I have read a few pages regarding people with transmission issues but not sure exactly what’s going on with my car….

My 2011 Lexus ISF has 130,000 miles

The car will slip gears occasionally and will rev up the car before shifting as well

Today, the car threw the check engine light and the traction control light at the same time

At some points, the car would not respond to the throttle at all.

Now, the car is in limp mode.

I had it scanned and the following codes came up p1603 p2808 p2714 p0796

Three of these are for solenoids and one is for “Engine Stall History”

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this and know if I will need to replace the transmission as a whole?

The ATF was changed at around 80k miles by the previous owner

I have an appointment tomorrow with Lexus of Raleigh and another appointment booked on Monday with a more trusted mechanic but Lexus could get it looked at faster.

Any help would be much appreciated!

F my life! Lol

 

The question is what is causing the solenoid failure? If it's debris from the wet clutches in the gearbox clogging the passages, then you'd be best off getting another gearbox. If they've failed electrically, then just replace them and keep on driving. My suspicion is the fluid change wasn't done right and it has caused more problems than it solved. I went over 150k miles before I did a fluid change on mine, and it has over 200k miles on it now, still working as intended without complaints or issues.

 

@lobuxracer

its at Lexus dealership right now they are diagnosing the issue and I will find out tomorrow

Id like to have just replaced the solenoids myself but with how finicky the ATF process is I decided to bring it here

Im hoping the ATF just needs to be topped off or changed as this is what I read fixed other ISF with the same issue 🤞🏻

 

subscribing for I'm also in the raleigh area of dealships if needed down the road.(Wilmington)
Curious of whats going on and how they treat you.

 

@inovashn @lobuxracer

The Tech at Lexus of Raleigh was awesome and knows his stuff with F cars. All that needed to be done was top off the ATF and she’s running like a champ again!

Definitely recommend them.

 

If you look at the mother of all ATF threads, the first recommendation is always to fix the level. It's really rare to have DTCs from low fluid though. Usually you get flare from 1st to 2nd and you'll get a no shift situation after a hard turn. Glad it was a simple fix!

 

@lobuxracer

she didn’t run good for long unfortunately…

same issues are happening again so I think I might just replace the transmission.

replacing all the solenoids wills cost damn near what I can get a used transmission for online.

will an 08-09 ISF transmission fit in the 2011?

and would you recommend trying anything else before I replace it?


don’t really want to rebuild it would rather have it replaced if it comes down to it…

 

The parts reference I use says all years ('08 - '14) use the same part number (35000-53130), but Megazip shows a different part number starting in 08/2009 (35000-53140). There is a learning process for the TCU and you'll need Techstream to initially set it up. Looks like there are some pretty inexpensive used options out there, but I'm not 100% sure they are all compatible. Internet retailers seem to be around $5200 for a rebuilt 35000-53140 from Lexus. If it were mine, I'd cough up the extra dough for a unit with all new wear items and be nice to it. Mine is still happy with over 200k miles on it.

 

Has anyone ever researched or tried a 15+ aA80e from the rcf or gsf in an ISF? If the internals are the same the isf TCM should see apples to apples, no?

 

I took it back to Lexus since I’m having the same issue and they said the transmission pan has a dent that is possibly causing these issues.

They quoted me ~$1000 to replace it lol so Ive gone ahead and ordered the gaskets and transmission pan and will install this weekend.

Id rather do it myself so I can get a good look at everything and save some money while i’m at it.

They also quoted me $1300 for new rotors and brake pads on the front that I just purchased for $300 on eBay 🥴

Going to take a good look at the ATF when i change the pan to see if there’s any metal shavings but if it looks good then I think this could resolve my issue.

 

Sadly, this is not going to resolve your issue(s). Low risk, high reward replacing the filter, pan, and fluid but likely not going to solve anything. If you already confirmed proper fluid level and the issues have returned I’m afraid there’s more to it.

I’ve owned several ISF’s one of which had a terrible gearbox. Never any codes but the flare on that thing was concerning no matter the weather or driving conditions. It was slow to react and eventually got noisy, notchy and not Toyota like. I replaced it and never looked back…

When I opened it up it looked shiny and clean. No indications of failures or issues. However, I wouldn’t have wished that tranny on my worst enemy. Lol. Total ****box and not representative of any Toyota product I’ve ever owned in 30+ years.

I asked if anyone has tried a gsf/rcf aA80e because you can get one under $1k with very low mileage…

 

@mikellucci

intersting. still going to try to replace the pan, fluid and filter before spending thousands on a replacement.

just bought this car too which is kind of upsetting but it is what it is.

this is my 3rd Lexus and first one with ANY issues at all, also the highest mileage one though.

if I can replace it with a low mileage GSF or RCF transmission that would be very ideal!

@lobuxracer

do you (or anyone else) have any info on if the 2011 ISF transmission can be replaced with a GSF or RCF transmission?

 

I have no idea if they'll work. It would be great to know, but a huge gamble to find out.

 

I did replace the gauge cluster lens and the battery a few days prior to everything going to absolute ****

Had to remove the panels on the drivers side dash underneath the steering wheel.

Maybe one of the wires in there got disconnected or damaged during the process, will double check

Does anyone know what that wiring box on the left drivers side dash controls?

 

LOTS of things. It's not likely this would cause your problem though. Something under the hood with the ECM/TCU would be likely, but that's covered and bolted in place. It might not hurt to pull the cover off the ECM and look for rodent damage. I recently found a rodent nest underneath my intake manifold when blowing out the engine with my leaf blower right after rinsing everything off before doing a valve lash inspection. Luckily, they were not interested in chewing up my wiring harness, but seeing all that fluffy stuff blow out from under my intake manifold definitely got my attention. My car is garaged 100% of the time when not in use too.