matheus

I bought a Lexus RX300 2000 with 151k miles two months ago.

Today at the freeway everything running normal then my car shift down to 2nd and then to 1st and after that won't run anymore.

The engine stay on, working normal, but the car don't running more, even in D or R.

Don't matter where was my transmission position , drive, park, reverse, nothing happening , car just stay stopped.

I took my car to my Dealer and they call my tonight and said:
We replaced transmission filter and fluid, car is ok now.
Running normally, but we won't give you any warranty of transmission.

So they charged me $360 for the service including towing.

Also someone said:
You have to change transmission fluid every 15.000 miles
Is that right ?

I don't think filter and fluid has fixed my car problem at all, based on the problem I had.

What you guys think ?


Thanks in advance for your help.

salimshah

Transmission problem is bad news.

You need to get more information from the person who did the repairs ..

Was the fluid level low?
Was the filter clogged?
Did they see gray matter all over the fluid and in the innards of the transmission?

Your mechanic is the best source of real information on your transmission.

Specific instructions are NOT to power flush.

Here on CL RX300, the general consensus is to drain and fill every year of about 15000 miles. Following this regimen does not guarantee any thing as the failures have not been conclusively attributed to transmission fluid breakdown. Drain and fill is easier than engine oil + filter change on RX.

Salim

matheus

Thanks for your Answer Salim.

They said : your filter was clogged.

What I don't understand is why my car just stop to run, my car still on but the transmission not working more.

Just after replace filter and fluid of the transmission, back to work normally ? just it ?

Because my car transmission stop to work at all D/P/R/2/L looks like as my transmission was disconnected from my car, nothing was working in transmission.

Also when my car broke, the transmission fluid smelled burnt.

Thanks,
Matt

hypervish

I suggest changing the fluid another 3 times. Just to make sure you get all of the old fluid out of there.

It's very likely there is some damage done to the transmission, because it wasn't getting fluid due to a clogged filter.

salimshah

There are physical gears inside the auto-transmission and the mechanical coupling between the engine and the transmission is by the transmission fluid. If there is no fluid or very little fluid then the coupling is lost.

If I were you, my major concern would be what caused the filter to clog. Under normal operation, there should not be any reason to clog the filter .. unless something is breaking apart. The other thing is the fluid became thick and would not flow easily through the filter. The former is impending trouble and the later can be fixed by replacing the fluid. Hyper is alluding to the fact that a drain and fill does not replace all fluid. By repeated drains and fills you can change out the majority of the fluid. Under normal conditions a drain and fill is just fine as one is trying to remove sediments and slightly freshen the fluid. Unlike engine oil, the transmission fluid does not get contaminated.

You may like to visit the repair place to get an idea if they saw metal particles clogging the filter.

Salim

lserlohn

whining noise, slipping and can not drive forward or backward are three indications of transmission falling.

google: lexus rx300 transmission

matheus

Thanks for all your answers !

trob

i need another replacement tranny for 2001 rx300

lexina

If it was a loose wire, or easy cleaning of a clog solenoid, I guess they still do the filter and fluid service, and put that on the paper- that fixed the problem. They will always come up with something and guarantee any service will not be an easy service for the lexus owners. Even if they warranty any work they performed, they will always come up with something for a charge....they could fix the warranty problem, but that sounds bad for the quality work (and they wont do any work for free even it is under warranty), so you just have to prepare for the shock of the things they can come up with. I am sure any mechanic out there can always come up with something that make sense to the related problems.

Take an example: you just got a starter replaced with warranty, and it failed in a week. you took it back, they replaced the faulty starter, but put on paper they found a bad ground cable.

M45owner

We went through the same thing as the OP. No indication of failure...misshifted on the highway. Pulled off of the highway and car wouldbt do anything in reverse or drive. Lexus burned a hole in my wallet for a new tranny.