just yesterday i was driving and then i come home and i park, i try to shift into reverse but it gets stuck (well you know when the car is moving it wont let you shift into reverse) i try a couple times by shifting up and down and it wont get into reverse. sometimes it would get in and sometimes it wont. i might think its is the netural safty switch. i have 140k miles on the car and trans.
should i do a trans flush and fill? i had done a flush and fill last year

 

A flush/drain and refill wont help. Your transmission is fine. It seems like your shift linkage is fine too since you're able to get in an out sometimes.

There could be two things wrong. My guess is either your shift lock control ECU or the key interlock solenoid. The shift lock control ECU is located near the shifter, and the key interlock solenoid is located on the ignition key body.

Either have Lexus or a competent mechanic check out both ECU and solenoid.

Sorry I can't be more of a help to you. Theres just more than one possibility of culprit, and I rather not have you replace parts randomly.

 

thats cool, at least you helped narrowed it down. but looks like today it is shifting fine. i had resetted the ecu. i dont think that would had fixed it. i'll see if it still happens later on

 

is it obviously electrical over mechanical?

GS3 or GS4?

how's it running now?

 

its a gs3, right now it seems fine but what gsteg narrowed down seems like it would be the parts. still cant tell what is the problem.

 

The ECU in the engine bay is different from the steering lock ECU. Sometime resetting the main ECU wont have an affect on other control units.

 

Mine did the same thing to me twice today. 98 GS4. My CEL light is on due to a bad O2 sensor. Would this throw a code as well?

JimA

 

no this lock up will not throw a code. im not sure why my trans did that. it will shift to drive but not reverse unless i step on the gas and move forword. it just sometimes sticks.

gunnut how many miles is on your veh.

 

109511. (I have to track my miles for work)

 

oh ok not as bad as mine, are you in a cold climate?

 

Sounds like a bad PNP, Park Neutral Position switch, but you should be getting CEL and a P1780 code for that...

 

Kansas City. Not artic, but it gets cold here.
JiMA

 

I'm not sure if its true, but sometimes when you don't use reverse to often the gear seems to get stuck because of un-use of the gear. My friends honda civic has had the same problem, but for it to work for him he just had to use it to clear up the jam.

 

I doubt that is my issue as I use reverse 15-20 times per day.

JimA

 

My GS300 got a similar, if not the same, problem. You should be more specific when you say "stuck". At the moment, I am able to freely move my shift stick with no problems, however, none of the gears actually engage when I shift the stick. The tow truck guy was able to manually get my car out of "D" and get it into neutral so I could turn my car back on (except by then the batteries had run out). Keep in mind you can't turn your car on when you're on "D" as a safety feature... so if you're stuck on "D" for whatever reason, don't try to turn the car on 10 times like me, as it will drain your batteries VERY quickly. I am still in the process of trying to get the car fixed, and still unsure of what the problem might actually be. It's got 144k miles on it, 1999 model. I've called several repair shops and one of them told me that it might actually be the shift linkage, but nothing is for sure until I actually take it in.