bluestu

I really appreciate the info that you have provided!!! That noise is driving me crazy and I'm going to follow your instructions on cleaning the servo. Thanks!!!

Thanks lenore. I will try to clean the contacts on the servo motors as they suggested.

Does anyone have a solution for fixing or stopping the continuous AC switch changing noise under the glove compartment? At first I thought it was the CD changer, but now suspect a faulty switch or fan. Thanks.

Quote: "I have a '99 RX300AWD that I bought new and have always had it serviced at the dealer where I bought it. It only has 62k miles and just had the 60k mile service which cost $800. A week later the transmission went out and was going to cost $4500 to replace. I complained to my dealer and they say they took my complaint to Lexus rep. They gave us a loaner and when my car was ready, they said that Lexus agreed to pay for the transmission and I was billed for the labor, which was $1100 dollars. I just started looking at this forum since this happened and it appears there is a design problem with this transmission." Design problem, maybe??? Maintenance problem, definitely!!!

P0171 Fuel Trim System Lean (Bank 1)

Toyota has a maintenance schedule for a drain and fill on the Highlander. I've watched them do it. They pull the plug, drain about four of the 9.5 qts. out, and refill with 3qts. of transmission fluid and 1 qt. of additive to help restore the properties in the old fluid that doesn't get drained. I'm sure the Toyota/Lexus Corp. performed numerous tests on these transmissions many years ago. They knew good and well that the fluid in any transmission should be changed periodically regardless of towing. The engineers figured that by using synthetic fluid and the special additive, they could extend the life of the transmission past the warranty. There's a good reason why the transmission is only warranted for 70k miles. If they made the transmissions to last 200k and beyond, they wouldn't make as much profit. That's sort of the way it is with most products these days. Back in the 90s when they were designing the RX, they probably didn't anticipate the power of the internet and websites such as the Lexus Owners Club Forum. BUSTED!!!

"The car has received all of the servicing the dealer has recommended from day 0." That's the main problem with these transmissions is that they are not serviced properly or at all. How long is a transmission supposed to last without ever changing the fluid??? Lexus should be held accountable for their inadequate servicing of the RX300 transmission. It wasn't until recently that they changed their service recommendation and procedure for transmission fluid changes. I guess they finally realized their maintenance schedule was flawed when numerous owners started showing up with burnt transmissions. Too late!!! They should be held accountable and reimburse their customers.

On the forum poll, I saw several FWDs that had experienced transmission failures. I own a 1999 and 2000 RX300 and haven't had a hint of transmission or engine problems with either one. That's a bunch of crap about how Lexus fixed everything by 2003. The real problem is that most people don't maintain their RXs properly. I realize that there are always a few lemons in every bunch, but poor maintenance is the main cause of most mechanical failures. Check the fluids before you buy any car. I like both the RX300 and 330.

Holy crap!!! Your transmission outlasted your engine. How could that have happened??? Yeah, your engine should have held up much longer than 150kmi.. I would be *BLEEP*ed!!! Maybe someone sabotaged your engine accidentally or on purpose. It's been known to happen. Something is a fowl if you maintained it that well. I would have demanded that Lexus give you a trade-in on a newer model at a substantial discount. That would have been the only fair thing to do.

I looked up the code P1135 on the code sheet and it reads "Pedal Position Sensor A Circuit Intermittent". I don't know exactly what that is, so you might want to call the Lexus dealer and find out before you waste any more money trying to troubleshoot your check engine.

If you have a bad speed sensor, the check engine light will come on and the code will read speed sensor. Sounds like you have a bad air/fuel sensor. I have had to replace both air fuel sensors and the mass air flow sensor on both of my RXs. What a waste of time and money. That's the only major headache I've had with these cars. I do have my transmissions flushed every 15k and they shift very smooth. The fluid is always a clean pink and has never appeared dark or burnt smelling. I also use synthetic motor oil so I won't have to worry about any engine sludge problem. Using the proper fluids and keeping them clean is the key to extending the life of any motor vehicle.

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.

I thought I might hear from you guys. Since I'm the poster boy for transmission flushes, maybe you guys are right. If it is the transmission, it hasn't gotten any worse since it started missing four months ago. There are no strange noises and it does it very infrequently and randomly. I've owned several cars that had transmissions go out, so I'm well aware of what happens when the transmission starts to fail. The symptoms are continuous and get progressively worse with time. Believe me, I'll be the first to post when my transmission does fail. I've already tried resetting the computer. The shop I took it to pulled the pan and said everything looked normal. They have a high-end diagnostic machine and said the code read speed sensor. I'm thinking it could be a wiring, sensor, or computer problem since the symptoms haven't changed or worsened. Where is the wire located that goes to the transmission??? There is a very good transmission shop down the road from my house. They're very honest and reputable. Do you think I should have them check it out??? How many miles on average should an AWD RX300 transmission last??? That's a topic that I haven't seen discussed yet.

I've been having a problem for the past four months with my RX300 not shifting properly after the car is warmed up and restarted. It will miss shifting into second gear just one time at low speed and the check engine light will come on and go back off after about the third or fourth startup. The car will shift fine for several days and then do the same thing again. I took it to the shop and they said it was the speed sensor and replaced it. It did not remedy the problem. I took it back and they said everything checked out including the transmission and they didn't know what the problem was. I was wondering if it might be a computer problem or maybe another bad sensor??? Sometimes the car will go for as long as a week before messing up. I even took it on a long trip and had no problems at all. There are no strange or unusual noises either. I'm sort of stumped on this one. I've had quite a few sensor problems with this car and I'm becoming very annoyed with this one. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be causing this problem and what I should do about it??? thanks.

The vibration topic was discussed on this forum in some detail a while back. I have also noticed the vibration and find it to be very irritating. I own two RX300s and one of them vibrates more than the other. It only occurs when the car is in gear at a stop. Put it in neutral and the vibration is gone. I can't recall what the solution was to fix the problem. Call the dealer. I'm sure they are aware of the problem.

There's a guy on eBay that was selling replacement key blades with the shell for $25 and would cut them for an extra $10. I bought several from him and had the program instructions from another key that I had bought off eBay. I programmed the remote and the transponder myself for four keys. You don't have to go to the dealer to get a key or have it programmed. I have also bought OEM keys on eBay that had the transponder and programming instructions included for about $75

But doesn't it get recirculated and you would drain that out the next time? Nobody is saying that a drain and fill gets it all at once. Usually I've seen people advocating a series of 3 drain & fills. I'm not sure about this and I started another topic about this very subject. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=35506 If you mix new fluid in with old fluid, then the new fluid immediately becomes contaminated. You don't drain half your engine oil out and add a couple of quarts and then repeat the procedure and expect it all to be clean. This is really a no-brainer. It's not even worth mentioning or debating, and I'm very surprised that anyone would advocate such.

That's what I've been saying all along is that the maintenance schedule in the owners manual is flawed. The parts guy I spoke to at Lexus Of Knoxville was very aware of the tranny problems with the RX. He thought the drain and fill was rediculous since more than half the fluid gets trapped in the torque converter and connot be drained. He certainly wasn't defending the Lexus corporation. He asked me if I had been flushing my transmission because that is what their service dept. is now recommending. Lexus is obviously very aware of the problem and are now trying to remedy it. Hopefully it will be like the engine sludge issue where they will issue the owners a notice certificate extending the warranty of the transmission. It's one of those issues that doesn't get resolved until a significant amount of failures and complaints are reported.

I haven't had a tranny failure because I've had mine flushed every 15k. A 1999 and 2000 with 110,000 miles. That sort of eliminates your theory concerning the year models being the cause. You performed a drain and fill every 30k which is useless according to every mechanic that I've talked to. You live in an extremely hot climate and your fluid simply burned up which led to your premature failure. I do agree with you concerning the Lexus liability and having an independent shop rebuild the transmissions.

I talked to a guy in the parts dept. at Lexus of Knoxville and he said there had been many RXs come in with burnt transmissions. He said the problem is that owners weren't having their transmissions serviced. He also said that their service dept. now only performs flushes on RX transmissions. The drain and fill is no longer recommended for these vehicles. I guess this might be a little too late for many owners. Lexus should be held accountable for their flawed maintenance schedule that is listed in the owners manual.

That sound you are hearing is normal. I own a 1999 and 2000 RX300 with almost 110,000 miles and haven't had any problem with the engine or transmission. They both run like new. I do have the transmissions flushed every 15k and use synthetic motor oil. The only problem I've had is with the air/fuel sensors going bad. If your check engine light comes on, just take the car to the dealer and let them fix the problem. It can be very frustrating and costly trying to troubleshoot the problem on your own. Enjoy your new tour ride!!!

Fair points for certain but at this stage mileage wise, the 99 and 00 models seem to compare similarly on the average and there are noticabley fewer 00 failures than 99s. I realize that some failures might very well be due to poor or "non" mantainence however many of the most notorious failures on this list occurred in vehicles whose owners maintained them quite well (even excessively). Of course we've all been over this quite extensively so my point was just that if someone is looking for an early RX why not go with a 00 or 01 for only slightly more money, since statisically (for whatever reason) the 99's have more failures. I also have a 2000 model with over 100k and it is exactly the same as the '99. The transmissions in both cars are very smooth and shift exactly the same. They do shift a little differently from a standard transmission, but they are AWDs. I'm convinced that the majority of RX transmission failures are due to bad fluid. If the fluid is not completely changed out on a regular basis, the transmission overheats and burns up. It's really simple to understand, unfortunately most would rather ignore this fact and speculate that it might be something else. It's not. My only complaint so far is having to replace the overpriced air/fuel sensors.

I have a 99 RX with over 100k and there are no signs of any transmission problems at all. I've always had it flushed on a regular basis. Obviously the 99s are going to have more reports of transmission failures because they are older. There will be a lot more reports from later models as the years roll by. These cars are not being serviced correctly if at all, and most owners are not even aware that their transmission needs to be serviced. I've read reports on this forum of RX330s with transmission failures. If you don't change the entire fluid, they burn up. If you mix standard fluid with the Toyota type, they burn up. If Lexus is liable for anything, it would be for printing up a sorry maintenance schedule.

Most of the owners on this forum including myself haven't had any major problems with their RXs. It's actually about 5 or 6 people that post their complaints and concerns repeatedly, making it appear like there are hundreds of owners with transmission failures.

Lexus would charge two or three times as much as a qualified transmission shop. It sounds like you're doing the right thing. Sorry to hear about your misfortune, and good luck to you!!!