I have been trying to get my arms around how real or how isolated these problems are. My mom and dad have a 99 RX300, which only has 45k on it and really have had no problems with it at all. In fact the only annoying part of this car is that the odometer freezes and won't allow you to access trip a and.or b, and visa versa, but that is being addressed with Lexus cust service and is for another post altogether.

Granted, they haven't driven this car that much but it looks and runs like new. Now, I have taken all of the information on these boards with regard to engine sludge buildup and trans failures to my neighbor, who has been a lead mechanic for Toyota for 15 years...According to him, the overwhelming reason an engine would accumulate sludge is because the oil is not getting changed on a regular basis. Maybe there are some isolated cases...but it's extremely rare for a properly maintained engine to accumulate sludge.

Now, the transmission problems...My parents car has the tow prep package and so I know this is indeed an aide in keeping things cool down there. After careful consideration on whether to do a flush or a drain and fill, I decided on the latter because flushes while good intended, can have negative results. The fluid was a little off color, but with the drain and fill, it brought back the cherry red look to the fluid (I know a drain and fill only replaces about 40% or so of the total fluid).

Now, my understanding from my source is that the RX300's transmission is the identical (well maybe not IDENTICAL, but...) twin of the same unit that is in the Toyota Highlander, which, again, I am told by my source that his dealership RARELY see trans problems with the Highlander. Now, granted, some of you may say I am comparing apples and oranges, and who knows maybe to some degree I am. But it is conceivable that Toyota does cross use components in their automobiles and across divisions??

I am not trying to discount anyone's negative experience with these cars, but I am just trying to get a real read on if this is widespread as it may seem. You know it goes...those that have problems sound off and those that don't, we don't hear from.

I mean to say that if they made 2 million of these cars, are we hearing from the 1000 or so that have had a bad experience? (Don't quote me on the numbers I am just trying to make a point).

I would love to hear from some of the folks on this board that have 300's to sound off if they HAVE NOT had any engine or trans problems.

Let's hear from you all, too!

JBL

 

The transmission failure numbers have not been published.

A fellow CL member Thomas1 is keeping sort of a telly and it seems the reported problems are about 100. How many were sold and what percentage of the failure are the 100 cases are yet other factors.

There is a majority (if you would allow me to use the term majority) have had no transmission and or engine problems. That said, it is of no consolation to those who have had problems (what ever the % failure rate it can be ex:0.0001% <= just a number .. not factual).


The owners who have had no problems have a choice:
a) Become a worry *****.
b) Dont even consider it a problem.
c) Understand it as a potential problem.

Since I have had no problems and getting close to 150k miles [fwd], I am in group "c". Some in group "c" are now following very aggressive (relative term) and changing t. fluid more regularly (another relative term) than needed. Some say it is the pump, some say it is the gear composition, some say it is t. fluid break down.

Since the high gear is locked out during warm up, I drive slow for the first 9-10minutes.

Salim

 

The only statistic I can find is from Consumer Reports. They list the failure rate of the 1999-2000 RX transmission above average when compared to all other 1999 and 2000 makes and models. They don't provide exact numbers. Usually a Lexus failure rate is well below average in every CR category.

 

I'm glad you added the last sentence, because I think you meant to write that it was rated above average (lower failure rate).

I read somewhere an interesting theory a while back that the reason the transmissions have a higher failure rate in the USA (than say Japan) is that Americans are not trained on stick shifts and don't always come to a complete stop before shifting.

 

Anybody know if most (all?) of the AWD models had the towing prep package (light wiring, tow barcket, trasmission cooler). I'm wondering if those that are failing are those without the transmission cooler?

There's a web site for consumer car complaints that sends out monthly updates for problems and the RX300 has about 90 cases of transmission failure since 1999 (most of them since 2005). Certainly higher that any other component on the car. I delete the monthly update so I don't have the URL but I'll post it next time I get their update.

 

The towing prep package became standard equip in 2001. Mine has it was driven lightly by my wife and still failed. I think Thomas1 is on to something with the defective aluminum casing planatary gear. Since my trans was rebuilt with the steel cased planatery gear the fluid stays much cleaner than it ever did when the car was new.

 

The 1999-2000 RX had a higher failure rate when compared to all other makes and models for those years. Sorry for the confusion.

 

For AWD I think. It was still an option for FWD.

 

My parents 99 RX300 transmission just went out. I don't know if most people on here think that's getting a good amount of life from a tranny but my Ford tranmissions have all gone above 200k without a problem. Also, we're currently trying to identify where oil is disappearing to. No dripping, no apparent oil in the exhaust, and the pistons have good compression. My only thought at this point is sludge.

P.S. Just because only 99 or 100 people reported their transmission going out I wouldn't read too much into that. My guess would be that that number probably represent 10-20% tops of all incidents.

 

You have to also remember that, these are a small minority, there are many others that didn't have problems but they aren't going to go around to every forum and brag about how their trans didn't blow up. There have been RX's with more than 275,000 miles on original trans. So it really depends on making full stops before shifting, drain and fills but never flushing, and always using the right type of fluid.

 

I am curious as to the issue of flushing the transmission fluid. I just had our 2002 rx300 (awd with the towing package) in to our local toyota dealer to have two sensors replaced and was advised to have the transmission flushed when we had our next oil change. We bought the car from the this dealer and have the servicing done there as well. According to the tech the color of the fluid was a little off but there was no rush to do it. The car has 70K miles so it sounded reasonable to me as I was under the impression that was something that should be done on occasion (perhaps every 30K miles). Should I be wary of having this done? Is it better to simply change the fluid? The car drives fine and other than the sensors we have had no issues. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

My 2 cents. NEVER EVER FLUSH! Lexus/Toyota do not endorse any kind of flush machine. Drain and fill only.

 

Thanks for the reply. Would it be unusual then for a Toyota Dealer to recommend a flush as was the case with our car? We also have a Lexus dealership nearby, as well as local mechanic whom I trust, so I could take it for a second opinion. I have read some posts saying to flush every 30K miles or so and others that say to never flush so I am bit confused. For obvious reasons I want to be as careful as possible with the transmission. I hope to get many more years out the car. Thanks again.

 

Never do a Flush. Always stick with drain and fills. Flushes cause debris to go through the valve body which can cause much more harm than any good.
I do drain and fills every 18k which is every summer for me. It doesn't cost much at all, I just recently did a drain and fill at home for only $19. They were having a special at AutoZone buy 2 Castrol import multi-vehicle oil and get 1 free, So I bought 6 and now I have 2 left over.