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Lexus is very well aware of the premature failure problems, failures at 70,000 miles seem to be the norm, with the RX series transaxles and will usually split the cost 50/50, but at 110,000...??
In this case Lexus is being kind only because the dealer's price quote should be more like $4,000. Find a Lexus dealer that will do it for the more typical price and have Lexus pay the 25% and you're good to go.
Last week as I'm driving home from a road trip around 300 miles, the oil light comes on. I just changed the oil a few days before going on vacation....I pull into a gas station and the dip stick is dry! I have to add 3 full qts to get it back in range. I got home and noticed it was low again...I decided to take it into Lexus at that point and not drive it.
They open it up, run compression tests...and tell me the #2 cylinder is jacked up and the spark plug fouled with oil all over it. In the last 500 miles I burned approximately 6+ quarts of oil. I remember getting something in mail regarding an extended 8 year warranty for oil gel or sludge problems with severe oil burn or oil consumption listed. With great maintenance and at 83000 miles....Lexus tells me I need a short block assembly replacement...to the tune of $7,800 with part/labor. I was floored...I showed all of my maintenance records, receipts...the stamped book...and they offered me 25% off as a "good will" assistance. With $5,800 the new price tag...I figure (since the vehicle is the prem pkg and in good shape otherwise) that the car is worth around 13k or so...I spent 30 minutes trying to get them to give me other options and the sales mgr says he'll give me $9,000 off a newer model for a trade in...they won't even fix the RX, just auction it off and pass the problem onto the next guy. Sheesh. Anyways, I pulled the RX (it drives fine, no noise...just burning oil like crazy) over to another mechanic I know..and I'm waiting to see if he can prove it's the same issue that the class action suit was all about. He thinks it is based on what he's seen...and has actually worked on a couple 2002 toyota engines with similar problems. (PCV was chg after 02')
They have a really nice 2005 RX330 with 40k miles on it on the lot and he'd knock the price tag from $27k (before taxes) down to around $17500 or so after my trade. My dilemma is whether or not to go with this....I liked the RX alot for the last four years...until this costly problem. What do you guys think? I'm 30 years old and make a decent living as a financial analyst....but man, I don't have six grand sitting around to throw at a 2002. What if it happens again! DOH. I feel kinda stuck...The RX was so great b/c I'm married with a 14 month old girl. Four door and really nice ride...I'd like another one, but man....any guideance or advice is appreciated. I've test driven other cars...I like the Infinity FX....but I really like the RX 330's and 350's alot. And I can't see trying to get another dealer to pay me more for it...even though they wouldn't know of the oil burn issue unless they opened up the engine...and I doubt in trade they'd do that. Any thoughts? Tanks!
If Lexus won't cover this under the gel warranty (try another dealership and/or call Lexus HQ) I'd get it fixed at an independent.
Before you have the transmission repaired, you may want to find the reasons for the engine tick and severe oil burn. Otherwise you may end up with a good transmission and an engine thats ready to be run into the ground.
I don't think this is what I would want to hear, but I hope I've helped some.
I'm curious if you got up to your next 2500 miles after the last tranny fluid and filter change. :confuse:
Did your transmission end up working well after the guess that it was bad, and then you serviced it to see how it would fare?
Did your fluid come out clean?
Did the Lucas additive help?
Share with us your wisdom.
Older with fewer miles or newer with many miles?
Also, has anyone had a good experience with purchasing extended warranties?
I feel like I took a walk through the slums this week, after inquiring and talking with reps who seem like stockbrokers and fast talkers from the 1980s.
Thank you for your input
Neil
Good luck and let us know all about it!
Please let us know how your experience goes.
Andy
Tips about transmission life:
1. Service the transmission (not flush!) by having the pan dropped and filter inspected and replaced often, especially for low-mileage usage such as short trips as well as driving in traffic and/or extended idling. The factory recommended service interval often reflects transmission replacement rather than preventive maintainence.
2. Make sure the service is being done with TYPE IV fluid, not the Dextron/Mercron with additive most lube shops use. Even a transmission shop will not likely stock the right fluid. They mix it from generic fluid and additive. Offer to pick it up at a Toyota dealer or Napa parts store yourself, and get an extra quart or two to make sure there's enough. Regardless of what the manual states, some models are known for having a larger refill capacity than the manual calls for.
Will keep those in mind.
My mechanic and I were trying to find were the shift solenoids were. After looking
for about 20-30mins. we arrived to the conclusion that the solenoids are inside the
transmission itself. Has anybody experienced this same shifting problem and what
have you done to solve the problem/s? Let us know. Thanks.
What may help you the most is that there are lots of reports that Lexus has been helping some owners who have established relationships by covering a "goodwill" portion of the out-of-warrantee repairs for good customers they want to retain (my humble personal opinion only, and I have no way to back up that claim). Then, you get a transmission rebuilt to the most modern design that Lexus specified, installed at the Lexus dealer with their professionals, at a cost that's more competitive than a third-party trans shop. Check this and the main RX300 thread.
I hope this helps you. Good luck.
This can happen, depending on years/miles/usage. If the engine is "tired" it may not be able to produce the level of torque required in OD at some roadspeeds resulting in low RPM operation. Basically the engine knocks/pings (non-audibly) just ONCE due to "lugging" and the ECU will now avoid those situations for teh current drive cycle.
To what consequences do you refer...?
This "episode" started with/during the design of the original RX300, introduced back in '98, ten years ago now and the problem still has not been adequately addressed, only makeshift, QUICK, band aid, fixes. In order to build a more "robust" Camry transaxle for use in a much heavier vehicle, SUV, F/AWD SUV, some sacrfices were made.
Goodle for:
wwest abolition transaxle -dfg
I suggest this is not a new problem with the 300 and some 330s. Take a look at this thread post # 10 and others. I expected excellent vehicle quality with little repairs, and that was the reason I purchased Toyotas and Hondas over the years.
However, I subsequently sold my 330 when I started to see other owners of rx 330/330 have tranny issues and as I was getting close to 50k, I did not want to incrure the cost of repair/replace for a tranny. (Never had to replace a Toyota or Honda car tranny. Indeed all 6 dirvers in our family have not had to replace a Toyota or Honda vehicle tranny.)
Its a shame that when one buys a supposedly high end/quality vehcile, that he/she cannot count on the car to get the 150k we got on our old 95 Honda Accord and our 89 Toyota Camry. And we have owned Toyotas and Hondas since 1972.
I do not believe today in the old Toyota quality I thought was the basis of Lexus. I went back to Acura now, and have an rl. I hope this post helps someone. I didnot post this to get people angry, just to suggest that you look into some of the older posts.
Gist is that this is not a new problem.
Good luck to all in the new year and stay safe
jensad
Shift solenoids are inside the trans. The whole valve body gets changed, not just a solenoid. It is so expensive to change the valve body is usually only makes sense to do a whole trans rebuild at the same time. If it is truly a shift solenoid not working correctly, this is usually not due to a solenoid failure, but due to other trans parts deteriorating and hanging up the solenoid.
SOP...!!
I would be extremely surprised if I dropped the pan/sump on a "tranny" with more than 50,000 miles and didn't find...."SLUDGE".
The clutch (and bands for the oldies) frictional surfaces wear over time and use. ATF is specifically formulated to not hold the resulting debris in suspension so it settles to the bottom.
Tearing the damn thing down, removing it first, enough to replace clutch frictional surfaces and seals would be a nightmare in comparison.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/
Just press "search selected type" button.
the failure will be listed under "Powertrain: Automatic Transmission"
It is the closest thing we can collectively do to get closer to a class action until someone picks up the ball.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
then press "continue with complaint"
The '99 and early '00 RX300 models appear to have a transaxle design flaw that results in premature transaxle failures in as little as 70-80,000 miles. Insofar as I have been able to learn Lexus has NEVER addressed the problem of the design flaw for these MY's. Only offering, sometimes, to partially compensate owners for repair costs.
If the 2000 RX300 you have purchased has the towing package that will be something/somewhat of a good indication that it is one of the late 2000 model year RX300's.
Once Lexus discovered, came to realize, the nature of the design flaw the corrective action/FIX appears to have been to change the transaxle's firmware so the line control hydraulic pressure is always kept up to a higher pressure level than the original design specifications called for. That resulted, of course, in more heating of the ATF than was expected with the original design pressure and so most, if not all, future vehicles were shipped with the optional (NOT..!!) tow package which included the auxiliary external ATF cooling.
It appears that this technique, "patchwork" fix, continued up until DBW, E-throttle was adopted for the RX330 series. DBW could be, was used, to delay the onset of engine torque when a transaxle gear change was required and ATF line pressure was not sufficient. DBW was used to "enforce" a delay in the onset of raising engine torque long enough for the line pressure to be pumped up to an acceptable level for fully and firmly seating the clutches for the upcoming gear change.
MNF
In terms of the class action lawsuits, I will be very happy to participate/help with that, but I have the following questions:
1) We would clearly want to work with a company with a stellar record on class action lawsuits. How do we know which is the right company?
2) Can the people who initiate a lawsuit of this kind get into any kind of trouble for doing so?
3) Are these suits filed directly with hundreds (or maybe thousands) of people to start, or do they have a handful of primary plaintiffs and then the rest just tag on to that?
I have tried talking to the dealers in the bay area, CA and none of them want to take off a dollar of the price that they quote. They say we should talk to Lexus if we want any discounts..
3500-4000 dollars is more typical.
link below. http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintsearch.cfm?step=2&t- -
I am looking at buying a 2000 RX300 with 93k.
I notice a lot of the trany comments are coming from the California area.
I'm in the Northwest.
Is the outdoor temperature the biggest factor in the trany failure rate?
Can one install an after market tow package oil cooler to extend the life of the trany?
Any info or help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Many of the original transmissions were not reliable after about 60-70,000 miles. The ones that were trouble-prone tended to have a few issues with them, and have been generally low-mileage (higher mileage crappy trannys tended to have been replaced during the long original warrantee). The bad ones usually show symptoms and/or burned fluid indicating internal wear and tear. Others go far longer, hundreds of thousands.
If you're looking at one with burned fluid consider passing on it, or expect a bargain needing a replacement tranny. So if that's the reason you want to add a cooler, it's not likely to help a lot. However, YES you can add more cooling. I added an additional cooler after Lexus replaced my transmission under warrantee. The added cooler was cheap insurance, and easy to install. Most likely the model you're looking at has the factory external cooler in the RF fender, behind the windshield washer bottle which was included in the tow package nearly all came with. It's ducted but there's no fan, so that factory cooler is only effective when the car's moving at a good clip, another drawback affecting those that idle a lot. The tranny replacement I got was a brand new updated tranny from Lexus, all expenses paid. This was a very common occurance for higher-mileage, especially early 1999's. This new one (2004) shifts flawlessly, reliably, and it does not burn fluid the way the original did. Compared to the original transmission, I expect the replacement to last a long time.
Also I recommend a "search" in RX300. There are lots of posts with common questions. One I found is link title. But there are lots of good posts. It's a great question.
Honestly, RX300's weren't perfect, but what nine year old car with the utility and convenience this little car has, is? I think if you're looking at a good one and you're a careful shopper, it is possible you'll find the car comfortable, safe, full of everyday convenience in a smart size, as well as reliable.
Post up questions that come up with some details. There are bound to be some. Good luck.
When the ATF accumulator was dropped from the Camry transaxle design to make room for building a more robust transaxle for the soon to be released to production RX300 they obviously didn't foresee the problem associated with a need for a downshift for re-acceleration immediately following an upshift resulting from a throttle lift.
So the '99 and '01 RXes, at least the earlier '01's, had premature failures, most likely clutch failures, due to the lack of sufficient ATF pressure when the firmware commanded a downshift for re-acceleration.
My guess is that by about mid-production of the '01 model the mistake/oversight was discovered and the only quick and easy "fix" was to modify the firmware so that the "real-time" "bottom level" control of ATF line pressure was substantially increased.
While this would result in more line pressure being available for that "unexpected" downshift it would also result in substantially more heating of the ATF then had been planned. As a result almost all, if not actually all, 01-03 RX300's were shipped with the towing package which just happened to include an external ATF cooler.
But since the actual heating was restricted to a local area, the ATF pump and "real-time" pressure relief valve, the extra ATF cooling was not of great help. My '01 had ATF that was quite burned and odorous at only 40,000 miles.
When the RX330 (Camry, HL, ES300, Sienna...) rolled off the production line with DBW the transaxle failure problem was finally SOLVED.
Except the customers did not much care for sometimes having to wait 1-2 seconds after gas pedal depression for GO....
The 2010 RX350 now has new firmware to help with the reluctance to GO...
Since you didn't notice a problem with it until you're long passed the long mfr warrantee, likely you (the owner) are responsible for the cost. But Lexus has been providing other owners with partial loyalty (goodwill) discounts on out-of-warrantee transmission work done by them for established customers or to earn your business. I don't believe they are under any obligation if you had nine years/80,000 miles of use, but I could be wrong. But I also believe if you have an established relationship with the Lexus dealer and you ask, they will try to work with you on a Lexus transmission, especially if you show you asked them to perform preventive service on the transmission which likely was in addition to the manufacturers suggestion.
You may want to share some of your experiences on this site. For instance, how the dealer tries to work with you, how brown/burned is your transmission fluid, how long ago it was last changed, etc. Good luck, and let us know the details.