tsa89

I have a 2005 GX470 with 133,000 miles. On Saturday evening I pulled up to a friends house and was talking to him through the window with my foot on the break. I tried to shift back in to park and the shifter moved but my transmission only moved to neutral. I then could move the shifter anywhere I wanted but the car wouldn't go to any gear or park.

I had it towed by AAA to one of their shops and they called me Monday morning saying I definitely needed a new transmission. I could not believe it since they'd only been open 45 minutes, didn't drop the pan etc. I then had it towed to AAMCO.

AAMCO ran tests and decided it was the transfer case. They took the transfer case off and there is no problem with it and they could look in the back of the transmission and there is no problem there either. They are now trying to figure out what the problem is. I have no idea. I have not had a car for 4 days now - been using rental - and am really tired of it.

I also called the Lexus dealership and they have no clue what it might be after talking with me on the phone. They said its highly unlikely the transmission is out given the mileage and the fact I keep it serviced. I'm about to just pay for another tow and have them do a diagnostic.

Anyone have any ideas? It would be greatly appreciated.

mrblister

The obvious sounds like some disconnect between the shift linkage and transmission. If you open your cup holder and pull straight up on it will come out then you will be able to look into the console at the shift linkage as well as the parking brake cabling. That would of been my first place to look. Report what lexus finds It does not sound like its a serious problem imho.


Good luck

RCsGX

See attached PDF....

tsa89

Thanks for the leads guys. I passed these along to AAMCO. I have also read that it could be a solenoid. That make sense to any of yall?

RCsGX

Could be but usually the check engine light will come on. See the attached PDF for their locations.

I'm in no way an expert but I would think since you didn't get a check engine light it would be something mechanical and simple like the linkage coming loose. I'll leave this up to Mann777.....Mann777 where are you!??

Lexmex

This actually happened to my neighbor with a 2001 RX300 and we popped open the similar are in her vehicle and fixed it temporarily with some plastic ties and duct tape until we could get a new cable.

mann777

You are right ! have a look at the solenoid at the transmission case. There are 7 Solenoids within. You need to look at each and check about the serviceability condition by powering induvidually to check which is blown.

Attached is the solenoid you need to look. This is one possible area.

tsa89

The AAMCO guys took the transfer case out and saw nothing was wrong. They then looked inside the transmission and saw nothing was wrong. They put the transfer case back in to the car and it all of the sudden worked. Crazy deal. I guess it was something electrical?

Either way I went from thinking I had a $3,000 - $4,000 problem on my hands to $0.00. I did appreciate their honesty and effort so I am having them do about $1,000 worth of work on my car - replace hub bearings on one wheel, transmission filter and fluid, and another minor item.

I have 133,000 miles on it and want to drive this thing to 200,000 and then keep it as a third car. When do you all think I should get the timing belt changed? I looked at it and had them look at it and it looks fine but I am pretty paranoid about it.

Any other advice you all have to keep this car running? This potential problem scared me pretty bad and I want to do whatever preventative maintenance I can. I have the money so don't be bashful. I really want to take good care of this car.

RCsGX

You need to use Toyota World Standard "WS" fluid. Even if they can use that fluid I would rather have Toyota / Lexus mess w/ it.


I think you're talking about the accessory belt. You can't see the timing belt unless you tear into the engine which if you do that you'd be replacing the timing belt & water pump due to labor costs it takes to look at it.

If it's never had a timing belt change at 90K you're long overdue. I'd replace it asap. Our engines are interference engines so if it breaks when the engine is running you're going to have a pretty hefty bill to fix / replace your engine.

YoshiMan

AAMCO didn't charge you a dime for doing all that? That amazes me because i hear nothing but horror stories from those guys. Maybe you got one of the good stores!

A think the problem with many repair shops is they actually don't diagnose anything, but will simply see if the part works or not and then suggest a full replacement if it doesn't!

For example: I have an LS400 as well, and one of the guys in that forum bought a 98 model with a non-functioning CD changer. the prior owner told him the Lexus dealer looked at it shortly after it quit working and said it was gonna be a $2000 something job to replace the CD changer, to which they declined.

The new owner on the forum simply poked his hand into the CD changer slot, and noticed that a hair pin was stuck in the magazine bay. He pulled it out, and bam, it worked fine afterwards! The technicians probably took two seconds to just see if it would turn on, and "diagnosed" it as non-functional

tsa89

You sure you can't see the timing belt without taking it apart? I popped the hood and looked down inside the engine and saw a belt connected to about 6 different cogs. Figured it had to be the timing belt...

mrblister

Nope what you saw is the serpentine belt. My best advise would be to use the Lexus dealership when it comes to engine transmission etc. The trans oil does not need to be changed unless you are doing heavy duty towing.

RCsGX

Yes I'm sure.

tsa89

Ha. Don't know why I'd be dumb enough to argue with you after all the info you've given.

What should replacing the timing belt, water pump, radiator lines etc. cost? $1,400 sound about right? I've called 3 places in Austin and they've all been in that range.

Crispy3M

If you care about your vehicle, then RCsGX is someone you definitely want to listen to...