22nd May 2009, 19:52

Own a 2000 RX 300 AWD with 97k miles. Transmission is no bad and repair is estimated at $3000. Repair shop says may be $5000. I am debating if repair is worth it or just sell it as is. Disappointing considering the hype around "Lexus" as a drive forever car.

16th Aug 2009, 09:52

I am disappointed, as many others are, to see the problem with the 2000 RX300 transmission failure. I experienced the same problem yesterday.

I purchased my car new, in 2001. I have done all of the regular maintenance, without fail, and have loved driving my car. Yesterday; however, without much warning, the transmission went out. It was fine and then the "check engine" light came on and the car began to "miss out" or experience transmission slipping. I pulled off the road and waited a while, then tried to make it back home. I was 50 miles from home. Not a chance, within 10 - 15 minutes, it would not move and I was stranded on the side of a busy highway, calling roadside assistance.

I have never had any major issues with this car and it has 121k miles. I will have it repaired and continue to drive it.

Nonetheless, it is very disheartening to hear that this is not an isolated situation.

26th Dec 2009, 14:51

Bought my 2000 RX300 3 years ago at 80K miles and took it in every 5K with some kind of problem. Because it was under warranty, the dealership never found anything wrong. Complained of transmission issues at least 6 times and I have had the transmission flushed twice. At 120K, the transmission just went. Costing me $5K for rebuild and used torque converter at that transmission franchise since the dealer couldn't promise anything and said would be at least $8K. The POS is only worth $9K. Getting this thing fixed, selling it and buying a BMW...

21st Jan 2010, 18:16

Same transmission problem!!! Price to fix $3,700 at Toyota dealership $400 cheaper than Lexus. Love the RX300 and bought it new in 2000, did all main. & minor repairs. But in the last few months, problems!!! Still debating if I should fix. They should announce a recall.

28th Feb 2010, 22:13

Bought our 99' RX-300 in fall 98'. It has 145k on it, and I did tow a jeep from Oregon to Guadalajara, Mexico where we now live (no Lexus dealers). Transmission went about three weeks ago. After all of the recent problems with Lexus, I'm feeling like they should have recalled this model. I've had LS-400 and LS-430's, which I loved. I have a 2006 Sequoia SRS, which is running like a Toyota is supposed to. The RX is a nice design and comfortable, and should have run well for 200 k miles. Now I'm looking at towing it from Mexico as it's a foreign plated car and has to go out. What a headache!

6th Mar 2010, 08:32

My 1999 RX300 transmission is gone! Bought it in 2003 with only 30,000 miles on it... now about 120K...basically a good car until recently... had to change the knock sensors and wire harness, which I though was my major problem... then 3 weeks later... the dreaded noise from the tranny... I am reluctant to change out the tranny... as if they didn't fix the original problem... will I have to change it again...

I have read that Lexus owners have had to put more than 1 tranny in their cars... I can't find if there is a recall or a class action... please advise...

8th Mar 2010, 16:14

03/08/2010.

Bought my Lexus RX300 2001 (new) and it has just over 100K.. The transmission is shot. Lexus is telling me it will cost approx 5k to repair. I am quite disappointed knowing that I paid well over 40K. Could have gotten a Honda, and it would still be running fine and spent half the amount..

17th Mar 2010, 22:18

I own a 2000 Lexus RX300 AWD, and have loved the car. It has just over 109k miles, and I have always maintained the car in the time I have owned it over the past 4 years. Previously it was owned by my uncle, who also regularly maintained it.

Yesterday I was driving with my 6 yr old son and 17 mo old daughter up a steep hill, and the transmission just went out. No warning light or anything. I didn't even make it a mile. It has been towed to my mechanic, and I am told that it needs either a new or rebuilt transmission to the tune of $3300 to $5700. I am very disappointed in this, as I can see from the other posts this is clearly a problem with a faulty transmission put in by Lexus in the 2000 model RX300.

19th Mar 2010, 05:36

I just purchased a used RX300 VSC 2001 model Lexus at 78000 miles 14 months ago. Lexus sent several extended warranty requests worth about 450 USD. I did not get the warranty as I believed Lexus like Toyota have a reputation for building reliable vehicles, in particular the drive train. That is transmission and motor.

Just this week at 114,000 miles I took the car to the dealer because of hesitations while driving. They diagnosed it as "transmission needs replacement" and quoted a price of 4,138.00 USD. to it.

I used Google to check for RX300 complaints, and was shocked to discover numerous "short lived" transmissions for the vehicle in particular. I saw no recalls, but believe Lexus Toyota needs to recall and repair these vehicles. I understand the later years 2003 Lexus transmissions were modified to get rid of this problem.

3rd Jul 2010, 18:55

Sad to say Toyota/Lexus is not the company it once was. They became preoccupied with becoming the Number 1 car company, and along the way forgot about building quality autos.

I have been in the automobile business for over 40 years, and until recently thought that Toyota's and Honda's were the best cars made. Not any more, Toyota is no better than many domestic vehicles. Transmissions should not fail in under 150,000 miles, and even if you don't change the oil as often as requested, an engine should not become covered with sludge deposits.

I recently tore down a 2006 Corolla that had 126,000 miles and had been well cared for, and it was amazing to see how thick the sludge was in this engine (I have NEVER seen a Honda, Nissan, Mazda or Subaru with anywhere near that much sludge). I see Honda engines every day that have 100,000-200,000 miles on them and they are virtually devoid of any sludge, whereas most Toyota engines I look at have quite a bit of sludge buildup, especially the 6 cylinders. It is not a problem with regular oil changes, but rather an engineering issue with these engines! Do yourself a favor, buy a Honda/Acura, they are better quality vehicles.