Hello Forum :-)

I'm the not so happy owner of a Lexus 2012 RX350 at 122,000 miles!

I've had a transmission issue lately where the car has a delayed engagement and jerks when I stop the car and start rolling at a traffic stop etc.

I took it into the dealership, they found a leaking transmission speed sensor.. and flushed the transmission. I that doesn't fix the problem they told me to replace the transmission for a whooping $7,000?

Is there anywhere cheaper to have transmission replaced? Any advice? I live in Las Vegas BTW.. in case you know of any great places here.

This is not fun.. and I honestly thought I would have less car problems with Lexus.. but I've had so much issues with this car!

 

If the transmission is failing, what you want is a used transmission as the car is not worth investing $7,000 into. The alternative is to trade it in as fast as you can while it still runs.

Here is a link to a good source for used Lexus parts. http://www.rancholexusrecycling.com/

However, this transmission is used in many Toyota and Lexus models and there should be plenty of used ones in local auto recycle lots. They know which models will fit perfectly. They will need to know if it is FWD or AWD.
Just call a couple and then ask if they do installation too and get some price quotes.
Good Luck!

 

Yikes, sorry to hear about your problem.

Just curious, did you ever replace the transmission fluid before the one the dealer did at 122k miles?

 

Curious did the "flush" help your issue at all?

 

Lexus flushed the transmission, replaced a plug on the sensor. After that a ratcheting noise appeared. They said the only thing they could do next is to replace the transmission at $7,000.

after i drove half a mile everything stopped working. It goes into neutral and then try to jump into gears wildly!!! LOL

It's now towed to AAMCO, and they're currently looking at it! Let's see where it goes.

I'm surprised the Lexus dealership left me hanging like this.

 

Was any tranny fluid changed prior to this? Like 60k miles ago?

 

I don't know.. I bought this car after it was leased. It had a 80k milage on it already!

AAMCO is offering me a rebuild on $4,500 which is cheaper than Lexus $7,000

 

It sucks to have to spend so much to repair a car that is 7 years old.

Ask about AAMCO warranty, if it's only a year I would rather look for a used one. Rebuild transmissions sometimes have lots of problems, because it's not easy to properly rebuild a modern transmission.

And thanks for letting us know that you did not do the transmission fluid change, this is interesting to many.

 

AHHHHH!!!

Too late.. they're already rebuilding it.

Only 1 year warranty as you said.

This sucks.. I have a Mini Cooper at 190,000 miles.. and before that a WV at over 160k miles.. never had transmission issues before. And, a Lexus was suppose to be the most reliable!!!?

However, I know its a one time incident and most people don't have these issues.. however it still SUCKS!!

The dealership told me it was a sealed transmission so they don't flush those.. (when I asked) so it was never done on my car before.

 

zuluzulu, did you change your screen name from AWA?

IIRC someone else on the forum had a minicooper, I dont remember what year, but for a time minicoopers used the same Aisin 6 speed tranny as the 3rd gen RX350.
I'm curious after you get it back from AAMCO what they recommend as far as maintenance for the tranny. Also, would be nice if you could ask them where the failure was. A leaking speed sensor would not expect to brick your tranny.

 

Hi had two accounts.. didnt' realize it!! AWA and zuluzulu sorry :-)

 

I had the MINI Cooper and it had a very similar Aisin 6 speed with the same unique gear set design (slightly smaller version for 4 cylinder engines) MINI called it lifetime fluid. VW used the same tranny in several models and initially called it lifetime fluid. However, they had so many transmission failures, many within warranty, that they changed to requiring a fluid change at 40,000 miles. At least the VW had a fill bolt which the MINI lacked. We had to use some barely accessible bolt that was very small to fill it.

 

Rule #1 never "flush" a high mileage transmission thats failing lol. There is no such thing is a lifetime fluid just how those 20k mile oil change intervals are gimmicks. While the fluid may not lose its lubrication it will still get dirty. I plan to figure out how to change my trans fluid @ 50k. Should be a fun day in the garage. Never been under this car Im hoping there is a way to pull the pan or drain plug

 

LS1: How to change your ATF fluid has been covered in this forum. It is as easy as changing your oil, but with a few quirks. You can only drain and fill about 2 quarts at a time. Also, you do not have to use Toyota ATF which is not even synthetic. I have done about 5 drain and fills using MAG 1 Full Synthetic Low Viscosity Multi Vehicle ATF and it works better than the Toyota stuff and you can get a 6 pack at Amazon for under $40. The links below are long but will tell you how to change it properly at home.

Here is a link to the main thread on changing your ATF https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...d-threads.html

 

Can you tell me haw many mules have you driven on the MAG 1 fluid? Is it holding up over time?

I'm getting ready to do the first drain and fill at 30k miles and I'm debating if I should go with the Toyota WS or some synthetic alternative.