lyonkster

I bought my '01 GS430 last December, and knew that the original owner had the transmission replaced by Lexus at 27,000 miles.

Now, at 40,000, I brought it in to my dealer because of delayed engagement into Drive, and they just told me that they are replacing the transmission assembly again.

I asked him why the transmission would need to be replaced at 27,000 miles the first time, and at 13,000 the next time, and he said that it was "very unusual". He did say that they are not allowed to work on transmission internals, and instead have to replace the entire assembly.

Anyway, it's covered under warranty, and I can't complain about a brand new factory tranny in my car, but just wanted to see what the rest of you think about this...

Thanks,

Leon

TLW

What kind of driver are you ?

aliti19

That's so wierd. My friend is a Lexus tech for a while now and he told me that he's never had to replace a tranny in a V8 RWD Lexus yet.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

johnny asked a good question, if you driver super aggressively, that could be one reason

but if you are not, i actually start to wonder if it's the tranny, considering that we don't have other people like that. i wonder if it's something else on the car causing that

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Over heating the tranny there.. If you drive like NASCAR's Jeff Gordon, put synthetic in there(Amsoil), or get a tranny cooler. It is quite rare for the tranny to fail like that.

lyonkster

Hehe, it's a good question, but I take no credit (nor blame!) for being the "tranny cruncher". I only had the car for two months, so this was all the previous owner's "doing", if it is in fact due to how the car was driven. Although everything else about the car suggests that it was very well cared for, and not abused.

Yeah, I think this is really the crux of my question. If this is not a common problem (as the dealer says and you guys confirm), I want to make sure that there is not some other issue that is causing the trannies to go every 20,000 miles. I guess I'll chat with the service guy some more and see what he thinks.

Leon

BRADSGS4

We Never Replace V8 Trans At Our Shop The Only One That We Ever See Is
When A Ls430 Gets A New One Due To Recall Situations On 04

Insomnia

what symptoms led you to believe there is a problem and take it to the dealer to get it checked? maybe other members can also look for the symptoms and get it checked before the powertrain runs out! Yikes...

rominl

iTrader: (4)

definitely ask to see if it's something to do with your car leon. ask them the question about what else could possibly affect the tranny, i think that might be the root cause

tommyGS3

iTrader: (4)

i had mine tranny replace
02 gs300 w/40k miles
that's because i wasn't carefull with my mods
2nd motor 2nd tranny and i'm still modding

Dx3

iTrader: (13)

Look on the positive side - you have a warranty! But I might consider getting rid of the car prior to the warranty ending if you have anymore transmission problems.

Jonny

chuckb

maybe wait until after they put the new trans in

salimshah

This is so reassuring, For a while in RX forum we saw a spike in tranny failures. It seems to have subsided.

Salim

Lexbox

If you park on a slope, engage the parking brake before you shift the car into park. You can tell you need to if the car rolls forward or backwards considerably. My step-dad had the same problem in his Avalanche before I figured his problem.

kyle98GS

iTrader: (2)

I've seen that problem before in Nissan 240sx's and here was the major reason behind that issue.

The tranny goes bad for what ever reason....so it then get's replaced. Then a short time later, that tranny also goes bad.
Here's the reason. The metal particals from the bad transmission gets mixed in the oil and transfered through out the tranny fluid system. On the 240sx, the transmission lines go into the bottom portion of the radiator for cooling purposes then it's returned back to the tranny. Well, metal particals accumulate in the bottom portion of the radiator where the tranny fluid is, and the metal particals begin to build up a "CAKE" (or crust if you will). Some tranny shops will circulate new fluid through the radiator and try to flush out the metal cake, but it WILL NOT get it all out. This metal cake it typically really fine almost like a dust and when it builds up it's hard to remove it. Anyway, after the new tranny is installed, and the lines are reconnected, the tranny fluid will get hot and with this heat and line pressure, it will slowly begine to loosen SOME of the cake. Then the metal dust (cake) gets recirculated right back into the new tranny and it lives a short life.

Now...if the Lexus has tranny lines going into the bottom of the radiator then i would start there. Typically we block off the lines going into the radiator and run an external oil cooler so that in the event there is ANY metal cake from the bad tranny...it will not get thrown back into the mix.

Just a thought.

Kyle