4th Aug 2010, 23:40

On April 2009, I purchased a used 2000 Lexus RX300 with 125 miles in the state on MN, I drove the Lexus for less than 5 months, and paid cash for the car. As a single mom of 3 that was a big investment and horrible mistake. I should have done more research before buying this car from this maker.

I was very happy as was able to purchase a used "luxury" car like a 2000 Lexus RX and was proud of my decision on buying this "luxury" car. I believed in the maker Toyota Lexus, whose reputation was built on expensive ads, instead of on building good quality engines/transmissions. Now I know that "luxury" for me came with a malfunction down the road on the transmission with a tag of $5,000.00 USD (just the transmission, not including the mechanic's work).

I was devastated as the investment AKA "luxury" car is park on my yard and my kids and I went back to ride the not so "luxury" bus'.

I have been doing some research and found on the internet that their later year models were modified. But they didn't do a recall for our models.

9th Aug 2010, 18:01

After reading a lot of this feedback, it makes me feel that it's not only happened to me. I purchased the 2000 RX300 used from Carmax, and expected it to last like most of the Toyotas that I've owned in the past, but I'm wrong. The transmission died on me while driven down a busy highway, trying to get to work in a 102 degree day. I've told myself this will be the last Lexus I'll be owning.

29th Sep 2010, 00:49

I've bought a 2002 RX300 and 3 months later the crappy 3 speed tranny went out! (4 speed if you count the reverse).

This car blatantly has a crappy transmission by design as any mechanic or a tranny specialist will tell you. I mean it's designed to go 0-25 on 1st gear, 25-50 MPH on 2nd and 50-110 MPH on 3rd? What is this, a go-cart? They've added gears to later models, but have not recalled or done anything about the 1999-2003. The most common sign of trans failure is trouble while in reverse gear! 4WD models are even more likely to fail as the transmission is under more pressure and heat. Low ATF IV, or smell of burn are also bad signs.

Lexus is great, but this model year 1999-2003 just has an inherently faulty transmission. No recall or class action yet.

23rd Nov 2010, 11:42

For those who purchased a used 2000 RX300, please be aware of where you purchased the vehicle and its history of accidents and lack of maintenance.

My husband and I purchased a 2000 RX300 brand new and have been the sole owners to date. We have driven this car back and forth between Phoenix, AZ & California for the last 3 years and have put on over 100K miles. No major accidents and have only changed out small parts as part of maintenance. To date the car runs beautifully - it is solid and we have never had any problems. We truly believe that older cars are more solid - newer cars with all the bells & whistles may be more prone to problems.

We will keep ours for a long time.

28th Nov 2010, 14:46

Our 2001 RX300 was purchased new by my father in law, and we have continued to service per mfg spec, and not had any trouble, other than a failed 02 sensor.

The car now has 150,000 miles. We hope to drive it another 150,000, and if we need a transmission at some point, we will get one.

14th Feb 2011, 21:00

Back in 2000 I brought a brand new RX300 and now with 103k miles the transmission is shot with no warning signs.

The car was serviced as scheduled where I spent $1800 on new struts, $1600 replacing the rotors, breaks, and ABS sensor last year. Got an estimate today and it would cost $3700 to rebuild the transmission. The car has always been highway driven.

I am debating if I should rebuild the tranny or cut my losses.

15th Feb 2011, 09:35

We bought our 2000 RX300 brand new. Always serviced it when needed. Just this past weekend, the transmission went out on us as well. We were shocked and surprised! The car only has 103K miles, I expected at least 200K or more from this car. The mechanic wants $3200 for a rebuilt transmission.

I have 2 family members that also bought a 2000 RX300 the same time. One is at 130K miles, the other at 80K. I hope this does not happen to them. I guess we have one of the bad ones. :(

Please let me know if anyone hears a class action or recall. We're still debating whether or not to even fix this now after reading all these posts.

12th May 2011, 06:17

I own an RX300 98 model. It has 110,000 km = 68,350 miles and the transmission just died. For those that accuse others for not maintaining their car, the manual states it is maintenance free transmission under normal driving conditions.

9th Nov 2011, 20:24

Tranny died after the whirring sound. Made it home in second gear. Failed bearing toasted the entire tranny. $5 grand. I am so upset that I have to spend that amount of money on a car with 230000km. Meticulous and clean with no prior problems. Bought used from the Lexus dealer with 90000km in 2006.

10th Mar 2012, 07:45

I have a 2000 RX300, and along with others, my transmission is shot also. I don't understand how there cannot be a class action lawsuit against Lexus. It seems that this is a common problem. Therefore how could they get away with such a poor product? Lexus is a very expensive brand name car. It seems as if they would want to make buyers happy. I will never purchase another Lexus ever...

22nd Oct 2012, 17:40

I bought a 2000 RX300 new, and the transmission just failed at 172,000 miles. I guess I'm doing better than most due to the fact they seem to fail around 100,000 miles. This is the first major problem that I have had with the car. The engine seems fine, so I'm going to take my chances and have them install a re-manufactured transmission after they do a compression test on the engine.