Hi everyone,

I have a 2020 RX with around 90,000 km on it. Occasionally, when I first start the vehicle, the transmission doesn’t shift gears properly. For example, while merging onto the main road, even when I reach speeds around 60 km/h, the RPM keeps climbing up to 4,000 without upshifting.

If I try to shift manually, the display shows that it has shifted, but the RPM doesn’t drop, and the car stays in the same gear. When I pull over, turn the engine off, and restart the vehicle, everything goes back to normal.

Additionally, when I first start the car, sometimes moving the gear selector into D or R feels very stiff, and the transmission doesn’t engage smoothl it feels like it’s stuck.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue or have any idea what could be causing this? Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Allow the vehicle to warmup a little longer and see if it improves?

Lastly, are you the original owner? If not, perhaps someone installed aftermarket ATF?

 

The car just reached 90,000 km, which is considered major maintenance. I had the transmission fluid changed at the authorized service. I’m not the first owner of the vehicle; I bought it around 70,000 km. In the beginning, I didn’t have any issues, but the problem has started to appear recently.

 

if you just have transmission oil change, more likely they didn"t do it correctly. Years ago i have my es350 transmission oil drain and refilled, soon after it had same problem of shifting when cold start in the morning. After adding 1/2 qt more of transmission oil problem was gone. You mention you have it changed at authorized, maybe ask them to check transmission oil level, or just bring it to toyota or lexus to check.

 

I would get the ATF drained and refilled. It takes 3 qts and use Toyota WS.