Another problem I have heard with the U140E is that one of the planetary gear sets has insufficent thrust bearing support. The bearing set shatters and then wrecks the transmission. This is the fear that kept me away from that year range; these are certainly the most attractive years of the ES300/330 and in the peak quality years as mentioned. This problem is an engineering flaw that Toyota/Aisin has made elsewhere. 2002+ Sequioas fail for exactly the same reason. Why it is not as common in LCs or Tundra, I do not know (or maybe it is and I just don’t know).

I think 20k ATF changes are prudent in almost any transmission. If not a whole fluid swap, at least the pan contents.

The 2002+ ES300/330 are nice cars. Pleasant interior (The look/design is even superior to the contemporary LS 430 IMO), but just a very blah exterior. These are still genuine Lexus Japan made and better than newer models in quality. The 5 speed transmission in them is also a nice feature and virtually bulletproof, or at least about as much as an AT can be.

Right, it’s a different transmission - what I meant was the root cause was the same from what I can gather. Either planetary gear sets that could not take the loads, or thrust bearings supporting them that were improperly built and wore out, then letting the planetary fail. I have read speculation this was because of changing the parts supplier and while the parts where engineered OK, they weren’t built correctly (maybe inferior steel) and it wasn’t caught for a while. I said it was an engineering flaw above but breaking it down, that may not be strictly true. This is what I have read; I can’t personally verify it, but it sounds credible since the exact design worked previously, and afterwards.

It is also odd to me that, regarding the A340, it is most identified with the Sequioa and doesn’t seem as common in the equally equipped Tundra and LC. I could see how the 4Runner could slide under the threshold of failure, but not the other two. Or maybe it does happen there and I just don’t know it. I used to drive a 98LC (fantastic truck) quite a bit and tow a lot with it, it was bullet proof to high mileage and before the years of the problem, but the exact drivetrain.