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twice in the last few weeks, i have backed the car out of the garage in reverse, then put in drive. the car would not move, but the engine revved up like the car was in neutural. after waiting several minutes the first time it took off ok. the second time the car started to move but at a much higher rpm than normal. reverse worked just fine. i tried maually shifting to 1,2,3,4 d, it made no difference.
has this happened to anyone else? if so any suggestions. the car has 54000 miles and the transmission has never been serviced, but the maintenance schedule doesn't call for changing transmission fluid. thank you.
Instead of just doing a drain and refill, I would just do the full transmission fluid flush since your LS only has 54K miles. I would assume that the majority of your 54K miles have been city driving due to the fact that our transmissions are strong.
I've had the same problem yesterday. I have an 2001 LS430 with 185,000 miles. Never had a problem before with the transmission. When I started the car, the battery was low ( I don't drive it often) and it cranked slowly before starting. I backed out of the driveway and put it in drive and noted the engine revving more than normal as I pulled away. Shifting manually didn't change anything. At the next block, it was back to normal.
What was the resolution for you? Thanks!
He posted his resolution above - a transmission flush at the dealer and a new battery. At a relatively low 54000 miles, a flush should be safe. At higher mileage, draining and filling at every oil change is lower risk than flushing. Also ensure your transmission is not overfilled - better to underfill than over. 1.8L is the 2000-2003 T-IV drain and fill spec, but if you can get 2L out, you can pour exactly 2 x 1L bottles back in. Also note that total system capacity is 8.9L, so each drain&fill is only putting 2/9 (less than 20%) new fluid into the system.
Having a weak battery (due to cold weather or due to battery age) or a battery with one dead cell (having a dead cell can still crank the engine) can cause strange behaviour in the LS430, according to other threads here over the years.
Also note that in cold weather and/or cold start, the engine will idle slightly above 1000rpm for the first few minutes. It will only drop to the normal operating range of 750 +/- 50 after the engine has warmed up a little. Driving around the block would be sufficient to do this warmup. But if you are saying the transmission remained in 1st gear and did not upshift to 2 until it warmed up, this isn't normal - possible problem with the 1-2 shift valve.
First check is to scan for DTCs, which can tell you if the neutral switch is misaligned or there are current/historical codes for the transmission. Second check in the service manual is to check voltages at the ECU while everything is plugged in with the ignition on. Third check is to check the battery connectors (clean them and liberally apply di-electric grease), and check the ECU harnesses.
The service specification for N->D lag time is less than 1.2 seconds, and for N->R, less than 1.5 seconds. If your lag time is longer, check your line pressure using SST 09992-00095 (aka 09992-00231 and 09992-00271) which can pinpoint the problem, check your O/D one-way clutch, forward clutch for N->D lag, and direct clutch and 1st/reverse brake for N->R lag.
For reference, my 2002 LS430 UL was 14 years old before I did a drain and refill (2L out, 2L in). The reason I did it at that time was because I had a very intermittent problem of delayed 1-2 upshifting when cold. That drain and refill was 2 years and 10,000km ago, and it solved that problem. The fluid was black and had particles in it (I used a 2L club soda bottle). I plan on doing a 2L drain and refill at every 8000km oil change until the fluid coming out is clean enough for my liking. It is super easy to drain and refill the A650E ATF - easier than changing the engine oil, which is already pretty easy with this car.
I've had the same problem yesterday. I have an 2001 LS430 with 185,000 miles. Never had a problem before with the transmission. When I started the car, the battery was low ( I don't drive it often) and it cranked slowly before starting. I backed out of the driveway and put it in drive and noted the engine revving more than normal as I pulled away. Shifting manually didn't change anything. At the next block, it was back to normal.
What was the resolution for you? Thanks!
I also had this problem with my 200k 01 LS430 and when I replaced the battery the issue went away. Trans operates like New again. The 01-03 trans were bullet proof! In 2004 they had a major recall and replaced a lot of the transmissions.
Now that you mention it, I see in my service tracker spreadsheet that I replaced the battery right before I did the 2L ATF drain and refill, and I remember that the old battery had barely enough juice to start the car. One or both of those things resolved the intermittent behaviour of delayed 1-2 upshift from cold start.
Also, since drain and refills are a small fraction of the total system fluid capacity, I have just created a transmission fluid calculation spreadsheet based on the chart that rkw77080 made at https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-04-ls430.html. All cells are formulas except for the capacity, drain amount, and fill amount. Assumptions: zero mileage between each change; full fluid recirculation between each change. In reality, your new fluid may not fall into the "new" category after an oil change interval, so you would need to add a factor in to account for that. Essentially, there is no need to do more than 4 drain and fills in a row. If you want to change out more fluid at a time, ask yourself if it's really necessary, and if so, extract it from the transmission cooler lines with the engine running, or utilize a shop's power flush system (and consider the risks of such a flush).
Drain and fills are incredibly easy to do on the A650E, you can do it without lifting the car, and has practically zero risk of damage, so there's really no need to do the more complicated process of using the cooler lines, or risking damage with a power flush. Just loosen the drain bolt, wait until 2L comes out (or 1.8L if you want to follow the spec exactly and are sure it was correctly filled and has never leaked), close it up. Add 2 full 1L bottles (or 1.8L if following spec) into the dipstick using a funnel. Job done!
I also had this problem with my 200k 01 LS430 and when I replaced the battery the issue went away. Trans operates like New again. The 01-03 trans were bullet proof! In 2004 they had a major recall and replaced a lot of the transmissions.
The transmission in my 01 was invisible. I couldn't tell when it was shifting. Smoothest transmission on the planet. My 04 (111) is still smooth and hard to detect w/ most shifts. Shifts perfectly under hard acceleration. Had the fluid changed. Now shifts quietly into reverse (there was a slight hesitation before).
Hey guys, I jus joined this site and have read many threads and found some very valuable info, thank you! I own a 2016 IS200t Fsport and I just bought a 2001 LS430 with 247,000 miles about 2 weeks ago. The 3 owners before took excellent care and there are records on carfax which Im in the process of getting. However, the LS430 needs some work on the front end which Im going to take care of myself and now Ive just noticed that after Ive driven it for a while and the trannie heats up, itll slip from 1st to 2nd. All other gears work fine, just 1st to 2nd and not everytime, randomly. Tonight it did it again and the check engine light came on. I got home and checked the fluid levels through all gears with it hot and running on flat ground and found the level was a little high but looked ok. I let it cool down for a while and started it up again and the check engine light went off. Im going to take the advice from you guys and do a drain and fill. Also, I think the battery thats in it (600 CCA) is not quite big enough to power this car with all of the powerd options on it. Im hoping that its jus the battery and a drain and fill and not the Torque Converter, Valve Body and screen or even worse the whole trannie! The guy I bought it from worked at Jiffy Lube so Im hoping he didnt do a flush on it. Im not in contact with this guy and cant get any info from him about the cars history but you guys are even better! What do yall think? Thanks!
P.S. Those wheels arent on the car... I photoshopped the pic just to see! I have the 17" wheels!
If the check engine light came on there should be a code present. Have someone, Autozone etc., pull the codes and you'll have a much better idea what's going on.
A 600cca battery is plenty for California climates. The battery provides a short burst of power to turn the engine over and start the car, once it's running the alternator powers everything.
I also had this problem with my 200k 01 LS430 and when I replaced the battery the issue went away. Trans operates like New again. The 01-03 trans were bullet proof! In 2004 they had a major recall and replaced a lot of the transmissions.
The recall was due to a potentially bad parking prawl (the thing that keeps the cars wheels locked when parked). Nothing to do with the shifting, etc. There is also a software fix that will stop '04s from downshifting unnecessarily into first gear at speeds below about 10MPH. The recall was done on my car, but I never dealt with the software reflash. I've had it since 2012.
I had a fluid exchange done at 110k as preventative.
My transmission shifts brand new and beautifully.
The 6 speeds are just as robust as the 5 speeds. Both indestructible Aisin units.
But it is stupid that there's no dipstick, I agree.
The car has 247,000 on the clock. Im in the proccess of getting the maintence records but I can tell you that the fluid isnt dark nor does it smell burned which worries me because I dont know if the last owner, whom worked at Jiffy Lube, power flushed the tranny or not. The fluid level is over the mark when hot by about a quart Im guessing. Im going to do a 2q drain and fill this weekend and make sure the battery is good. My girlfriend drove it today and she says it slipped from 1st - 2nd once when she first left the house and that was it. The check engine light never came on today! Im hoping its a simple fix, either way, Im gonna fix it because this LS430 is really nice!
I would like to thank AlexusAnja , GRAND_LS4 and PhoenixMGT for shareing accurate information about this transmission issue! I want each of you to know that I followed yalls advice and did a drain and fill with a new filter. I pulled out 4 quarts of really nasty, dark, super thin, burned trans fluid. Obviously the guy before me only added fluid. I have the complete service record for my LS430 and never has it had any tranny sevice in 247,000 miles! So.... as a result of the info from yall and $214.01 for the parts for tranny and a cooling system flush and new thermostat, NO SLIPPING! NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT! Im telling yall that this LS430 shifts like brand new! Smooth and quiet and crisp! I honestly cant belive it has this many miles and runs this good! Thank yall!
UPDATE Well... it only worked for a couple of days! I ended up having the trannie rebuilt and new torque converter and valve bodies installed. Started making a load clumk sound when put into reverse in the driveway to leave,, I bit the bullet and to it to the Lexus dealership and asked them to check EVERYTHING! They came back and said it was the motor mounts, broken vaccume line and a fuel vapor tank. They put new motor mounts and I fixed the rest and would yall believe this car at 250,000 miles passed every inspection with green marks! The Lexus Dealership said these cars WILL hit one million miles if taken care of! I feel pleased!
02-23-18, 08:00 AM
