So much for Toyota reliability...

[sportyaccordy]

So there I was:

Driving down one of the worst streets in BK in my mom's Lexus RX300, with the car full of stuff I wanted to bring back to the nest from my apt that I didn't need anymore.

I make it up a hill, then on the way down the hill, I give it a little gas, and the motor revs out of sync with the acceleration of the car. It's similar to the feeling of a clutch slipping...

I get to a stop light, and just by sheer luck I pull over to the right lane to get a jump start. It was a move that would save me a lot of headache...

The light turns green, I give the beast gas...

Revs...

No acceleration.

I am dead in the water in one of the worst neighborhoods in Brooklyn in a Lexus... yes.

All indications point to transmission failure, which is apparently a common problem with these cars

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f111d9c/0

They must have got their transmissions from the same place Honda built their 98-02 V6 auto boxes from. What a crock of shit.

So of course, I had to leave the car, and then take a cab back to my apartment; wake up early today to get the keys back to my mom and get into work late.

The good news is, my mom is pretty sure she had a warranty up to 100K miles, and it died with about 94K on the clock. She's had this car for about 5 years now I think? so it's about time for her to pick up a new one anyway. Maybe a Honda CR-V?

[AltinD]

Like Honda had not got any transmission problems.

[sportyaccordy]

Like Honda had not got any transmission problems.

I mentioned Honda's transmission problems.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The trans was probably depressed and committed suicide.

[AltinD]

Any car brand and model can have transmission problems, my previous car had it replaced twice under warranty (first was because of an accident but they didn't knew, I think the 2nd time was just overkill or inventory clearance) ... so what's your point.

[S204STi]

Yep, no toyotas ever have mechanical problems.  There is no point in even having repair facilities.

[cawimmer430]

STOP THE BULLSH*T PLEASE! LEXUS ARE SO RELIABLE, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. A LEXUS NEVER BREAKS DOWN! THIS IS GERMAN FANBOY PROPAGANDA. MOST LIKELY THIS DUDE WAS RIDING IN A BENZ OR JAGUAR OR SOME OTHER EURO POS.





Seriously though, that sucked. How did you get out of the neighborhood without getting "attacked" or threatened by some gangs?

[FoMoJo]

So...was the car still there when your mom went to have it picked up?

[cawimmer430]

Oh, I love how the title of the thread reads:

So much for Toyota reliability...

But the topic is about a Lexus.


Same thing. Brilliant.   

[Secret Chimp]

Altin, your sig is enormous.

[sportyaccordy]

Yep, no toyotas ever have mechanical problems.  There is no point in even having repair facilities.

Never said that. But this is a recurring problem with these cars. It's almost guaranteed that once your RX reaches a certain mileage the tranny will give up the ghost.

So...was the car still there when your mom went to have it picked up?

Yes it was. It's with Lexus now. And it was the transmission.

This makes a strong case for manual transmissions. For one, you have to have some kind of brain to use one. And two, they just seem less prone to failure.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

You want her to go from a RX300 to a CR-V? 

[MX793]

Did the transmission actually go, or did you just lose all of the fluid (blown fluid line or something)?

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Did the transmission actually go, or did you just lose all of the fluid (blown fluid line or something)?

My first thought as well.

[2o6]

You want her to go from a RX300 to a CR-V? 

If she's trying to stay in the Premium segment, an RDX or an MKX would be great.

[dazzleman]

The best made car in the world is going to have some problems and need some repairs when it gets to a high mileage point.  I don't think this is necessarily an indictment of the car.  It has almost 100K miles on it.  You guys should have seen my first car; the transmission was going with less than 30K miles on it.

BTW sporty, what was the neighborhood?  BedStuy?  Flatbush?  Brownsville?  East New York?

[hounddog]

And two, they just seem less prone to failure.

I had a Hurst five speed go out while driving it once in a 1984 Mustang SVO. 

I also had a 98 Trans Am tranny go out on me.  That may or may not have been driver caused though.

[Submariner]

We had 2 Lexus's with engine failure (actually, one with transmission failure) 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Don't forget Trep's Corolla's trans failed so he installed an Accord trans in it.

[Rich]

Don't forget Trep's Corolla's trans failed so he installed an Accord trans in it.

I thought that was a Veyron trans..

[Secret Chimp]

I thought that was a Veyron trans..

No he did that to his new, "really mine" Touareg.

[Laconian]

Don't forget Trep's Corolla's trans failed so he installed an Accord trans in it.

his cousin did the work

[Submariner]

I thought that was a Veyron trans..

No silly...never would he place such a piece of art in a lowly Toyota.  He saved the Bugatti drivetrain for his RWD "300M trip computer Intrepid R/T"

[Cookie Monster]

Don't forget Trep's Corolla's trans failed so he installed an Accord trans in it.

It was an Accord with a Camry transmission!

[the Teuton]

It was an Accord with a Camry transmission!

Will that even work or was it all custom fabricated?

[BimmerM3]

Will that even work or was it all custom fabricated?

I'm pretty sure it was never real to begin with, but I seriously doubt it would work without some serious fabrication work.

[sportyaccordy]

The best made car in the world is going to have some problems and need some repairs when it gets to a high mileage point.  I don't think this is necessarily an indictment of the car.  It has almost 100K miles on it.  You guys should have seen my first car; the transmission was going with less than 30K miles on it.

BTW sporty, what was the neighborhood?  BedStuy?  Flatbush?  Brownsville?  East New York?

It was... the border of East New York. I consulted with some BK experts and I wasn't in any real danger.

Obviously any old car will have problems, especially if maintenance is an issue or it wasn't used right; my first Accord threw a rod at 117K miles cause of a failed oil pump...

But this is a recurring problem. If you look up 'Lexus RX300 transmission failure' you will find endless forum threads on people whose trannies blew up. IT's a design flaw that Toyota fails to acknowledge:

I would go to a third party, not one of the above, and get a tranny repair quote. There are many stories here and about regarding early, premature, transaxle failures in the RX300 series due to the adoption of ASL(***) techniques late in the last century. In many cases the Lexus dealer was able to get Lexus corporate to pick up a portion or all of the repair bill.

And don't let ANYONE tell you that the failure is a result of your not doing the proper scheduled maintainance. Your owners manual is quite clear that no routine scheduled transaxle maintenance is required.

***ASL: Aggressive Shift Logic. The transaxle control firmware is designed to upshift the transaxle into the next higher gear anytime the, ANY, opportunity arises. That oftentimes results in the tranaxle starting an upshift as the result of a slight lift of the accelerator pedal just before accelerating. The transaxle begins the upshift just as you reapply pressure to the accelerator pedal and now the upshift must complete before the downshift most appropreate to the new pedal position can be commanded and begin.

You RX300 has a direct connection from the gas pedal to the engine throttle so the engine RPM will begin to rise long before the transaxle has shifted into the lower gear needed to provide the proper level of torque to the drive wheels.

Can you smell the slipping and burning of the transaxle clutches as you read this?

In 2004 Lexus went to DBW, e-throttle, so as to delay engine torque until those clutches had time to fully and firmly seat.

In the meantime....

It has been powershifting unnecessarily since it hit the road... it's flawed

[S204STi]

Never said that. But this is a recurring problem with these cars. It's almost guaranteed that once your RX reaches a certain mileage the tranny will give up the ghost.

Yes it was. It's with Lexus now. And it was the transmission.

This makes a strong case for manual transmissions. For one, you have to have some kind of brain to use one. And two, they just seem less prone to failure.

Meh, automatics are actually tremendously reliable these days, and the common repair cost isn't much higher than just doing a clutch in many MT powered cars.

[sportyaccordy]

Meh, automatics are actually tremendously reliable these days, and the common repair cost isn't much higher than just doing a clutch in many MT powered cars.

They have to replace the whole tranny...

The MT being better theory was weak... I had to replace a tranny cause of a seized axle; plus we will see more AT problems as there are more of them in the US. But still, with this car it's a design flaw.

[GoCougs]

One AT failure, and the whole of the company is indicted? Have we ever seen this before???

No automakers making millions of cars a year will build each one perfect. It's statistically impossible.

FWIW, a design flaw (if that's what this is) is not a reliability issue per se...