lyonkster

Sure, good question.

From what I can tell from original owner's repair records, the first time the tranny was replaced by the dealer was because it would not "shift well" until warmed up.

This second time around, I noticed that when I move the gearshift from R to D (like after backing out of a parking spot), there was a delayed engagement, maybe about 1 second from the time I put it in D to when it actually was fully engaged. This may not seem like a long time, but it is a very long time to wait if you just backed into a street and there is a cement truck barreling down at you. And if I made the "mistake" of stepping on the gas right after puttting it in D, then the RPMs went up (since the engine was free-wheeling), followed by a pop/lunge when the tranny actually engaged. Charming.

I thought it might be something in the valve body, but like I said, the dealer said they do not disassemble trannies - if anything is wrong, they remove and replace them with new factory trannies. At least under warranty; I can't imagine customers paying for a whole new transmission if it only needs a valve body cleanup/replacement.

Hope this helps.

Leon

LexFather

Leon, sorry to hear this. I would not have bought the car, knowing its tranny was replaced, maybe a clue that this is a rare Lexus with reliablity issues or the previous owner treated the GS like crap.

lyonkster

I will definitely do that, thanks for the suggestion. My concern is what if they say "We don't know"?

Part of the problem is that they do not disassemble the transmissions that they remove. The service manager said that Lexus does NOT allow them to open up trannies; they have to send them back to Lexus unopened. So, he was griping that they don't get a chance to examine them, to see what went wrong, etc. Hmmm, I wonder if I can force the issue a bit and see if I can get them to look into mine, to make sure there are no underlying issues (such as the caking) that will blow a third tranny in the next two years. I think I'll call them and see - thanks for the advice.

Other than that, I guess I just have to cross my fingers and hope that they find the underlying cause, if there is one (other than the trannies themselves being bad).

Leon

lyonkster

That is true, and I sure am glad for the powertrain warranty! But I hate to get rid of the car just because of this, unless it becomes a regular occurence. Maybe third time's the charm!

Leon

lyonkster

That is certainly possible, I don't know how the original owner parked it. Maybe that is what it comes down to, that the original owner either abused it, parked it funny, or whatever. Hopefully that is what caused all this, and now in my gentle hands, it'll simply purr along .

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

With all the abuse it can get, the V8 RWD Lexus Tranny can easily take HARD, i mean HARD beating for AT LEAST 50K... so it might be something else going on.

lyonkster

Well, when I saw that the original one was replaced, i actually looked at it as a positive sign, thinking that the dealer was "thorough" and made sure that any little problems were fully dealt with. Of course now with #2 being replaced, I have a somewhat different outlook.

I am thinking of having a chat with my dealer on this issue, and somehow discussing the whole idea that this car may be a "transmission lemon" - although realistically, I don't know what I can ask for from them. I still have 30,000 miles on the powertrain warranty, so I do have time to see what will happen in the future.

phantastik

its funny i also got my tranny reaplce about 2 months ago but mine car is a 01 GS300 and it was also covered by the warranty. i took it to aamco transmission because i felt a kick on the second gear well according to aamco the tranny had burned oil and something in the tranny need it to get replaced it was gonna cost me like 3000 dollars to get it fix or get a used tranny from another lexus well i picked the used one because i had no the 3000 dollars well the car drive as usual but from time to time i still feel the kick not as often but one in a while anyone with this problems on there GS.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

at least you have them write that down, so if later on warranty expires or so, and you ahve the same problem again, etc... you have proof that you did your best and it's THEIR problem to fix it

Lexus GS3

iTrader: (2)

I had my 02 GS300 tranny replaced too at 14K. I found some tranny oil spill on my garage floor, and took it the dealer right away and they told me to leave the car there for 5 days b/c they need to replace the tranny to a new one. They didnt tell me the real reason why. So glad i bought my car new and it was under warranty, or else i'll be spending around 9 grand for a new tranny.

lyonkster

Hmmm, this sounds exactly like how my dealer handles transmissions - ANY sign of problems (be it delayed shifting or a leaky pan), and they yank it out and put in a brand new one. Like the service manager told me, that is what Lexus makes them do.

So, it's not that the two trannies in my car actually "broke", but rather they had some issues that probably could have been fixed with an adjustment or small repair - but given the dealer's policies, they ended up replacing them outright.

I did talk to the service manager, and he assured me that they'll look for any underlying issues - although to be honest, I suspect that this is more lip service than real effort. But, I have 30,000mi left on the warranty, so I don't feel too nervous. Yet .

Leon

sockfocks

iTrader: (1)

Delayed engagement sounds like a line is restricted or filter is clogged or pump pressure is too low. Not sure of the fluid schematic, I would think that fresh filtered fluid would be routed to the cooler then into the transmission, where it would be used since it is cooled off. Shavings from the clutches would be washed into the pan and the fluid filtered again...but...I could be wrong... Anyways its under warranty hopefully you wont have anymore problems...Do they replace the torque convertor when replacing with a new transmission?

TheRupp

Are you sure they aren't using the Acura 3.2TL/CL transmissions..?

I've honestly never even heard of a Lexus tranny failure before. The closest thing (someone mentioned earlier) was the RX330 and ES330 transmissions that would be hesitant to shift at first, but the issues have been resolved on those.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Those Acura transmissions are crappy. That is why I sold my CL for a GS4 back in 2000.

aliti19

My buddy just bought a CL-S w/ the 6-speed manual (thank God!) Those Acura auto trannys are horrible!