Hello Everyone,

I've been lurking this forum for some time now, researching the LS430. I've always liked the look of these cars. I ended up trading in my 04 Acura TSX 6sp w/200k for an 05 LS430 w/110k. A few days after purchasing it I noticed something strange. The first 20 minutes or so of driving it shifts and runs just fine, nice and smooth. After that it starts to shift funny. I'll be at a stop light, when the light turns green I'll lightly get on the throttle and it accelerates in first to about 10-15mph. Then it feels like it up shifts 2 gears really fast. After that the rpm's are really low and it feels like it has no power, unless you really get on the gas and force a down shift. Also, when it is doing this, if you slow down to make a right or left turn, but not stop, like say from 50mph and make the turn at 20mph, it doesn't really down shift into a low enough gear and as I gently accelerate out of the turn it just stays in a higher gear. When it is doing this it kinda feels like a mixture of being in a higher gear and the torque converter being locked when it shouldn't be. As I was driving home from work on Friday the dash lit up. The CEL light is on, Check VSC light, Trac off light and a red exclamation point light, in the middle of the tach. After all those lights came on it seems to shift better, almost as good as it does when you first start driving it. I've checked the gas cap and everything else seems to be just fine. According to the Fuellog app on my phone, it has been averaging 23.89 mpg.

I bought it from Carmax, so it has a 30 day warranty and I also bought the extended warranty. I'll be taking it in to them in the morning, after work. I was just wondering what you guys thought of all this and if any of you have had a similar problem.

Oh yeah, I absolutely love this car!!! I'm 6'5" and just turned 41. The TSX was a pleasure to drive, but getting out of it wasn't as easy as it used to be.

Thanks in advance!

 

All of the lights on the dash come on with the check engine light. My first thought on your issue is its in the drive-by-wire throttle. Although it's rare some of these cars have issues. The problem usually lies in the pedal position sensor. Let us know what Carmax finds wrong. Don't be discouraged, once this issue is fixed you will have a great car.

 

If you have an OBDII reader, please post the DTC's here. Otherwise you can stop by most auto parts store and ask them to retrieve the trouble code for you.

 

Thank you both for the quick response! I'll keep this updated.

 

'05 has lifetime transmission fluid (no dipstick) and 110,000 would be about the lifetime, look into when and if it has had any type of service. avoid flush, but drain and fill or exchange seem to be okay. also early '05 that are built in july and august of 2004 have the same issues as the 2004 so see when it was made. software update affects low speed shifting. love my '05

 

Thank you. Service records don't indicate that the tranny had ever been serviced. When the problem first started, but before the lights came on, I talked to the local Lexus dealer and they recommended a service. I had them do a drain and fill. I had planned to do this anyway. I like to get the maintenance up to date as soon as I purchase a used car. I also had them change the thermostat and service the radiator. According to CarFax, the manufacturer date was 5/5/05. The 5th of may was a Thursday that year (I don't like to buy cars that were made on a Monday or Friday).

 

Update:
Dropped it off at the Carmax dealer this morning. They won't be able to get to it till Wednesday, but I did have them scan for codes. It is throwing a P2757 code. After researching that, it appears that it could just be a solenoid.

 

Some bedtime reading about P2757 - enjoy!

 

I did not enjoy that at all. esp. the ending. replace transmission. my 1st drain and fill was at 95,000 and 2nd at 96,500. I bought at 72,000 and Lexus service up until that point. car is solid, but I wonder about that "lifetime transmission" fluid. I am also not believing the 120,000 mile spark plugs. I think that they expect you to buy a new one before this point. I also replaced my spark plugs at 95,000, big difference.

 

Not quite the bedtime story I was hoping for.

My biggest concern about all this is they skip the part about replacing the SLU and swap in a used tranny, with way more miles on it than my current unit.

It's still covered by the 30 day warranty, then I have 3 years and 40k worth of extended warranty. I purposely buy used cars AND an extended warranty to protect myself from stuff like this. Everybody gets rid of a car for a reason. Sometimes it's because something is wrong with the car. I think I just figured out why this car was traded in.

In the end, I'm sure everything will work out. I'm just hoping for minimal bs along the way

 

Update:

The dealer sent it to a transmission shop. I'm thinking about stopping by the shop and seeing what they have to say. I'm also curious about what kind of shop it is.

 

They should know....but hopefully they put in the right fluid, Toyota WS

 

Update:

Sorry that it has been a few weeks, I went on a much needed vacation. I still do not have the car back yet. It took the shop awhile to locate a re-manufactured tranny and it is being installed now. They say I should have it by Monday. I really hope so, miss that car.

 

That is really strange it needs a tranny after only 110k miles.

 

I know, I researched the hell out of this car. It seemed transmission failure was pretty rare. The way it was acting and the CEL code points to a solenoid or something. The shop that is working on it has great reviews on google and Yelp, a lot of my mechanic friends also said they were good. My guess is that the are not that familiar with this tranny and the dealer didn't want to pay for all the time to troubleshoot it. Even though it seems to be taking forever, I have nothing bad to say about CarMax. They are handling the situation well and taking care of me. This wasn't the first car that I have bought from them and it won't be the last. This is however, the first car that I bought from them and have had an issue with. Poop happens and life goes on. As long as she gets fixed right the first time, I'm a happy camper. I might get her back today. If I do, I am going to drive around town for about an hour and see how she is shifting. If that goes well, I am going to take her on a day trip and tour the Mojave in her tomorrow.