1991 LS400...bought two months ago with 155k miles....my mechanic said in great shape...now 157,500 miles....drove this morning and reverse light stays on regardless of gear...car will not shift out of first. Checked fluid in idle after driving 5-7 miles...cold is covered in fluid...hot is sparse but present...obvious difference but does it indicate low?

HELP!

 

Welcome...
First is what is the color of the fluid?

Otherwise this might be the next step:
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/trans...anschange.html

 

The fluid was an orange/brown color...

 

Not good. Flush it right away. Simple to do at home hope it helps you.

 

Easy DIY is drain the fluid from the pan and replace accordingly. It will take a spell to cycle through but it will begin to show if the tranny needs more intervention beyond a fluid change. This is the least expensive route to try first. No power flush

Although unrelated to the tranny, check all the fluids. Better yet, do a drain interval on them all: Power steering, differential and brake fluids. A sure sign is when the tranny fluid is not red is the other fluids are in equally bad shape.

 

Thank you both very much. I will do both ASAP.

 

i think dropping the trans pan and changing the filter would also be a good idea at this point