Dear mates, I come to this very sad momment for my 2007 GS350 RWD, last friday at night when I was about to go out and put my car in reverse to go outside my garage and I noticed a HUGE puddle of oil, stopped the car and looked under to just find more oil, I parked the car and waited until next day, took it to the dealer and for my surprise my transmission is leaking BADLY!

Today I received a quote from the dealer and its a really painful to the pocket quote, 5.5k of repairs 7 QT of transmission Fluid, one "Tranmission Kit" 2.5K, an oil transmission pump 552 USD one oil gasket, and total labour of 1,575.

I am really curious what could happen on a transmission to start leaking so badly from one day to another, I am 100% sure that it wasnt leaking until that day, my garage was very clean until that day.

I am wondering what the hell is a transmission kit?!!

I will ask tomorrow what exactly happened to this transmission, It was smooth as silk and all of a sudden this leak! I really thought it was about something "easier" such as a bad seal or gasket but come on, this quote is like a completely new transmission!

I'm kind of disappointing with my 3GS, anyone with a similar situation or any tips or questions I could ask to the dealer? Really dont want to be ripped off!

Btw my 3GS is 112k Miles on the clock.

Any Recalls on the transmission or any seals? no much hope on there since its a 11 years old car, but who knows!

It was really a lot of oil leaking, I drove it to the dealer since its not far away and on the way there I treated the transmission with care and even while going there it was shifting smooth, this was really out of the blue!

Any help is kindly appreciated!

 

They're essentially rebuilding your transmission at that price. I'm assuming a transmission kit contains the clutches, etc. needed for a rebuild.

 

 

Do you have access to an independent transmission shop (not a Lexus dealer). They can likely repair your transmission a lot cheaper than the dealer. They won't replace parts that are not necessary for the repair like a dealer and their parts/labor costs will be cheaper also. Any competent transmission technician should be able to work on these transmissions. The design is pretty conventional as far as I can tell.

 

you made me worried, my car is 07 GS350 too with125K Miles. If I was in your situation, I will do the following:
1- tow the car to good mechanic (ask friends, search forums in your area, check google map) and get a quote on labour and ask him what needs to be changed
2- get a quote from junk yard like lkqcorp or car-part for the parts you need

see if the cost is worth it and if not check other options

 

Ebay is also an option. I saw several G3 transmissions listed recently for $500-$1000.

 

No way in hell I would spend that kind of money on a transmission that is still "shifting fine" like you said. I would watch Alchemist's DIY video on replacing the transmission filter and try that first. Sure, it's probably not the filter...but in doing that job you replace the transmission pan seal and that could very well be the culprit. It would be odd for it to not be leaking one day and then having a significant leak the next....but who knows? You could just try replacing the seal on the pan without even messing with the filter (though it looks pretty easy and it's cheap. Plus, with the pan off you're already right there). I hate to be cynical, but it sounds like the dealership is trying to make a nice profitable, but unnecessary repair. In the LEAST...I would get it out of the Lexus shop and get it to a reputable, independent tranny shop for a 2nd opinion. Please keep us updated on how this gets resolved. Wish you luck!!

 

I would agree with gr8fulred, lexus dealer sometimes exaggerates on what is wrong. I dont think it is because you want to rip you off, it is basically because they want to be on the safe side and replace everything that may be a possible cause so you wont come again complaining. So tow it to a good mechanic and get a second opinion, it might not be a big fix but if it is then go with used parts

 

Wonder if an ATF cooling line snapped off?

 

Take it to an independant transmission shop and have them inspect the transmission. It could be something stupid!

 

Moving the car to an Independent transmission shop tomorrow, visited the place and explained what happened and high level estimate is around 1.5k.. will keep updated.

 

 

I explained them with details what the dealer diagnosed, also they have quite experience, they are 35 years old shop specialized in automatic transmissions. I dropped the car today.. keep it guys updated.

Basically since the car started to leak through the transmission pan gasket, simply changing the gasket and refilling the trans with new fluid wont do the work, a lot of wear is inside the transmission because of its age and poor maintenace by previous owner, by the color of the fluid im sure no oil flush was made in the past, both dealer and the shop highly recommended to overhaul the transmission with a transmission kit and then add new fluid.

Lets see how it turns out..

 

Yikes ... good luck! I'm going to keep an eye on mine after reading this post.

 

this is why you don't assume this Toyota Lifetime fluid and sealed transmissions are truly "lifetime". Hell, my local Lexus dealer's service mgr told me they don't recommend changing/flushing the trans fluid until the 120k mile mark. Yours is at 112k and you say it looks pretty bad? I changed mine out at 76k, just a couple thousand miles after I bought it. I've now got 140k and the tranny is butter smooth. I'll change the fluid out again at 150k.