Lexls400

I have a 2000 ES300 with 156,000 miles on it and I notice that I have been replacing alot of things that shouldn't go wrong with the car. For example I put in a new transmission at 144,000 miles that cost 4300.00 after I did ALL of the maintances that the dealer suggested to me on the transmission. Just recently I had to have some peice in the steering replaced that cost over 370.00. this peice was the part that connects the steering and it was binding up they said. If it totally went out I would totally lose the steering on the car which would cause a collision. The dealer also said at the same time when they were lookng at my car that the AC Condensor is leaking and also something in the coolant system is leaking... Why should all of these things happen to a car that I well take care of? I do not abuse the car like some people do and I just think that this is totally ridiclous. Lexus also isn't exactly reasonable in repairing these things either. I had a 1990 LS400 that was 10 years older than this car and that car never once skipped a beat with the engine, transmission or any of the other parts like this. Infact my dad also had a little cheap 1988 Toyota Corolla with almost 200,000 miles on it and that car never needed anything near the things that I have had done. All that car did for my dad is run and kept running. If my dad had that much good luck with a little cheap 1988 Toyota Corolla then I expect Lexus to be better then that. Isn't that what the slogan means? The Passionate Persuit of Perfection? I even asked Lexus for assistance in helping me out with the issue of the transmission and they did nothing. Could my car be a lemon? Could there be a way to check this out? If not it sure seems like it could be. I really just need to get rid of this car because I can't afford to keep repairing it like this but then again I can't afford a different car either so I'm stuck with this car...

brandoe91

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it's a lemon. Every car is different ,don't compare . The car is a 2000 ..10 years old (things are destine to go wrong eventually).I had my transmission change for $1000 , not sure why yours cost so much.That's my only concern about your cituation.

BoostedE21

A friend of mine has a 1920's Model T that needs repairs too. Parts only last so long.

Personally, I'm amazed that a transmission lasts 140k miles. Think about it - constantly engaging and disengaging at all sorts of rpms, going through thousands of heat cycles, constantly rotating. That's unbelievable. It is unfortunate that yours failed, though.

If you just recently bought it, you could look into your local lemon laws. But just because an old car needs repairs doesn't mean you should be able to dump it for free.

A/C service is pretty typical at least once in a car's lifetime. It's a high stress component with a lot of heat cycling.

Coolant hoses and the like - rubber doesn't last forever. The steering joint is odd, though. These cars have rack and pinion, right? I can't imagine how that would bind up unless the universal joint was falling apart.

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

I doubt it's a lemon. Cars do wear out over time but I've had some really good luck with my current car. It has 250k on the original tranny and still going strong.