27th Oct 2004, 20:59

I own a 2001 RX-300 with ~ 38,000 miles. The transmission was serviced by LEXUS at ~ 30,000. The dealer just informed me that the transmission fluid was black and transmission unrepairable. Good news - it is still under warranty.

15th Nov 2004, 15:22

I purchased a Lexus Rx 300 on 10/09/03, on 2/16/04 the transmission went out, taken the car back 3 more times and on 4/9/04 it broke down again its the axle, and the differential, the car had never been an accident.

22nd Jan 2005, 18:01

My Lexus RX300 transmission just went out 12,000 miles after the warranty has expired. As I have read, the cost is about $4,000. Any suggestions?

11th Mar 2005, 17:40

I have a 1999 RX300 with 71000 miles, well maintained. When the vehicle is cold, 30 degrees or lower, the transmission is very slow to shift from first to second. Sometimes, it doesn't make the 1-2 shift until the engine reaches 4000 RPMs. After three visits to the dealer, they say this is normal. This problem did not occur last year. Anyone have similar occurences with their RX300?

Please reply to WWoody@ezwv.com.

Thank you...

26th Apr 2005, 10:53

The transmission on my wife's 2000 RX300 just gave out. The car has 82,000 miles. As luck would have it, this falls out of the 7-year, 70,000 mile warranty. This $4,400 repair follows the replacement of the "gummed up" engine I had to incur last August. Thankfully, the engine replacement was under warranty. Supposedly, the transmission was flushed when the engine was replaced. Having been told by the salespeople at the Lexus dealership that the transmissions are "bulletproof", I never dreamed the transmission would break 15,000 miles after the engine was replaced. Lexus has denied any goodwill assistance. Apparently the other 5 Lexus and 2 Toyota vehicles I have purchased mean nothing in the form of customer loyalty. Jack Moore - Indianapolis. 4/26/05.

13th Oct 2005, 15:15

We bought a used Lexus RX300 from a Toyota Dealer in March this year. Since then, we have driven the vehicle round trip from Seattle to Utah, Arizona, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon, Seattle. We just drove back to Las Vegas again. We also had numerous trips between Las Vegas and Los Angeles while we were in las Vegas. It has 70,000 miles on it now. We changed the transmission fluid and brake fluid after the first Vegas trip. We have had oil change on the car twice (synthetic oil) and I am planning to replace the spark plugs soon. The car runs great.

19th Oct 2005, 09:48

I am another victim. A long term Lexus owner, I am shocked that my transmission stopped working (at 70 mph) and Lexus is willing to share half the cost of a new $5,000 repair. My 1999 RX 300 has only 66,000 miles.

21st Oct 2005, 21:13

Purchased a 1999 RX300 with only 20,000 miles and have driven and enjoyed the vehicle. Now at 80,000 miles, the transmission started acting up -- rough shifts. On the way to the dealer, lost the entire transmission. At just about $4,000, this is painful. Seeing the posts which preceded this one, is it possible the transmission if is poorly designed for this vehicle? Maybe we need Lexus to report how many times this has happened???

9th Nov 2005, 16:40

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST... Just lost the tans-mission in the wife's RX300 99'. No warning, she was driving on the Hi-way with two little kids and out of the blue she said it felt like she was hit from behind the way the car jumped. 84,000 miles I think Lexus has a problem. How do we get them to do a recall???

15th Nov 2005, 09:40

I lost my trans at 99,000. I guess I ma blessed in comparison to some of these other people. Apparantely from what I have learned it is the coast down upshift that Toyota uses that may be the culprit. Since an automatic is a big hydraulic pump and the speed of the spinning impeller pressurizes it this low speed of upshifting is the problem. There is not enough pressure because it is a high gear and when you resume acceleration there is not enough clamping pressure on the clutches therefore it causes excessive slip. Heat and wear then eat away at the trans. In an effort to cut down on the downshifting and friction that comes with it to save fuel economy this has been their high tech computerized solution. However you take a 4500lb vehicle and program it this way and it will shell it. The newer 330 has a e-throttle by wire and it actually de- throttles it between shifts as a bandaid to this problem.

Those of you who have one with low miles do not accelerated hard after a coast down. Throttle it easy and roll into it. You may consider letting up Ala a manual type throttle letting up between gears especially under heavy throttle of even manually shift it. Change your fluid at your 5th engine oil change (15k) and go to a filter and chuck the factory screen. This is a mounting problem and hopefully a recall will happen soon.

24th Mar 2006, 12:44

Same here. Premature transmission failure, as soon as my PowerTrain warranty expired. This is ridiculous for a 40K luxury car. So much for that relentless pursuit of quality. Recall please!!!

6th Apr 2006, 16:29

My 2000 RX300 Lexus lost it's transmission at 82000 miles at a replacement cost of $4,343.86 plus $291.91 car rental fee. The Sun gear, Ring gear and 4 planet gears on that one stage have extensive tooth fracture. Failures of this type can generally be attributed to one or more of the following causes: 1. Poor design analysis resulting in improper gear selection resulting in tooth overload and tooth fracture. 2. Improper alignment at assembly resulting in non-equal load distribution leading to fatigue fracture of the teeth. 3. Foreign material, getting into the planetary gearing from either contamination at assembly or breakdown of other components within the transmission. In any case, the responsibility for any of these occurrences is directly the responsibility of the manufacturer. LEXUS should: Replace/repair all units manufactured under these design requirements, Redesign the unit to reflect greater integrity, Notify all RX300 owners of the potential problems as they present a definite safety hazard to all motorists. Because of the SAFETY HAZARD they present LEXUS MUST BE HELD RESPONSIBLE. I'm in the process of attempting to have this done by our Calif state officials.

15th Jun 2006, 20:28

Lexus seriously needs to step up and address this problem. Many people, including me, have to put $5,000.00 into a car that was $40,000+ when I bought new. I had mine go out at 63,000 and just told Lexus to replace the Transmission and I would pay them, but automatically trade it in. I bought a LS430 and love the car. I have no complaints about this car. The LS series has always been great to me. I bought my first LS400, a 93, in 95. In 97 I saw the coach edition LS400 at the dealer when I had the car in for service and bought it. I didn't think I would be buying a car so soon, but I couldn't resist. In 1999 I saw that Lexus had an SUV coming out. I waited until mid 1999 to get one. I kept the LS400 and still have it. It only has 36,000 miles. I have faith in Lexus, but this is one problem they need to address. Lexus is by far better than any Mercedes. The wife has her S500 in every month for some little annoyance. I tell her to get a Lexus, but she won't drive anything, but Mercedes. I will always drive Lexus.