Hey guys,
Im new here as I just picked up my first lexus yesterday off craigslist. when I bought the car the owner said the transmission gave out on her while she was driving and it would no longer move in any gear except reverse. when I was checking it out reverse worked perfectly but I could not get it to go forward in any gear for awhile then after turning it off and back on a few times it finally starting driving forward but only in low and was still hesitating. I bought it anyways and after getting home I did some research and found a forum where someone was having the exact same problem no forward but still had reverse. not much was said on the forum but one person did reply and say unplug the man solenoid plug from the transmission and if the car goes forward with it unplugged then you have an external sensor or ecu issue and if it still doesn't move then its an internal issue. well I did that and the car drove in all gears with no hesitation. plugged it back up and would only move in reverse again. last night I tested all of the shift solenoids and they are all testing fine. any ideas on this problem? Also I can't get an accurate cel reading because the lady had just put a brand new battery in it when I was on my way to buy it so it reset the code and it would need to be driven 20 or more minutes to re throw the code and obviously it can't be driven if it doesn't go forward. thanks.

 

Welcome to Club Lexus!

I have to ask, how much did you pay?

You will need a new transmission. I hope you didn't pay market value knowing that the transmission was likely done for.

 

His diagnostics seem to suggest its an electrical/solenoid issue and not a internal/mechanical issue.
What makes you say he needs a new transmission?

 

If you do a search here, you will see that all if not most people who experienced this particular issue had a failed transmission.

 

Hello Stephen, Congratulations on your first Lexus RX300. As I write this, my RX300 (2001) with 212,437 miles on him is in the transmission shop for a diagnosis code P0765 shift solenoid. I am waiting for the results... Some transmission places will test the transmission at no charge, others may have to drop the pan and do a pressure test on the solenoid. I am praying that the solenoid tests faulty and that will be the least expensive and will hopefully solve our problems. I know of many Lexus owners who have 300,000+ on the original motor/tranny. I wish you good luck. I look forward to hearing your results.
Gayle

 

well the car is back running again and running great. I started by changing the valve body. I picked one up from a 2002 Toyota camry at a junk yard for 30 bucks. slapped that in changed the fluid and filter started it up and it drives like a new car. I did tons of research first and everything I found said it was not an internal issue because I could drive the car with no probs if all the solenoids were unplugged. The valve body I got had all sensors attached so I just used those also. who knows if my sensors were bad or my actual valve body was bad somehow but hey its running great and that's all that matters. thanks to everyone for responding!

 

No search was needed. Its common sense.If/when you unplug an electrical component/sensor and the car shifts properly, then the fault is obviously no "mechanical.
I'm glad to see the OP followed through with his original diagnosis and fixed the issue by simply replacing the defective component.

 

Glad to hear it's fixed!

 

Like I said most people had to replace the transmission.

Glad to hear that the OP is not one of them.

 

I'm willing to bet the same would have happened here if he had just taken the car to most shops for repair.... Probably what happened to the original seller.