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Follow up question: any guesses on what harm would happen if I just rode this transmission out? No service, no replacement. The problem is only in 4th but would it grow? Do I risk driving down the highway and then I suddenly can't go anymore?
The only thing that could happen is total trans failure. LOL! So do nothing and wait till it leaves you strained, try to replace the bad fluid with flush, OR replace the bad trans with a good, used one with a warranty.
DallasLex, I'm in the DFW area also. Do you happen to know anything about "TLS Auto Specialist Service & Repair" in Euless? That's the shop that I chose.
Generally speaking, it sounds like the consensus is leaning slightly more towards changing the fluid which makes the most sense. "Lifetime" anything just doesn't make sense.
Follow up question: any guesses on what harm would happen if I just rode this transmission out? No service, no replacement. The problem is only in 4th but would it grow? Do I risk driving down the highway and then I suddenly can't go anymore?
I appreciate everyone's feedback on a topic that I'm sure has been massacred through the years.
I’ve heard of them, but no personal experience with the shop as I live in the north Dallas area. TLS has some good Yelp reviews so they would be worth a try. Make sure you get a couple of estimates before settling on the shop.
There are additives in the fluid that keep the seals soft and flexible. Overtime those additives are depleted and the seals harden. Changing the fluid will allow for super slippery fluid to more easily bypass those now harden seals BUT it will also add those additives that will in turn cause the seals to get soft and flexible again. It takes time for this to happen. I would do a full transmission flush, drive the car for 5k miles and do it again. It may cause the problem to get worse initially but baby it and give it time. Your transmission should last 400k miles. Have a full transmission flush performed every 30k from this point forward. Lexus/Toyota claims "Lifetime" is actually 100k miles on their transmission fluid.
From my very own experience and same issue with my transmission that you clearly describe. Don't waste your time with this whole Fluid talk thing and all other people telling you about it. The tranny is clearly dying.
What you should do is :
- Find yourself a good low used Tranny
- Grab 6-7 bottles of new tranny fluid from Lexus Dealer
- Find a nice shop to replace the Tranny+New Fluid Flush
Trust me. I gone through the same issue before with my car. Done some deep research and even found a person saying he did all the tranny flush. still not going past 4th gear. The Lexus tranny isn't built to last.
x2 all the same in my case...find another tranny or rebuild this
Fellow Lexus owners. I am here with a final update. I was able to squeeze 18k more miles out of that transmission before it finally went kaput. 159,855 is when she stopped shifting out of 3rd gear. $2636, a replacement used transmission with 52k miles on it ($1,800), one Transmission Control Module computer ($300) and a month after dropping it off it seems the final verdict was the TCM was on it's way out. This put the rest of the system on the fritz. The mechanic guesses it effected the solenoids which effected the shifting which effected the entire transmission and eventually killed it.
I am happy to report that we are back on the road.
Unfortunately, as seems to be expected, new issues are cropping up. Before this transmission issue happened I had an Engine Error Code relating to an Intake Manifold Sensor Stuck Open at Bank 1. Once this started my fuel economy went from 34MPG to about 23MPG. I drive almost exclusively on the highway.
Fellow Lexus owners. I am here with a final update. I was able to squeeze 18k more miles out of that transmission before it finally went kaput. 159,855 is when she stopped shifting out of 3rd gear. $2636, a replacement used transmission with 52k miles on it ($1,800), one Transmission Control Module computer ($300) and a month after dropping it off it seems the final verdict was the TCM was on it's way out. This put the rest of the system on the fritz. The mechanic guesses it effected the solenoids which effected the shifting which effected the entire transmission and eventually killed it.
best asked on www.bobistheoilguy.com. my suggestion is to try to flush it with vavoline max life atf or if you want oem fluid use toyota atf ws. fluid capacity in the transmission is probably 7-8 quarts and 2-3 in the circulating system. you can release the atf return line to pump out the old fluid. something about new atf with friction modifiers will probably fix that flaring. toyota transmissions are robust. the fluid is not lifetime.
Agreed. I've used Valvoline Max Life on 3 different high mileage Lexus models (IS350, ES350, and GS350). Excellent results with all. Trans just runs smoother and is more responsive. I've put on 20k+ miles with no issues whatsoever.
Fellow Lexus owners. I am here with a final update. I was able to squeeze 18k more miles out of that transmission before it finally went kaput. 159,855 is when she stopped shifting out of 3rd gear. $2636, a replacement used transmission with 52k miles on it ($1,800), one Transmission Control Module computer ($300) and a month after dropping it off it seems the final verdict was the TCM was on it's way out. This put the rest of the system on the fritz. The mechanic guesses it effected the solenoids which effected the shifting which effected the entire transmission and eventually killed it.
I am happy to report that we are back on the road.
Unfortunately, as seems to be expected, new issues are cropping up. Before this transmission issue happened I had an Engine Error Code relating to an Intake Manifold Sensor Stuck Open at Bank 1. Once this started my fuel economy went from 34MPG to about 23MPG. I drive almost exclusively on the highway.
Transmission issues can cause engine codes to pop up. I’ve experienced an engine code P0354 which is misfiring from a bad coil. The coil was fine, the transmission fluid level was not. The issue was exasperated due to cold weather. It was the craziest thing.
To explain further, the IS is now my kids car and they informed they had a bunch of lights lit up on their display. My code reader came up with the P0354 which is a bad coil on cylinder 4. I just so happened to have a few spare coils due to changing the engine previously with a JDM. I swapped the coils out on cylinder 4 & 6 with the ones I had on hand. I then took the car for a test drive and nothing seemed different. I then floored the car and it had a hard shift between 3-4. This caused all of the lights to come back on the display. When I got home and slowed down to get in the driveway, the car was shaking fairly bad. It definitely felt like one of the cylinders was not firing correctly. Well, I knew when I originally filled the transmission with fluid after changing the engine a couple of years ago that it was too hot when I opened the overfill so I knew the level was just a little low. I decided I was going to ponder about the misfiring for a bit and just add another 1/2 quart of transmission fluid for the time being. After adding that 1/2 quart of fluid EVERYTHING was back to normal. The car was no longer shaking and the codes went away. My guess is that the transmission fluid must have foamed up and was affecting the torque converter which was affecting the idling of the engine and throwing a code.
I still stand by my reply that is further up on the thread from several years ago, change your transmission fluid. My anecdotal evidence is a 2002 Toyota Camry that I once owned. At 136k and during the winter time the transmission started to slip just like OPs. My brother rebuilt transmissions for a Chrysler warranty shop at the time and I asked him for advice. He simply told me to change the fluid and wait. If that doesn’t fix it then change it again. So that’s what I did. I ended up doing 8 drain and fills over a 15k mile period (6 month time frame for how much I was driving at the time). Around 8k miles or so the transmission was almost back to normal but I kept doing it. I sold that car with 270k miles and the transmission still shifted like new. The first couple of times changing the fluid, it did get worse but then it slowly got better. It needed the heat cycles to get the seals back in shape and for the new fluid to clean up any varnish. I also replaced the strainer on the first drain and fill.
Anyway, sorry if this is too much info but I hate to see people throw a lot of money at a car for no reason when there are other definite wear items that should be replaced instead.
09-14-18, 07:10 PM
