So when I try to pull in second gear it tends to stutter at high revs and sometimes there's a whining noise coming from the transmission. But when switched to third gear it goes smoothly at higher revs and everything

 

How many miles on the car?

Looks like you may have blockages in the transmission's valve which prevents shifting.

Before that blockage destroys your transmission and cause a very expensive replacement, try to replace the fluid. If it does not improve, try a transmission flush. If it does not improve, the problem is not caused by the transmission.

Toyota / Lexus recommends transmission service every 50K miles or sooner. Dump the fluid and clean the filter and the pan of any debris. A flush is recommended every 100K.

 

The car has 400000 km on it. The engine itself is fine and hasn't lost power after all this time, surprisingly. I did a transmission flush a couple of months ago and it seemed to improve the situation, but now i tried doing a pull and its stuttering again. Thank for the reply