40% break, what the heck are you talking about? The tranny replacement should only be about $4700 tops. Go to an independent tranny shop and get it done for under $3000 at most, just make sure they use Toyota Type IV fluid or Amsoil fluid. Sorry about your failure. Is your car AWD or FWD? File a complaint with the NHTSA online. You will need the vin # of your vehicle. Lexus of AMerica could care a less, unless you have had all of the service done on that vehicle at their dealerships.

 

and that's what it came out to. throw in the loaner i was given for the week and i made out much better than any independent would have charged me for the work.

 

Recall in what sense? I know that we've read a lot of transmission issues and oil sluding with the RX, but percentage wise, I'm sure it's far below "average" to classify as lemon status. So, you think Toyota should just proactively "replace" all the RX transmissions? What criteria would you set for getting a recall? There is an "issue" which I'm not even sure if Toyota knows what the root cause is, so this "stock pile" of transmission out there, how do you know you won't be replacing a perfectly good one, with a potentially faulty one from this pile? I just think that there was a bad group of RX sold, and unfortunately, many of us on this forum have experienced it (knock on wood, not me) but it's not that bad to warrant Toyota pulling back RX's to replace the tranny.

 

Not to be smart,but maybe you will consider changing your reply on this matter,if your transmission goes bad.

 

Not if a consumer is realistic with their expectations. No manufacturer is going to make 100% bulletproof cars. There are always going to be lemons in the bunch. It's how few lemons you manufacturer that will separate you from the pack. As a matter of fact, my first lemon, which I just sold is a '98 Accord V6 and the transmission went at around 102K. Had to get a refurb. for around $3000 installed. Am I going to ask that Honda recall all their late 90s-00's Accord V6 because they've had a high incidence of transmission failures? No, because I have a choice to either no buy Honda again based on this experience, or I can choose to buy again based on their record and my majority experience with Honda. I had a '95 Civic that ran to 220K with no issues and I sold it and the person I sold it has since put on another 60K with no issues. I've had plenty of other Honda owners I knows that have no issues well into 150K. So, for me, based on my majority experience with Honda, I would not hesitate actually to buy the new Accord, which chance are I probably would in another year or two.

As consumers, we all have a choice of what we buy and to have realistic expectations of the products we buy. If you expect Toyota/Lexus to make perfect cars, and you find they're not perfect, then don't buy them again. Go buy a BMW or Mercedes, or whatever other make you feel might be "superior" and then see how that goes. Perhaps you'll find they are better for you and you have a better brand to buy from now.

I'm just saying, don't pin something on the manufacturer that may, in good conscious, not necessarily be their fault and create undue burden, which really... in the long run comes back to the consumer anyway. If 50% of the transmission were blowing up on Lexus, then yes, I'd be the first to say also that this is a gross error on the manufacturer and that there should be a recall for the error, but out of the 100's of thousands of RX300's sold, I doubt there were anymore than say a few thousands bad units... which like I said is a bummer for the people who got them, but again, you have a choice to not buy Lexus again.

The only way a manufacturer is going to improve, is if their consumers leave in droves and go to other makes. I don't see Lexus losing much business the last few years. Just MHO.

 

We come around to this discussion again and again and there are more than 1 simple question. We need to accept that we all view things based on our personal experiences/expectations and surely $4000 hit is substantial [pain gets less when one has to pay a part of it]

1. Is there a pervasive problem with RX transmission?
2. What is the trouble free expectancy [usually tied to cost of repair]?
3. What is the contract between manufacturer and owner?
4. Once a manufacturer KNOWS what is wrong (root cause), what steps do they take?


Here are my views:
1. Posts in forums typically are from people seeking-advice/support-group/venting/hypochondriac/etc. One should not judge the level of problems by number of posts as you will never get a balanced view. [ex: search the net for the bad effects of immunization]

2. The number used to be 100Kmiles. I have tired to establish this number of times by surveys here but seems like no answer. 150K miles ... maybe.

3. Base warranty is 60k miles. If things break at 90K, you are already at 1.5times guaranteed trouble free service.

4. PLEASE allow me certain leeway on this ... I don't speak on behalf of Lexus .. The transmission is the most complex machinery [engine is not complex at all]. If Lexus knows they are not sharing. From the users, there is no smoking gun (hard evidence). Possible source of problems cited have been
a) poor pump
b) under-sized transmission
c) transmission fluid breakdown
There seems to have been a design change, was it to fix a problem, help narrow down the problem or just to keep up with the new demand of the new design ... we (customers don't know).

For those, who experienced a problem, if Lexus provides the parts and you pay the labor seems like a reasonable compromise. But then again it is a question of your expectancy.

Salim

 

Also note that many of the Japanese trannies do not have filtering. Honda is one of them, which requires more frequent fluid changes. The lexus filter from the factory was mesh. Many of the aftermarket ones are filtering medium. I added a large PH8 size filter to my car. Some on the other site are adding a very small, filter inline that also has a magnet to collect metal debris. I believe that between all of the factors it is a weak design.

 

My personal opinion is that a stronger transmission should have been used given there is more weight than in the Camry, almost identical 1MZFE motor, but the weight difference necessitates a bulked up transmission, at least with better internals.

I have had colleagues with 1st gen Nissan Muranos that have complained incessantly about a small transfer case (you may remember my friend about 2 years ago who broke her transfer case down here after only 30K miles).

 

lex, you hit the nail on the head. this is a camry transmission in an suv with all wheel drive. i can guarantee that i will never buy a lexus or a car based suv again.

as for my newest tranny problem, i have not yet been able to get under the rx and see where the leak is coming from, but i hope to start looking into it either saturday or sunday.

 

There are plenty of brands around. Vote with your check book.


Salim

 

well, i got under the rx and could not find any leaks. i topped the transmission fluid off with 1 qt of type 4 fluid and about 12 oz of lucas transmission fix.

got in and started it. same result. did not move when put in reverse, but did move forward when i put it in drive. but, since i'm up against a curb, i couldn't move it forward too much.

then tried to put it in neutral and push it with my brother. it wouldn't move. almost like something locked up in the transmission. any thoughts?

 

The only thing you can do is jack the rear up and ensure the wheels can spin freely [just by chance the rear wheels are locked up by brake (long shot)]

The next step for you is to decide where to take your RX ... last place who did the transmission work, dealership or yet another transmission shop.

I think it is time for the experts to look at it.

Salim

 

I've read on another website that the reverse issue could be caused by a clogged filter. I just ordered the kit and plan on doing this as a last ditch effort before having it towed to a trans shop.

The thing that gets me is why won't the vehicle allow me to push it while in neutral. Does anyone have any ideas? I know there are sensors connected to the transmission. Could it be that one of them may have gone bad and forced the lockup?

 

That is why I mentioned, raise the wheels and try spinning them. Depending on how avid your mechanical skills are you may like to decouple the wheels from transmission to see if the vehicle rolls.

Loosing the fluid is part of the mystery.

Loosing reverse due to clogged filter is an interesting thought (but you would encounter more problems due to clogged filter). Some people prefer the paper(like) filter. IMHO it does better filtering than the screen, but needs more attention to prevent clog-up.

[note: mark how the things mate and match them during reassembly, in case you decouple anything .. else you may loose the dynamic balancing]

Salim

[PS: Do re-think your plan of trying it on your own. If you expect ANY warranty work, some shops may not be too understanding when it comes to owner's well intentioned efforts]

 

well, i jacked the vehicle up and the rear wheels did move. i dropped the pan and the fluid was in good condition. Although, it looked like i had 3 porcupines in the pan as the magnets were full of metal shavings. i will try to take a picture and post it. I ordered the transmission filter kit and will put that in sometime this week.

Also, I have another question, what are all of those sensors or electrical connections (I think there are 4 or 5) that you can see when you drop the pan?