I noticed this problem about a week ago. I'm in Texas but it does get cold down here. Anyways, I got in the car in the morning to go somewhere and start driving down the street only to realize the car doesn't want to shift into 2nd gear. I turned around and went back to my house. Once the temp gauge reached the first mark, the car fianlly shifted into 2nd and then shifted normal from then on. I was already scheduled to have a tranny flush the next day. (nice timing)
I figured the tranny flush would fix the weird problem but the next morning the car did the same thing. It is now a week gone by and every morning, the car refuses to shift until somewhat warmed up. I do not remember this happening last winter. Infact, I know it didn't happen. Also, sometimes my tranny shifts silky smooth and others it is hard shifts. Anyother people have this problem?

 

Same thing happened to me a couple of years back, when my coupe hit about 240,000 miles. Good news, the transmission will continue to work for a while if you're willing to wait until it has warmed up. Bad news, to solve the problem, you need to get your transmission rebuilt. You need to start calling shops to get quotes, then schedule some time to take it in. If you wait too long, one day you will end up stranded somewhere. I recommend you get the transmission rebuilt and the torque converter. It will probably cost you between $1500 and $2000 (assuming you just need a standard rebuild and all the sun and planetary gears are o.k.). If you take it to Lexus, they'll probably charge you over $3000.

 

I might as well just buy a different car when the big dump happens. No way I'm paying that much. I just can't do it. The car has 153,000 miles on it.

 

time for a tranny change. you can get used trannies with a 6 month warranty for about 600 shipped to your door. if you ever need one, holler!

 

It just seems really odd. It down shifts when I need power and does basically everything right. Except cold startup and the wierd abrupt shifts on occasion. How can it be so smooth and then shatty other times.

 

I had the same problem on a non lexus auto. After a VERY VERY VERY VERY GOOD tranny flush and new fluid and filter it cleared a lot of it up for a long time, BUT it will fail eventually and the time you buy with the flush will be just enough to save up for a tranny from Aliga, which i suggest because you aren't going to find one any cheaper shipped by far.

 

do you park on an incline or decline?
i've noticed that if you park on a non level plane, that the fluid doesn't flow enough to build up enough pressure to change into a different gear.... hope your problem is that simple!

 

The very first time I noticed the non change of gears I was parked on a n incline at my parents house. Back in Austin at my apartment, I park on a flat surface. Weird!

 

Hi all, I had a similar problem several years ago with a '90 Toyota pickup. I was doing a lot of traveling between Corpus Christi and Austin and the problem showed up during the winter when things were cold. When the engine temperature guage indicated below normal, the automatic transmission would act up, but would do fine when the temperature was normal. The solution was to replace the engine thermostat to keep the engine in the normal temperature range. This immediately and completely fixed the problem. It must have had something to do with the cold start and drive adjustments the ECU was making. Hope this helps.

 

Pirate400, I honestly believe nothing is wrong with your transmission....

When the engine is very cold, the transmission will not shift at the regular RPM intervals. It holds the rpms a bit longer than usual.

Until the engine temp starts to increase (at the first mark and beyond), the transmission will stay in first gear until around 1500-1700 rpm and then in second from about 2000-2300 rpm. It holds the first two gears like that in an attempt to help warm up the engine and transmission.

It sort of deliberately makes you drive slow to get all the moving parts a bit warm before you start to drive as you would do normally.

I've noticed this with my SC400 and had lots of time to monitor my transmission in sub zero temps. Living in Canada has left me with no choice on the matter....

I honestly don't believe there is nothing wrong with your transmission.

A tranny flush is always good, as that might help with the hard shifts, but there might not be any real reason to think something is wrong with it.

My car has gone through 12 winters and the transmission still shifts smooth as silk and the car has over 280,000 KM....(not miles).

Hope this helps and eases your mind a bit.

Carib.

 

Well. things have gotten worse. I am taking the car in tuesday morning. The car now wants to jump and have a hard time downshifting when I slow to a stop. The tranny is jumping and trying to get in gear it seems like when coasting and then pressing on the accelerator again. I do have better luck if I put in into the "2" and "low" gear. either bad Torque converter or a blown tranny. Im not sure what the future is for this car. And everything was sooo good before hand.

 

Just an update for those who care... I got a used transmission that was rebuilt and I should get my car back Jan. 12. Being without a car sucks!

 

Hi,

Just wondering how much it cost you to get the transmission parts and labor installed.

Rizzo

 

Pirate400,

Just wanted to see how it went. Is you problem resolved?

I am having the same issue, and I beleive it may be the solenoid valves in the transmission (there are four solenoids which select shifs via the ECU). I am now monitioring the shift voltage signals from the ECU when cold and hot to see if there is a signal issue. It is difficult to believe that this is a major transmission problem based on the way it occurs, but I will find out. It is much more profitable for a shop to sell or rebuild transmission than to determine the actual cause. I might end up replacing the whole thing but I would like to know the cause. BTW, I have been posting this issue in the maintenace section and there is someone who has been providing some information.
928

 

I ended up getting the transmission replaced with a used tranny with 40k on it. It cost 800 for the tranny and a little over 400 for the install. Final price was near 1300 dollars.