faithmkss

Im looking for another lexus. Mine is great but at 345k so, I need to find another. Mine is 96 es300, wonderful car. Never knew the quality of these cars til I got that one. So as Im looking im having a hard time. I dont have a LOT of money but enough to get something better. Which is like year 2000 and under. One thing I have noticed quite a bit is 1999 es300 has numerous reported tranny issues. But isnt this the same transmission used in other years as well? I see there are two different types. I would not mind buying a 99 if I could figure out what is going on with the transmission. Could it just be sensors going bad? Solenoids? Or is this car just a bad choice? I can deal with most car issues but not a bad transmission. Any years better than another? I really did not want to stay in the 90's but if the mileage is low its not such a big deal. But advice and opinions are needed. Thank you

LeX2K

The 1999 ES was the first year the U140E was used in place of the A series transmissions. The U series is not a resilient to neglect as the A series IMO so something to keep in mind. Generally speaking many people completely ignore the transmission until it fails. You're going to have a really hard time finding a car that is of the same quality as what you have, in fact you won't. The generation 2 ES is easily one of the best cars ever built.

It is getting harder and harder to find the older ES300's with reasonable mileage. Something like this looks decent, good luck in your search.

faithmkss

I really appreciate your response. I have noticed that some 99s do have the A series transmission, or it can also be used. After thinking this over, I may just be better off finding a car with my year and decent mileage, like 160k. I have seen some advertised, I was just turned off by the late year. However quality is definitely a factor here so I may just look at finding something in the 2nd generation with decent mileage. Thanks again.

Jaden1

Lexus changed to the U140E in mid-99. Some early 99s still have the A series. You can tell from the dipstick, as it will say use Dexron III versus Type T-IV. You can also tell from the number of bolts on the tranny pan. The A series has 17 bolts and the U series has 18 bolts. I just bought a 99 with 150,000 miles last month and my owner's manual actually says to use Dexron III, but my dipstick says to use Type T-IV and I have the U-series tranny. Oh, you can also tell from the door jam label. It will say U or A series tranny.

Anyway, I put a 1,000 miles on mine so far and the tranny has been fine. I did perform a drain and flush and replaced the filter. I wouldn't be afraid of getting a U-series car. Plenty of them have gone 200+k miles without a tranny problem. If you're dead set on the A-series, then get a 97 to mid 99.

faithmkss

I cannot tell you how helpful this information is. I thought I was gonna have to count bolts if I wanted to find out. But if it is easily accessible (the transmission type) that way I would not rule out 99's....thanks so much!

DJPsystems

A541 has a throttle valve cable coming from the transmission to the throttle, the U140 does not.