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bluestu

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Everything posted by bluestu

  1. Here's the guys e-mail address who sells and cuts the keys. mikehyde44@yahoo.com I bought the blanks from him and he cut them for me also. They work great. I don't know what happened on eBay. Maybe Lexus didn't like people selling their programming instructions.
  2. Thanks so much for the numbers. Those must be Toyota prices. I called Lexus Parts Dept. to compare and their price quotes were much higher.
  3. Does anyone have the OEM part numbers for front and rear brake rotors and pads for a 1999 RX300? thanks
  4. The transmission and front differential share the same synthetic transmission fluid. It is called a transaxle. The rear differential and transfer case use gear oil. Sounds like the mechanics at Lexus are really happening.
  5. Code P1135 is (Pedal Position Sensor A Circuit Intermittent) Call the dealer to find out exactly which sensor this is referring to.
  6. P0130 and P0150 are the codes for the malfunction of the air/fuel ratio sensors. I should know, I've replaced both. My advice would be to call Lexus service dept. and ask them specifically what your codes indicate. I've done that before, and then either fixed the problem myself or have taken my car to someone I trusted to fix it. Avoid the dealership at all cost unless your issue is covered under a warranty.
  7. According to my code sheet, P1130 and P1150 indicates (Lack Of HO2S Switch - Adaptive Fuel At Limit) Not quite sure what that is, but it's definitely not the AF sensors.
  8. I had a similar problem where my car would miss between gears. I called the dealer and they said it sounded like the transmisson probably needed replacing. I finally took it to a reputable transmission shop and they diagnosed a bad speed sensor as the problem. Has shifted fine ever since. I posed the question a while back. I wonder how many owners have had their transmission replaced due to a faulty speed sensor???
  9. I had a counter gear speed sensor replaced at a tranny shop, and they had to check all the speed sensors to determine which one was bad. My car would randomly miss between 2nd and 3rd gear. The first shop I took it to replaced the wrong speed sensor, so I suggest letting the tranny shop do the diagnostics and replacement for you so you do end up wasting time and money like I did.
  10. They know all too well about the transmission problem. That's why they are now recommending a flush every 15-30k miles, because the fluid overheats and burns up over time.. The lifetime transmission fluid doesn't quite make it. Personally, I think the factors in overheating are the weight of the vehicle, the underpowering of the vehicle, and the AWD transaxle that probably requires a more efficient cooling system. Anyway, I'm just going to continue having mine flushed until they wear out.
  11. Someone did a poll a while back and there were owners of the 2WD model that reported transmission failure. The no maintenance, lifetime fluid listed in the owners service manual is the main culpret. I'm sure there are other factors involved including driving habits and the weight of the vehicle.
  12. Hmmmm..... 89 Aerostar.... MY '94 AWD Aerostar now has 135,000 miles with NO ATF drain/refill/flush only band adjustment at 125,000. My son's '94 AWD Aerostar only has about 70,000 miles but also never with any ATF drain/refill/flush. Would have to check to be sure, but like my '01 AWD RX300 I would guess that no ATF "maintenance is called for in the owners manual. Yours..?? "...evident by the number of tranny shops...." Has it not occurred to you that with the number of "trannys" out there the "bread and butter" for all those shops just might be from overhauls due to ordinary wear..?? My 89 Aerostar is on its 3rd transmission at 180,000 miles. I always had a drain and fill, and filter change every 30k mi.. That vehicle is a piece of crap compared to an RX. I think I've replaced about everything on that van at least once. As far as the tranny shops in my city go, I sure see a lot of newer vehicles sitting in the parking lot every time I drive by. It's a fact that most people don't have their transmissions serviced until they fail. A lot of people don't have their cars serviced at all until something goes wrong. My wife's car would have exploded by now if it wasn't for me taking care of it for her. I'm sure you guys know that story all too well.
  13. I didn't just make that up. That's what I've been told by many qualified mechanics and tranny shops. As for the design flaw theory, show me some documentation or recalls. It's only a theory until you can present factual evidence to support the claim. Speculations and assumptions don't register in my mind. Just stating that some RX300 trannys have failed prematurely is not sufficient evidence to support a design flaw theory. There are many makes and models of cars that have experienced premature transmisson failure, evident by the number of tranny shops throughout the country.
  14. You guys do what you want. I talked to the Lexus dealer and Toyota dealer, and both are now flushing the transmissions. I'm not here to debate anyone. I'm here to share my info and experiences with other owners. If you guys want to drain and fill your transmissions, go right ahead. From your experiences, that procedure hasn't worked out too well.
  15. I'm not being insulting. I've just observed that you've posted numerous theories and speculations about the transmission design flaw. I haven't found anyone to substantiate your claims. Anyway, we all agree that the maintenance schedule is flawed when it comes to servicing the transmission. Owners should be made aware of this issue instead of reading posts about how their transmissions are doomed to fall apart at any moment. That sort of takes the joy out of owning a nice car, doesn't it???
  16. If the design flaw of the early RX transaxles is as I suspect, an under-sized, under-capacity ATF oil pump, it would be a practical impossibility for someone in the field to make that judgment. I would definitely value his opinions and recommendations over your speculations and suspicions. This shop acknowledges that the RX300 transmissions are burning up, but say it is from poor maintenance, not design. They don't think highly of Lexus or Toyota's service depts.. They work on RXs every day and are well aware of any problems associated with the vehicles. In their opinion, the RX series is among the very best of the bunch. From what I have seen, I will have to agree. It is not by luck that I own two early model RX300s with over 120kmi. and original transmissions that shift like new. Maybe I have postponed the inevitable by having the transmissions flushed, but isn't that what service maintenance is all about???
  17. I talked to the head mechanic at Mostly Toyotas today, a foreign car specialist in my town. He said that he rebuilt transmissions for many years and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Lexus RX transmission. He said the reason they are burning up is because owners are either not having them serviced at all, or having the useless drain and fill done. He said the only way to prevent transmission failure is to have them completely flushed every 30k mi.. I'm not making this up. You can call the shop if you want more info.. Obviously, the reason there are more transmission failures reported with the earlier model RX is because they are higher mileage cars. Duh. This subject has been beaten in the ground, and even Lexus now acknowledges that the RX transmission needs to be flushed to prevent failure. Like I've said many times before, draining three or four quarts of fluid out and replacing every 30k mi. is useless when the transmission holds several time that amount. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out.
  18. I had the same shifting problem and the check engine light would come on. Code read speed sensor. Replaced the speed sensor on transmission and it did not fix the problem. I took it to a really good transmission shop and they also diagnosed the problem as a bad speed sensor. Code P1730. They tested all the speed sensors and found that the counter gear speed sensor was faulty. Replaced sensor and the car shifts fine now. I'm wondering now how many transmissions have been needlessly replaced due to a faulty sensor???
  19. Are the Toyota OEM pads ceramic?
  20. Does this occur all the time or just when you are starting out? The engine has to reach a certain temp. before the transmission will shift into overdrive.
  21. I had the exact same problem where my transmission would slip between 2nd and 3rd and sometimes not go into overdrive. I took it to a transmission shop and they diagnosed it as a bad speed sensor. It wasn't the one in the transmission, but the one that was related to the gear shifter. Anyway, it cost me about $230 total. If you need the exact part, I can call the shop and get the info for you.
  22. That's a good question. I guess I'm basing my success on other people's reported failures. I'm expecting to get many more miles from these transmissions by keeping the fluid clean. Aside from the "Design Flaw Theory", most of the info. that I have gathered indicates failures are occuring due to hot temps and mixing different types of fluid. The RX transmission seems to run a little hotter than normal as idicated by owner's reports of dark, burnt smelling fluid. Hot climate might also be a factor. I live in the mountains and I'm constantly going up and down steep hills. The RX seems well-suited for these conditions, although pulling hills everyday is pretty hard on a transmission in an underpowered vehicle. I know quite a few people with 4WDs, myself included that have had transmission failures before 100k. Trucks seem to hold up much better, of course they ride like a truck.
  23. OK, it's flawed. At least the rest of the car is great except for the turning radius and those damn sensors. I've never talked to any mechanic that said the fluid is good for the life of the vehicle. All the advice that I've received is to change the transmission fluid and filter every 15-30k miles in all vehicles. The RX transaxle holds more fluid than a standard transmission and reaches higher temps.. It makes sense to flush the entire transaxle every 15k miles to prolong the enevitable. Anyone who owns a vehicle with an automatic transmission, and never changes the fluid and filter, will be very lucky to make it past 100k mi..
  24. You are absolutely right about the maintenance schedule being flawed. Lexus should be held accountable, especially since they changed their recommendation after so many transmissions failed. Obviously, heat is the main attributor to the breakdown of the fluid which leads to most of the premature transmission failures. I wouldn't own an AWD if I didn't live in the mountains. To me, the RX gearing seems well suited for hills, and is awesome on the highway.
  25. I have almost 120k miles on my 1999 and 2000 RX300s, and the transmissions are working great. I bought both cars with lower mileage and have flushed the transmissions every 15k miles. I had never gotten that much transmission mileage from any other car that I had previously owned. Of course, I never changed the fluid. I did have a bad speed sensor replaced which caused the transmission to malfunction, but it runs fine now. Lexus of Knoxville, TN now flushes the AWD transmissions. The parts guy told me that they had replaced many transmissions in those type of vehicles due to improper fluid maintenance. He said that most people were unaware that the fluid ever needed to be changed, and that people had been mixing regular transmission fluid with synthetic. I have talked to many people with all different makes of vehicles whose transmissions failed well before 100k miles. If you don't completely change out the fluid, you might as well get used to having the transmission rebuilt if you keep the car long enough.
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