Leines

Ive had this rx for about a week...and i noticed somethings today that give me a bit of a scare... first off... going from reverse to drive.. i can now really feel the tranmission switching.... also... it seems like the RPMS are getting a bit high during the upper gears... Like 4000-5000 RPMs when if shifts... i have to assume this isnt normally.... thinking on monday ill have to take it to the transmission place and get them to do a service ( they one you guys recommend with the pan drop and etc..and maybe drain transfer case etc) but will that be in vain??? does this baby already have a problem this wont fix???

I dont have to drive it anywhere far tonight, but tuesday i have a long day ahead of me..

Cheers

bearbrew

It's kind of hard to say without some added information as to the year and mileage. Have you checked the transmission fluid level? Do you have any record of when was the transmission fluid last changed? If the fluid level gets too low it can cause quite a few problems including transmission failure.

salimshah

The rpm sound high, but:

You need to make sure the transmission and engine are at standard operating temperature ... about 15 min of driving (not parked and idling).

Depending on which yr RX was made ...'99 RX has a Normal, SNOW and Power (or sport .. cant recall the label) ..it has to be on normal.

Salim

Leines

I took it to the transmission guy... he told me i was nuts..the fluid looked "better then 90% of the crap i see in here" and he said it shifted fine.... he told me hed gladly take my money for a fluid and filter service... but i should keep it until i actually needed him to do some work on it...

Seemed like an honest enough answer.... guess i was just being paranoid..

jbl-1985

I know that with my '99, it has to be warmed up (so that the temp guage has just left bottom) until it will shift out of 2nd gear. This car has always operated this way.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think this was actually designed to work this way.

In Any event, one not knowing any better would rev a cold engine pretty high if it was cold and wouldn't understand this is normal.

Zieke

JBL, You are correct on the trans. not shifting to 3rd gear till around 2800 rpm until the engine warms a bit. I read somewhere there is a chip somewhere causing this quirk. Once it warms, the trans will shift sooner.

salimshah

Not a quirk ... it is designed this way to get engine and transmission heat up quicker. Driver needs to keep rpm below 3k.

Salim

varithms

Mine does the same when its cold. I start the car close the doors and and lock it with the other key and let it warm for a few minutes while getting ready. My 96 Toyota truck does the same thing.

salimshah

Not recommended ... Refer to the owners manual.

Start the vehicle, wait 5sec [use the time to make sure every one is buckled up and scan gauges] and drive off. The engine and transmission will warm up quicker if you drive and most of all impact to environment will be less [please no flames].

Feature being discussed is the way Toyota/Lexus wants to warm up the engine and transmission quicker.

Salim

varithms

It also says on the dipstick that the transmission fluid does not need to be changed. I've built plenty of motors, there is very little oil circulation in the first minutes of running time. Introducing engine load while the pistons and block are at different temperatures causes scaring to the piston sleeve/wall. That is why a cold engine has more compression than a warm engine and the air fuel mixture is very rich. I do understand that the motor does not need to idle more than two or three minutes.