George rx 300

I have thought about this for a year and a half, It is too bad that we owners with the failed trannys could'nt get together and get a true feel for the number of failures. I was going to write a questionare up and every time I saw a RX300 in a parking lot I was going to leave one on their windshield to contact me and give me any feedback on transmission problems or failures with their car and join me in assaulting Lexus of America to try and get some response back other than sorry, its past warranty. They know they have a problem and will not address it, unlike Honda/Accura which recalled their failures on the Odessey and MDX showing that they are truely a company that believes in customer satisfaction. I am sorry your dealership measures up to the Roseville Lexus Standards which is right below Bull Crap. If anybody wants to Email me at tskeen@surewest.net with their car and particulars concerning the transmission I will compile a list and see just how bad it is and submitt it again to Lexus of America. What a cheap !Removed! bunch of American/Toyota /Lexus liars. It makes me sick everytime some one new comes on the site with the same results that many of us have experienced. Tranny failures at less than 100k miles is rediculuous with the engineering that is available today. But not standing behind your product is criminal inlight of selling John Q. Public that they are the premium company, and elite product compared to the rest out there. I have lots of time to fight this, but one voice is not enough. Not servicing at Lexus is no excuse for early failure, and besides it is against the law to demand that. Good morning and best of luck to all of you.

You can extend the life of your transaxle by doing the best you can to avoid the circumstancs spelled out in the Toyota TSB issued in the spring of 2003 pertaining to the 2003 Camry. It would also help that when those circumstances are unavoidable simply downshift manually simultaneously with lifting the gas pedal. Just remember, keep in mind, that downshifting a FWD vehicle on a slippery surface can be very hazardous.

Would you be so kind as to explain what those circumstances are? My 1999 is getting a new tranny as we speak (type?).

I have instructed my wife to de select overdrive when in heavy commute slow traffic so that the tranny will not constantly search for the overdrive.... I too would be interested in that tsb.....

So what you guys are saying, is to downshift into 2nd gear when driving in stop and go traffic ???? thanks

NO.

Downshift manually for full lift-throttle coastdown periods ONLY when you foresee, can predict, that a quick return to acceleration is or might be appropriate. At higher coastdown speeds shift down only to second, below ~10 MPH shift down to first...

In both cases the transaxle will not actually downshift until the vehicle roadbed has declined to the appropriate range "safe" for the selected gear ratio. But having "commanded" the downshift will prevent the transaxle from upshifting and thereby leaving you without "GO" should you soon have the need.

But I would advise being very carefull against using this technique during cold weather, any suspected slippery roadbed surface, as loss of directional control can very easily result from even a slight level of engine braking on a FWD vehicle. And keep in mind that engine compression braking can also prevent your anti-lock system from being fully operational on a slippery roadbed surface.

With what we paid for these cars, and the quality that Lexus talks about, does anyone else think that it's shame that this conversation has to go on.

Thanks for the reply.....I hope that you don't experiance the transaxle failure! But you are right about the servicing. When the 50k service was done I thought that the transmission was drained, and maybe had a filter replaced. When I had the 90k I found out that there isn't a filter to change,and they only replace 4qts of new fluid but the transmission holds approx 10 qts, go figure 6 qts old and burnt, 4qts new.The service advisor said that was the only type service they did! I did however take the car to a goodyear store and had a power flush done on it, this changed all of the fluid and back flushs the screen. I did seem to notice a differance for a while, but I think that I will take it in and have it done again real soon. I was told that there was a chance of trash getting loose and ending up in the valve body, but it turned out ok.

Are you experiancing the gear search when you turn into a side street, sometime I have to get off of the accelerator and let it coast for a second before it can find a gear, this is realy bad if I'm making a turn onto a street that is going down hill. The dealer says drive it, dont worry that's normal. I have a hard time believing that because it didn't start doing it until around 85-90k.

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!

I, have a 2001 rx 300 fwd with a manufactures date of 10/2000. I have 110000 miles on it, had the 50k done on time, tranny serviced at that time. I did the timming belt, drive belts, spark plugs, brakes, tires, power flush on the tranny at 90k . I am very good at not going over 3500 miles on an oil change. I have enjoyed this car as much as anything I've ever owned and understood that I would get 250k - 300k trouble free miles out of it. I have been much better than what lexus schedule is for oil changes and maintance. So when I have to rent a car to go out of state over the memorial day weekend because I'm scared that the transmission may drop out at anytime, I think that lexus needs to honor the ads about quality and reliability, step up to the pump and take care of this issue.

So here is my concern, I read about the total transmission failures with these cars. I experiance the getting stuck between gears after a donw shift, such as makeing a turn into a side street and then accelerating to go back to driving speed.I think I read that this is a computer issue causing to car to always be looking for the highest gear. I think I know enough about the mechanical side of things too know that when you have RPMS going up while the transmission is searching for a gear, clutches are burning, and get a little closer to a total break down each time this happens!

Does anyone know if there is a replacement chip for the computer to correct this problem? And at this point is it to late to try this, even if there is one. Also would like to know if anyone has what the failure rate per vehicles sold for this model car is.

Any information would be greatly appreciated

Mine is also a 2001, but AWD. While I fully expect the transaxle to fail due to the design flaw prior to reaching ~100k miles it will get no "slack" from me in the meantime. I will however monitor the condition of the ATF diligently and if it again starts looking and smelling burnt it will get a drain and refill, if not two.

I, have a 2001 rx 300 fwd with a manufactures date of 10/2000. I have 110000 miles on it, had the 50k done on time, tranny serviced at that time. I did the timming belt, drive belts, spark plugs, brakes, tires, power flush on the tranny at 90k . I am very good at not going over 3500 miles on an oil change. I have enjoyed this car as much as anything I've ever owned and understood that I would get 250k - 300k trouble free miles out of it. I have been much better than what lexus schedule is for oil changes and maintance. So when I have to rent a car to go out of state over the memorial day weekend because I'm scared that the transmission may drop out at anytime, I think that lexus needs to honor the ads about quality and reliability, step up to the pump and take care of this issue.

So here is my concern, I read about the total transmission failures with these cars. I experiance the getting stuck between gears after a donw shift, such as makeing a turn into a side street and then accelerating to go back to driving speed.I think I read that this is a computer issue causing to car to always be looking for the highest gear. I think I know enough about the mechanical side of things too know that when you have RPMS going up while the transmission is searching for a gear, clutches are burning, and get a little closer to a total break down each time this happens!

Does anyone know if there is a replacement chip for the computer to correct this problem? And at this point is it to late to try this, even if there is one. Also would like to know if anyone has what the failure rate per vehicles sold for this model car is.

Any information would be greatly appreciated

Mine is also a 2001, but AWD. While I fully expect the transaxle to fail due to the design flaw prior to reaching ~100k miles it will get no "slack" from me in the meantime. I will however monitor the condition of the ATF diligently and if it again starts looking and smelling burnt it will get a drain and refill, if not two.

I have 2 AWD RX300s with aprox. the same mileage. I was having a shifting problem with one of them and it turned out to be a faluty speed sensor. I wouldn't worry too much about taking the car on trips. The RX performs great on the open road at 70mph, and I always enjoy taking mine on trips. It's pointless to worry about what might happen in the future. All cars are going to have mechanical issues along the way, especially as the mileage increases. Except for the annoying sensors, I've found the RX to be much more reliable than any car I've previously owned.

Thanks for the reply.....What type of shifting problem did you have ? When I talk to My local dealer they just keep telling me that they all do it, don't worry! they have never mentioned about checking the speed sensor. I too have enjoyed the rx more than any car I've owned! Many road trips, and allways felt that I would get back home safely. I think that I may have tried to do a little more research than I needed, Now I have worried myself half to death, (as you said) over something that may or may not happen. I think that I failed to mention that my CEL came on. I'm getting a p1135, replaced the air flow sensor, tried to reset the light but it comes right back on. I plan to get a new gas cap just for kicks and giggles to see if that helps. I just can't see putting a great deal of money out on the CEL and then drop a tranny! I did look into buying a warranty on it but they were $2000.00 and would only pay up to, I think $1900.00 on a trans repair. That seemed stupid to spend money on what might happen rather than spend money on something when it happens! With this said, I realy wish that I could find out about the failure rate on the transmissions on these cars. Maybe I could feel like the odds were with me then.Ihave been thinking about trading, previouly I had a subaru outback limited sedan, great car and I'm thinking I may get another. I just had planned on keeping this car, and getting some very high mileage out of it but I do have doubts at this point of the game.

Thanks so much for your help.........

I, have a 2001 rx 300 fwd with a manufactures date of 10/2000. I have 110000 miles on it, had the 50k done on time, tranny serviced at that time. I did the timming belt, drive belts, spark plugs, brakes, tires, power flush on the tranny at 90k . I am very good at not going over 3500 miles on an oil change. I have enjoyed this car as much as anything I've ever owned and understood that I would get 250k - 300k trouble free miles out of it. I have been much better than what lexus schedule is for oil changes and maintance. So when I have to rent a car to go out of state over the memorial day weekend because I'm scared that the transmission may drop out at anytime, I think that lexus needs to honor the ads about quality and reliability, step up to the pump and take care of this issue.

So here is my concern, I read about the total transmission failures with these cars. I experiance the getting stuck between gears after a donw shift, such as makeing a turn into a side street and then accelerating to go back to driving speed.I think I read that this is a computer issue causing to car to always be looking for the highest gear. I think I know enough about the mechanical side of things too know that when you have RPMS going up while the transmission is searching for a gear, clutches are burning, and get a little closer to a total break down each time this happens!

Does anyone know if there is a replacement chip for the computer to correct this problem? And at this point is it to late to try this, even if there is one. Also would like to know if anyone has what the failure rate per vehicles sold for this model car is.

Any information would be greatly appreciated