Hello everyone. New member here and would like your thoughts. Last year we bought a 2012 RX350 - I've owned Toyota's in the past and they have been the most reliable cars I've had. That's the reason we ended up purchasing a Lexus. Well, unfortunately the transmission is failing and will need replaced soon. It has 135k miles on it.

I received a quote of 8k to replace it with a used transmission, but this was from a chain mechanic so I think I can probably find a place that could do it for under 6k. My question is if you were in my shoes, would you do the repair? My thoughts are yes. The used car market is still pricey, and I think it would still make the most financial sense doing the repair rather than shopping for a different car that probably wont be as nice.

All opinions are welcome. Thanks!

 

First post, welcome to ClubLexus.

Did you browse thru this site before purchasing the RX? There tips on how to maintain your RX beyond what the manufacturer recommends.

Check with the dealer as the quoted price seems like the dealer price [I could be wrong].

If the rest of the vehicle is in good shape, then I would suggest that you get the repairs done. If you don't, then a mechanically astute guy will give you lowball offer.

Let us know what you decide to do,

Salim

 

The car is probably only worth about $10,000 even with a bad transmission. It may be better to just trade it in for something newer. If you took the $6000 to $8000 you would spend on the transmission and added it to the trade in value you could get a better, newer, lower mileage used vehicle. How badly does it run?

I also think the quoted prices are way too high for used transmission. Used transmissions can be purchased for $2,000 to $3500 and to rebuild yours may not be much more. The labor is way overbilled at those prices. You should get another local transmission shop or import specialist and a Lexus or Toyota dealer to give you quotes. The RX is a mechanical twin to the Toyota Highlander, so any Toyota dealer can work on it. It uses the same engine and transmission, as does the Sienna and Camry and ES350.

 

Yes, if I were in your shoes I would do the repair.

I see the situation this way, would I buy a 2012 RX with repaired transmission for $6000? To me the answer is, yes.

 

@ISUFan sorry to hear about your transmission. If you don't mind me asking, what happened? Did it just quit all of a sudden or did you notice something was wrong for a while?

 

It started slipping when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. It is my wifes daily driver so I'm not sure how long it had been going on, but I noticed it a few weeks ago. We tried a transmission flush but unfortunately that did not seem to fix the issue.

 

What brand and type of ATF did you use, and how many quarts were replaced? Who did the flush?