rkuppuraj

Still waiting for corporate (promised to come back tomorrow). Scouting around.. Will keep all posted.

roadfrog

No doubt about it.....that's what I would do.

Nospinzone

The 600hL transmission is a CVT (continuously variable transmission) and not like the 8 speed transmission in the non-hybrid LS. As others have said, I have never heard of any LS transmission failing. I think (and I'm not sure) that the CVT is easier/cheaper to rebuild than the 8 speed.

I would definitely wait until you hear from Corporate. Sometimes they will do a goodwill repair, particularly if you have had your car regularly serviced at a Lexus dealership.

I also second caha14's endorsement of Lexus of Northborough.

caha14

Any updates? Fingers crossed for you...

caha14

Call me persistent, but what happened here?! It's never fun when folks seek help and then fail to update...

sorka

This is the same type of transaxle that the Prius has right? I don't mean the same exact one but it's still PSD(Power Split Device) with the MG2 (large electric drive motor, sungear that the ICE is attached to, and the MG1 in the center which can either capture ICE RPMs to generate electricity or redirect the ICE out to the main drive right.

Here it is new discounted to $6800.

http://www.oemlexusparts.com/2008-le..._transmission/

Here's an interactive simulator you can use to play with it:

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

The PSD is super simple compared to a regular automatic transmission which has hundreds of moving parts and gears. The PSD has 8 moving parts if you count both electric motors and no belts. There are no wear parts at all so if the lubrication does it's job, it will last forever. May Prii running around with 600K plus miles on theirs. Mine's only got 250K miles.

Talidtb

I believe one of my electric motors in the transmission on my 08 600 is on its way out. I have 112k The car starts hard that u feel the whole car move sometime. Also i hear a squeak under the car when i start it in the morning while in park. Which is likely from the MG1 electric motor in the transmission which starts the ICE. MG2 motor seems to be working fine. I have Carchex third party warranty and im hoping it fails soon so i can have it replaced. Sucks that the warranty only covers a breakdown and not wear and tear, so i have to deal with it till then. I have changed all engine mounts and transmission mounts and it helped a bit but car still doesnt start up like it should when going from traction battery to ICE. I belive the 08's was the worst years. I also have a howl noise from my front diff thats not very loud but sounds like road noise from the front tires. Dealer changed out the oil and it helped some but not much. No one really notice when there in my car because its a Lexus so regardless its quieter then all other regluar cars, but i do. Im waiting for that to fail as well. The car is a great car but i think lexus rushed the earlier models out before making sure things were right. Im curious what codes were thrown on yours. My traction battery throws a code once in a while but i believe thats cuz of the bad MG1 motor. Keep me posted on this. I would like to hear how things workout. Good luck man.

anthony1

All the mechanics that I talked to about CVT trans, they lol say that it's not reliable. Stay away from them.. A lot of them last about 50k miles.

Talidtb

[QUOTE=anthony1;9863445]All the mechanics that I talked to about CVT trans, they lol say that it's not reliable. Stay away from them.. A lot of them last about 50k miles.[/QUOTE

NOT TRUE. Ive seem alot of cvts with 250k no issues. The problem is people listen to the dumb dealer and dont change out the fluids. I change all my fluids every 30-50k. No matter what people think fluid breaks down and do no lubricate as it suppose to. I changed my transfer case fluid out few days ago and believe it or not it was real low. No leaks of any kind and has never been changed. So it also burns out so to say. The oil is very vital. But hey. To each they own. I dont see my cvt going anytime soon.

caha14

[QUOTE=Talidtb;9863494]Plus, to add to this, Toyota CVTs are not the same animal as belt-driven CVTs by other manufacturers. I am not too familiar with the track record of those but suspect that's what many mechanics may have in mind when talking about CVTs.

Again, it would be really helpful if OP posted an update (though I'm not holding my breath if the history of asking for help and then disappearing holds)...

Nospinzone

My #1 pet peeve, but so be it.

sorka

It's not the same. The term CVT is often used to describe the transmission in the 600h but a traditional CVT uses angled pulleys and belts to change the ratio. There's a lot of friction and these do have long term reliability issues.

The PSD in the toyota hybrids is completely different and has no belts or wear characteristics at all and many of them go well beyond 600K miles.

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

doro708

Hi ,

In my opinion your problem it might be a very simple fix . I personally know a few cases with similar issues and the problem was a bearing in the gearbox.
My independent Lexus specialist in UK has changed the bearing in one LS600 for exactly this issue .
Here is a link from the UK forum that explains things better :

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/for...loss-of-power/

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Wow.... $20 and a lot of elbow grease. God job!

rkuppuraj

Dear all,
my saga with the LS600hl is still ongoing. 4 weeks after waiting for a replacement transmission Lexus Danvers MA took another week to put it in. Here's the kicker - They then ran it and said it stopped working on the test drive! Their "master mechanic" then took another look at it and said "well this really needs a fly wheel and the transmission is actually not the problem". I am going WTF and ape!
They ordered the flywheel and were waiting for a "cover assembly" as of Friday!!!!!