My LS 430 w 232,000 miles had a transmission failure which was misdiagnosed by the dealer as a solenoid problem (there are 4 in the transmission). We then replaced the transmission with a used one with 139,000 miles from the largest parts company in the USA. But this failed to engage any gears upon installation and I am out $1000 plus $750 for the transmission. Has anyone every heard of this kind of failure (with no warning what so ever) especially on the replacement since the car it was salvaged from (it was a used transmission) had a working transmission at the time of salvage. The parts company says it is very rare but I wanted other views on how this could happen and the odds of it happening again with a 2nd used transmission. I also wanted opinions on the justification of the dealer charging another $1000 to install the 2nd transmission rather than charging a reduced cost

 

That's a crappy situation and there's probably not going to be a good solution that doesn't cost you extra money.

Did the company that sold you the transmission give you any sort of guarantee? Did the dealership "find" the transmission for you? That would at least put some of the liability on their shoulders or at least work with you on that.

But I honestly don't think you can expect the dealership to redo the job for less money as it wasn't their fault that the replacement transmission didn't work (unless they sourced it) And the tech still has to get paid.

I'm amazed a Lexus dealership was willing to install a used transmission for this very reason: they don't want the liability of having to stand behind it.

I will say I find it suspicious that the replacement transmission was "dead". Could it have been incorrectly filled or installed improperly?

 

I purchased the used transmission because the dealer tried to convince me to spend $4000 to replace the transmission. So they tried to intimidate me but not offering other options. I am willing to pay them more for the 2nd installation but at a cost that equals what others would charge. I have already overpaid them by $400 for the first installation I also have been told that the reason why the replacement transmission did not work could be because of a main computer failure. I would like the view of the forum on that. My local Lexus dealer had that happen w a 2003 LS 430. And they by luck swapped out the computer and it solved the problem. Has anyone had a similar misdiagnosis?

 

The parts company will replace the "faulty" computer. I found it. It has a year warranty. But they don't think the Lexus dealer put in the 1st one correctly. Nevertheless they will replace it

 

This whole anecdote sounds like it's been recycled

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...1st-2nd-3.html

 

I meant the parts company w replace the 1st transmission. They did not mention that the computer could cause the transmission installation to fail my local Lexus dealer mentioned that since it happened with one of their 2003 LSs

 

I would like to know the details of the first transmission failure. What was the failure? What broke or doesn't work in it?

 

lol, this does sound suspicious but I can assure the other poster is not me. I would like to know what the sudden failure was though.

AN

 

When the transmission first failed the dashboard registered a failure of the EVR (not sure if that is the right lettering) and then 30 minutes later it would not go through all the gears and struggled to go anywhere. I go it to drive to the dealer 2 miles away but there was some burning smell by doing that. When the dealer looked at it on the scope, they showed one Solenoid failure. They did not say it was the transmission as a whole and they thought it be fine after that even if down the road the other solenoids went too. Once they replaced the solenoid the same problem was still there. It would not engage all the gears just like before. After they put in the replacement transmission it would not engage any gears. That is all I know. THOUGHTS?

 

Sounds like they are taking your wallet for a ride!

I wouldn't want to fork out another dime. What happens if the next transmission does the same? Are they gonna charge you a third time?

 

True they are taking advantage of the situation but I either let them do it or someone else who is cheaper but maybe more reliable than the dealer (given not many Lexus transmissions fail). It still needs to be done given the car has more value than the investment in the repairs by maybe $3000. It runs fine other than this problem. I talked w the parts company and based on selling 1000's of transmissions they fail only 5% of the time within the first year. The chances of a second one failing is less than 1%. If it fails a 2nd time then it is the computer and not the transmission. In this case they will have misdiagnosed the problem and the fee for installing the transmission the 2nd time is forfeited according to the BAR in California. So that is my protection if it fails the second time since there is only a 1% chance it will be because of the transmission which has only 109,000 miles on it. I don't know what else to do. It would be great is someone had insight on whether the computer could be the issue not the transmission.

 

You should identify the year of your car when creating a new topic for the purpose of seeking help. No one here knows if you are talking about an A650E or A751E transmission, which are totally different transmissions.

You paid the dealer to do one thing first, which was to diagnose the problem, which presumably took them several hours of diagnostic labor time. They should have experienced techs who have access to all of the diagnostic and repair details for your transmission, and they should know how to use that information, ie. following the troubleshooting procedures in the proper order.

Since their "professional" diagnosis turned out to be incorrect, logically it is their fault for the misdiagnosis and it should be their expense to cover. I'm not clear on how it is your fault and cost when you paid them to diagnose and repair a specific problem, and neither things you paid for were completed.

I would either take it to a different Lexus dealership for a second opinion, or find a non-dealership that specializes in Lexus/Toyota transmissions, preferably with former Lexus/Toyota master techs working in the shop. If none are available in your area, go to a place that works ONLY on transmissions - I think that is your best hope of getting the car running again.

 

Thanks for your suggestion. Much appreciated. It is a 2003 LS 430. They misdiagnosed the first problem and will not make me pay for that. They then said replace the transmission which they did. However, it is now clear that the replacement was faulty not the installation (at least based on the evidence I have so far and also based on the discussion between the dealer and the parts company). Because the replacement effort failed due to the part not the installation (as best can be determined), there is no way to determine yet if their 2nd diagnosis is correct (i.e. it is the transmission). They are asking me to pay another $1000 (although I have asked them to reduce their fee to $600 which is what others would charge) for the 2nd installation since it APPEARS the first transmission replacement failed (despite the fact that only 5% of these transmissions fail within the 1st year of operation). If after the 2nd replacement it still doesn't work then I will have the grounds for a BAR action since there is less than a 1% of 2 installations efforts failing because of a part, especially with only 109,000 miles on it. This is because the problem will have to have been the result of either a misdiagnosis or a poor installation-either of which would negate my obligation to pay anything (except for the part) according to the BAR. If I moved the transmission to another repair shop it might improve the chances it will be correctly diagnosed but it creates logistic issues because the car failed on a vacation 300 miles away and they gave me a loaner car (which I would then have to return when another repair shop did the work). If they agrees to let me keep the loaner while the other shop did the work then it would become a more viable option. If not I would have to pay another $400 for the loaner which would wipe out the cost advantage of moving the car. I would still have an improved chance the repair would get done right but the competence of the new shop would also be an unknown. Another Lexus shop is also not an option since this dealer controls most of them in Southern CA and I would have to have the car moved to SF to find one outside their control. So I don't have many options here but to roll the dice again and if they fail again make the case it was incompetence or misdiagnosis with the BAR. At that point the car could then be moved to another repair should. Does this strategy make sense

 

Try to get your money back and sell the car as a parts car. Not worth the time and headache for a 4k car IMO.

 

If the new or replacement transmission didn't work then, the problem most likely was not with the transmission but with something to do with the car or rather the electrics in the car. It could be a bad transmission controller or even just wiring or the shifter switches or what ever it is they use to translate the shift movement into gear selection. On the older stuff it was pretty easy manual shift valves and linkage, but newer stuff is mostly translated by a computer into correct solenoids to accomplish a fluid redirection in the valve body.