ToxDoc

I posted several weeks ago about a failed transaxle and the start of my travels through Lexus Customer Satisfaction in Torrance, California. My request for help from Lexus in paying to fix the problem was denied over the phone because 1) the car was out of warranty, and 2) they don't believe the problem was due to a defect in either design or maintenence recommendation. I'm still waiting on a written response to my written request. I've filed my complaint with the NHTSA and very much believe this is a serious safety problem for a small, but possibly significant, number of owners. It will be interesting to see if the issue grows as the population of early RX300s ages. If not, I was one of the unfortunate few on the wrong side of the transmission failure bell-shaped curve. If the NHTSA does see a significant problem and force mitigation, I've saved my paperwork. Now I think I'll go write a letter to Jim Press (President ofToyota Motor North America) and ask for his intervention. It'll give me something to do while I wait for the NHTSA to determine if this is an issue or not.

Add me to the list of surprized Lexus RX300 owners with an early transmission/transaxle failure. At 91K, my wife's 1999 AWD RX300 lost all drive power (with the engine running normally) without warning, while driving on a narrow highly traveled two lane country road. The latter is not important except that it highlights the safety related concerns of this type of failure. With luck, she was able to coast to a marginally safer turnout. She was not pleased; she had liked the car because she felt it protected her from getting stranded. Obviously not (and yes, I realize that a car with 91K is not bullet-proof). I had driven the car the day before and it ran/sounded OK. The car has received all of the servicing the dealer has recommended from Day 0. Imagine my additional surprize when I started exploring postings to the web, seemingly finding that the incidence of this problem looks higher than should be expected Towed to a Toyota dealer (much closer than the Lexus dealer). Diagnosis: Transmission failure, replaced with a rebuilt unit. Cost: $3840 for the transmission. $1370 for labor. They said they are not allowed to open the case and can only replace the unit, so I have no information on what actually went wrong. I've started my journey though Customer Satisfaction with little satisfaction so far. A promised 2 day response to my request for assistance (from a technical rep) has yet to materialize after a week and I've called again. The promise this time was a response today. We'll see. Given the earlier posts I don't expect a favorable reply from Lexus, but it will get the documentation started. I'll follow up with a demand letter to Corporate (I believe the arbitration clauses only work for the warranty period) with copies to Jim Press and maybe Japan (although I hear that Mr. Press is now on the Board of Toyota (but still President of Toyota USA). Since I have no leverage, this wil again only serve to put my problem on record (and give me the marginal satisfaction of bitching about it). Yes, I'll follow up with a complaint to the NHSTA with copies to the California Consumer Affairs people. Of some interest is the information my wife is picking up from her friends. Two or three of the ladies at the gym say they've had transmission problems in their early model RXs, but didn't pursue it with Lexus. I have no desire to provide a focus point for the debate of whether there are a statistically significant number of failed transmissions and what percent would signify a problem that Lexus should acknowledge, but my perception is that there are more than it appears. Who knows, if this problem affects enough people that put it on the record (the NHSTA is the logical place), we could get some relief. Yes, I understand that my trend towards optimism is a genetic flaw.