sheriffwoo

So I just purchased an 07 gs350 104,000miles. Drove fine during test drive. Got it home (private party) and so far 3 times in 2 days, pulling away from a stop light throttle. Car moves forward but transmission slips to about 2000rpm and then a thud- as it re-engauges into I think first gear.Engine coolant was low (heater did not work), so I refilled. Did not overheat according to gauge. Tried resetting battery.
Cannot see any sort of leak under car
Thoughts???

pman6

did you gun it from the light?

traction control can make clunk and thud noises when it kicks in

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Take it to the dealer do a full inspection, if transmission is at fault or any issues. Return the car to the seller, if not sue for money. Also I would look on clublexus.com pull the history of the vehicle, your vehicle may have had issues the seller didnt state.

gr8fulRed

sucks to hear you're having issues right off the bat like that. Hopefully you find out that its not too serious. As for "suing the seller"...doubt that proves to be an effective route. If it were a dealership...maybe, but even then (in most states at least) their purchase agreements, federal Buyer's Guide, etc state in writing that you're buying the vehicle "as-is" with no stated or implied warranty. A few states require a dealer to provide at least power train warranty as part of purchase price. As for an individual buying from another...unless you have something in writing that the seller is "guaranteeing, warranty, etc" the vehicle...then highly unlikely your money spent to pursue him will be well spent. Just spend that "attorney money" on the repair and chalk it up to experience for the NEXT transaction.

Good luck

Gotcha350

You might not have overheated the engine but depending how low the coolant was the transmission could have seen higher oil temps and with over 100k on the factory fill it could have just been enough to break it down. I would also have the pan dropped to see if you possibly have a clogged filter screen. Good luck!

realkrs

I'd agree unless there was something in whatever advertisement that brought you to the car using terms such as "Excellent condition", "nothing wrong with it" or the like you could bring a small claims case and hope. Buying used cars from private parties is generally a caveat emptor, buyer beware sort of situation where the onus is on buyer to make a determination of worth before plunking down his money.

Sounds like a direct clutch (or whatever Lexus might call it) failing inside the trans. How is reverse? If it doesn't do the same in reverse or worse then a filter/fluid change might help. Most auto transmissions make higher pressures in reverse so often that's where the initial problem is noticed. I'm speaking generally and from old knowledge - things could be quite different in today's Lexus transmissions.

Good luck with it; I know how it must be for you.

sheriffwoo

Ok. So the owner is so far co-operating. Thank you everyone for your help!
At WOT its totally fine- definitely not stability control or trac control. Definitely
The owner said the car was never low on coolant before or had a trans issue.
I dropped it of yesterday at his mechanics shop. They will drain-refill the trans and pressure test the cooling system- he is paying for that. Have not heard back from shop yet but will update.

gr8fulRed

great to hear that the previous owner is fully cooperating and spending the money to try to help solve the issue. This act kind of restores my faith in humanity, lol. So any update yet?? Curious to learn if the problem was diagnosed and what the solution is. Hope all turns out well.

sheriffwoo

Seller just told me they are bringing in a lexus "specialist" tomorrow. He said the fluids where fine. Not sure if it happened for him on a test drive or what the deal is yet

sheriffwoo

UPDATE
So the Lexus 'expert' says it needs a new trans. The dealer does sell the 1-2 shift solenoid in case anyone has a similar problem and wants to try that.
But, I easily found a 67k mile wrecked car from a junkyard, $700 shipped! They are everywhere for $700 to $1000, even the AWD one! Its the same trans as the IS250/350 and because its RWD its easy to change.
The shop where the buyer took it to, quoted him $2,000 for a junk yard trans (not sure how many miles on it) out the doo-r and the buyer said to him "Do it, I(he) will pay for it".
So, the buyer is willing to pay for a junkyard transmission and labor to change it!!!
No leak found for the coolant low (1 gallon), but a few years ago in the service records he had the coolant changed at a shop, so perhaps it has been low for awhile and took out the trans?
Will update when more info.
THANKS EVERYONE!

Gotcha350

Good luck with everything...I can't. see how they would miss a gallon of coolant...that's a lot...that's almost half of the entire cooling system capacity...it had to go somewhere...keep an eye on all that...

ta1972

iTrader: (1)

Would like to know the updates as well. I'm having the same issues with the trans. I'm planning to change out my trans on my 06 gs430

sheriffwoo

Car is supposed to be done tomorrow.
WIll keep an eye on coolant, for sure thanks!

I used partrequest.com and found a bunch of transmissions, although it was $40.
I also saw partmyride.com had some.

I will update soon.

Gotcha350

If it was me I would have had the shop drop the pan and clean/replace the filter...and clean the valve body...just to be preventive...

ta1972

iTrader: (1)

Be careful sheriff woo. I recently had the trans issues similar to yours and I recently changed out the trans and still have the same clunk issues coming to a stop,. It could be ecu related, but not 100% possitive on this. This might be my next replacement. Tell me how yours go?