck!

Sorry, I disagree. I'm quite sure that by the time my 2001 AWD RX300 was built Toyota had adopted a higher capacity/volume ATF pump to assure that a sequential downshift (following an upshift resulting from a full lift-throttle event)would be completed within incurring an inordinant level of clutch slippage/wear. I don't doubt that having a 99 or possibly even an '00 AWD vs 2WD would accelerate the the failure mileage of the transaxle but I strongly suspect that both have the core problem that results in premature transaxle failures. For the '01 - '03 models one must be careful and not allow the ATF to degrade and then after '04 there is the issue of the 1-2 second throttle lag, safety issue, to contend with. WWest - I'm just curious. When was your 01 built and how many miles do you have on it? Hearing what you say is very reassuring to me.

Why does Toyota recognize the sludge problem but fail to address the transmission problem? Does it just come down to the shear number of problems recorded?

You are definitely not unreasonable. Ask them for the 800 number to call for Toyota-Lexus customer service / satisfaction. You can certainly find this yourself or may already have it but asking them tells them what you're doing. Don't be a jerk though. I found with Honda you don't threaten never to buy again you just really give them the facts and really express your disatisfaction. I would be extremety upset too. By the way, I see you're in NJ too. What dealer is this?

wwwest, thanks for your response. It is similiar to what I have read elsewhere. What I don't know is provided fluid is full and in good condition is this considered normal? Fluid only has a couple thousand on it and its still in good condition. Its a 'lag" upon accelerating right after coasting particulary noticeable when the engine isn't fully warmed up yet. All the seals inside the transaxle, and there are lots of them, will leak more with the transaxle cold than they will with it heated to operational temperature. It would be unusual for the seals in your transaxle to be worn and leaking enough at 40,000 miles to prevent a quick, satisfactory, downshift when you reapply pressure to the gas pedal but that does sound as if that is what is happening. Now I'm wondering if maybe Lexus did a running production change and I was lucky enough to get the high capacity ATF pump and you were not. Do you know your manufacture date? Did you buy it brand new? The car was manf. 2/01. I bought it used with 32,000 on it. I did find the dealer where the car was serviced and I was able to see nothing major was ever wrong with the car and it had been serviced per schedule. I hope I'm just being overly "anal" about it. I'm also thinking that if your driveway did not have the slight decline that mine has you would not even notice the hesitation. This is before the engine is fully warmed up. I come to the end of my drive with my foot off the gas and then begin to accelerate. Thats when I notice the slight hesitation. As I said, w/o the decline you probably wouldn't notice it. Please tell me its nothing and its normal. With your more complete, detailed description it does sound as if your 01 is NOT subject to what is understood to be a somewhat widespread problem with 1-2 second downshift hesitation in 04 and later models. And yes, I do not have an incline at the foot of our driveway, the opposite actually, so I cannot tell you if my 01 acts the same. Thanks for all your feedback. As I said, I may be a little too concerned about nothing. You also sound extremely knowledgeable about the vehicle. Do you work with these cars? Thanks again.

wwwest, thanks for your response. It is similiar to what I have read elsewhere. What I don't know is provided fluid is full and in good condition is this considered normal? Fluid only has a couple thousand on it and its still in good condition. Its a 'lag" upon accelerating right after coasting particulary noticeable when the engine isn't fully warmed up yet. All the seals inside the transaxle, and there are lots of them, will leak more with the transaxle cold than they will with it heated to operational temperature. It would be unusual for the seals in your transaxle to be worn and leaking enough at 40,000 miles to prevent a quick, satisfactory, downshift when you reapply pressure to the gas pedal but that does sound as if that is what is happening. Now I'm wondering if maybe Lexus did a running production change and I was lucky enough to get the high capacity ATF pump and you were not. Do you know your manufacture date? Did you buy it brand new? The car was manf. 2/01. I bought it used with 32,000 on it. I did find the dealer where the car was serviced and I was able to see nothing major was ever wrong with the car and it had been serviced per schedule. I hope I'm just being overly "anal" about it. I'm also thinking that if your driveway did not have the slight decline that mine has you would not even notice the hesitation. This is before the engine is fully warmed up. I come to the end of my drive with my foot off the gas and then begin to accelerate. Thats when I notice the slight hesitation. As I said, w/o the decline you probably wouldn't notice it. Please tell me its nothing and its normal.

wwwest, thanks for your response. It is similiar to what I have read elsewhere. What I don't know is provided fluid is full and in good condition is this considered normal? Fluid only has a couple thousand on it and its still in good condition. Its a 'lag" upon accelerating right after coasting particulary noticeable when the engine isn't fully warmed up yet.

Has happened for awhile with any fuel. I guess I should have it looked at by the dealer. Maybe the transaxle fluid should be changed too. Powertrain warranty is still in effect so I guess I'm covered on the transmission?

Just cold as in not warmed up. I just had ATF changed and will do it every 15,000. Its really just a slight hesitation which I notice when I slightly coast to the end of my drive and then begin to accelerate. Do you feel this also when not warmed up? Not noticeable as long as I don't acelerate hard and not noticeable when warmed up. I believe I read a reference to this in another post in that its a result of the modification made to the earlier transmission problem but I'm not sure. It just may be scaring me because of all the trans problems talked about in earlier models. Thanks for your feedback.

Reading about all the trans failures is scary and it appears that most are years 99 & 00. So heres the question. I have a 01 RX 300 with 38,000 on it and is running well. When cold the trans appears to hesitate when I coast but then acelerate. Since I'm still under the powertrain warranty would it be wise to take it to the dealer for them to look at? Would there be a benefit in doing so or is this the result of the modification made to the trans for 01 models and that is now normal. Do I gain anything by having the dealer look at it which at the very least registers a transmission complaint of sort? Any comments/help would be greatly appreciated.

You're a very good candidate for a full synthetic. An engine that runs hot and winters that are very cold. Much wear in any engine occurs at startup so you want that oil circulating quickly especially in those cold winters. I'm anal about wanting the best for my engine and I must agree with those that say spending $20 - $30 a year on an oil change is well worth it. Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum. Also, use a good quality filter (Purolator Pure One) and avoid using a Fram.

Thanks Duke hater!! Definitely will come in handy.

Someone in another post mentioned the same thing. Perhaps it would work and its certainly worth a try. If that worked I'd sure feel like an idiot. :chairshot:

My 2001 RX 3000 lost floor heat and defroster. All other ventilation outlets worked. I took it to a Toyota dealer (always cheaper than Lexus) and they said the computor system was in a "fail safe" mode. They "re-initialized" the system and it works fine. This happened 11/7/06 and everything is still fine. They didn't know why it happened but its fixed. It cost me $91.00 for the diagnostic/labor. They compared what they did to re-booting your computer. Maybe your problem could be similiar. Good luck.

The site that I've attached has some good minor "do it yourself" information including changing bulbs. I've found it to be very helpful. Hope it can help others on this forum too. Its called Ed's RX 300 "How2 reference site.... http://rx300how2.home.comcast.net/index.html

I'm happy to hear someone run up a relatively high amount of miles on the original transmission! There must be more of you out there and I guess only those with tranmission problems will post. You've listed just about all the info needed regarding service/maintenance. Is there anything else you could add that would help someone like me make the car last? I have a 2001 RX 300 with 37,000 on it. Its running great and I agree with your ATF change interval. Reading about everyones tranmission problem here makes you believe that absolutley every RX 300 is doomed. Again I'll say thats probably because just those with failures have posted. At least I hope thats the case. I too would like to hear from others with high milege. Hopefully we will. Good luck with another 100,000 miles or more!

lvc2 - Curious as to what year your RX 300 is. Just trying to be prepared at least mentally.

I had the same problem with a Subaru couple of years ago and replaced the fluid with Lucas Power Steering Fluid Stop Leak. Worked great and sold the car last month with 160,000 miles on the original rack. I can only guess that it reconditioned seals etc. as stated on the bottle. Might be worth a try before doing anything major. The dealer actually told me to try it and there was no money going into his pocket for the recommendation. Good luck.