138,000 used vehicle. Upon purchase did timing belt, water pump and all belts. Then had a transmission flush. Went on a 500 mile round trip and upon returning lost overdrive. Made it home then next day a severe lose of power and trans would not shift. After restarting would shift but no overdrive. After investigating found hundreds of similar incidents when you query lexus transmission failure. I can understand losing a transmission but reading all these complainants it is clear that this product is defective.
1999 Lexus RX300 transmission complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 129, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Lexus rx300, transmission shift problems at gear 3 and 4. Rpm goes over 4000, irrespective of warm or cold engine. I have an engine light code 0765 (solenoid shift d malfunction).
I purchased used 1999 lexus rx300 in 2008 and so far I've had to replace the transmission due to unexpected catastrophic failure, both air ratio sensors, both knock sensors, oxygen sensor, front strut mounts, and now possibly have to change the transmission again (not shifting correctly). I was not aware that the 1999 to 2001 rx300s were so problematic. Since this is my only vehicle and I am still making payments on it, I am stuck footing the bill for all these repairs. Which from what I have researched are attributed to bad engineering. I am constantly having to repair a vehicle which is supposedly known for quality. The problems that I've mentioned are just the major repairs. I have other minor issues such as rear power window must remain locked or it opens on it's own, dashboard lights do not illuminate,and power roof gets stuck open intermittently.
1999 lexus rx300 which had transmission service on march 17th 2011 at , began to make a whirring sound and slip out of gear while driving on interstate 85 north on saturday july 9th 2011. I immediatly pulled off onto the shoulder of the interstate to check the fluid and it showed full on the dip stick. On monday july 11th 2011 the rx300 in question was taken to the same dealership which performed the service of the transmission on march 17th 2011, and they informed me that I would need a new transmission costing upward of $4500. After further investigation I have found there are thousands of complaints regarding the rx300 model years 1999-2001 describing the exact same drive train failure. It is apparent that lexus is aware of this issue and has failed to issue any type of warning to its consumers of impending transaxle failure due to an inferior shifting apparatus. As stated earlier service was performed on my rx300 and any mention of impending problems were absent. As a consumer I feel that it is the responsibility of lexus to warn its customers of any problems which may arise due to inadequate equipment. Below are links to other websites which list complaints of the exact transaxle failure. A recall for repairs should be issued as this is a serious vehicle failure. If I had been informed of this impending issue costly repairs and damage certainly would have been avoided. Us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28020 - http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/webx/.f111d9c/1. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
The automatic transmission on my 1999 lexus rx300 failed at 165,000 miles. It constantly tried to downshift, and as a result it ran hot and burned transmission fluid. Prior to failing, it ceased shifting into overdrive while I was on the highway, forcing me to drive in a low gear at 4,500 rpms and waste gas while I drove as far as I could toward the mechanic.
My daughter was driving her 1999 lexus rx300 to work when, in heavy traffic, the transmission completely disengaged almost causing her to have an accident. Several cars almost hit her while she tried to navigate the car off the roadway to a safe place. Carried the car to the local toyota dealer (there is no local lexus dealer here) and was told the transmission would need to be replaced and the cost would be $3,700. There were no advanced indications the transmission was having problems it just suddenly quit working. This is a very dangerous scenario and we are blessed that our daughter was not involved in an accident due to the transmission failure.
Transmission failure at 145k no warning 4k to repair.
Transmission failure at 110k miles; required transmission replacement.
Began with very rough idle. Transmission then refuses to shift to overdrive gear.
While driving my lexus rx300 I heard a slight pop under the front. And the car stopped. I was told the transmission went bad. The car has 128,000 miles.
My car has a shudder from 2 to 3 shift of the transmission. I called the dealer and they told me it was a service campaign about this issue, but being my car is out of warranty I would have to pay for parts and labor to fix this issue.
I bought a '99 lexus rx300 for my wife at 62k miles. I did all of the schedule maintenance including the expensive stuff (like the timing belt change). Unbeknownst to me, the engine rear main seal was leaking at the time that I purchased it. I figured it was simple and "its a lexus, right?". I found out that it would cost $1700 to fix and that it was common on this model. I ignored the leak because my wife loved the truck otherwise. Unrelated to the oil leak, at 183,000 miles I'm driving on a family vacation with the car on cruise control and the transmission suddenly starts to slip. I manage to make it my destination, but after research and getting diagnostics from the dealership and trans shops, I found it would cost $3000-$4000 to fix. I decided to fix it and paid $3700 for it. No sooner than I took off driving, the car started smoking horribly and was now slipping in 1,2, and 3rd gear. These transmissions are a nightmare to repair, and I would recommend anyone that buys one to count your losses when it fails and trash the car.
1999 lexus rx 300 91k miles, owned since new, all service at dealer as required, transmission just went out. Found a website with many complaints, same thing, low miles. Obviously a dealer defect, this is not right! I bought a lexus so it would be reliable. My chevy silverado 1993 is going stronger than this car. Since I bought the car, it did not upshift right. Lexus always said this was not a problem. I notice other people complaining of the same symptom. This failure was sudden other than that. Just in a parking lot & suddenly it would not shift going forward. 1 1/2 years ago my mechanic happened to check my tranny fluid, it was black. He drained & replaced it. I was livid, I had paid for all dealer maintenance. That was at roughly 80k miles. Supposedly this was done at 60k miles by lexus (I'm not sure if they did the work now, or not) there were metal shavings in the fluid. Something appears to be wrong with this design, and looks like they did a bandaid in later models. I am seriously considering getting a class action lawsuit against them, I should not have to pay $5k for a new tranny now, that is why I bought a lexus. My celica was still going strong at 175k miles when I sold it. Check this website: http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/lexus/rx300/r54694/comments/page-2/ [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I have a popping in the steering column. I hope that the steering is not lost from this popping.
I was driving on a interstate and the transmission started slipping until it gave out.
1999 lexus rx 300 vehicle 99,000 miles in very good repair suddenly stalls due to transmission failure on the freeway. No previous warning. I was very fortunate to "coast" off the highway into a safe area to stop the vehicle. It would no longer move, transmission was reported to be dead by two mechanics. After researching this model there are many reports about transmission failures some causing accidents and injuries. Neither was the case with my incident but it is a disturbing trend.
About one week ago, I noticed a tinny/humming noise coming from somewhere under the hood of my rx300. I took it to several mechanics to have them tell me what was wrong with it, but by the time I got there the engine was operating at normal temperatures and the noise was practically non-existent. Yesterday morning, while traveling at highway speeds, it would suddenly lose power and the tachometer would show the rpms raising suddenly, as if it was in neutral. It would do this for several seconds or more before deciding to apply power to the wheels again when it wanted to. This has caused me to have to creep along at times, unsure of what it might do next. Not being in control of when (or where for that matter) my vehicle will go is a safety concern. Will it poop out on me when I'm needing to pass somebody or trying to turn left across oncoming traffic? Will it lunge me forward on its own at an unpredictable moment? Yesterday afternoon my "check engine" light came on, my mechanic told me the code rang up as "shift solenoid." this car has always been taken care of according to manual specs. My last tranny fluid change was about three months ago. The car also appears to have a rear engine leak at the gasket between the engine and tranny. This "quality" lexus car has less than 114k miles on it! My sister just had her rear engine seal replaced and her transmission rebuilt for $4400 and hers has just 125k miles on it. What a joke! I will never by a toyota again. I've always gotten better safety and longevity out of fords. Poo on you lexus. I am scheduling a time to have my mechanic repair this; still waiting on a quote though. I expect a min of $400, but once he opens the tranny up he may advise me to rebuild the thing (another $4-$5k). Lexus either believes in safety, in which case they should fess up to poor engineering and fix their mistake, or they don't! Deaths/injuries:? = not yet.
Transmission failure.
I have had idle problems for over a year. Then abruptly while driving on surface streets my transmission quit shifting. The transmission had totally failed. This lexus 1999 rx300 has hundreds of consumer complaints with the same problem. I was lucky enough to get 142,000 miles before it failed. I had planned to drive this car for over 200,000 miles knowing it was a toyota vehicle. In the past, toyota's were valued for their durability and reliability. I was very lucky this did not happened at high speeds.
I have owned a 1999 lexus rx 300 since it was new. Now has 98,000 miles and transmission went out yesterday. I have read and talked to service people that said the 1999 and 2000 models have transmission defects but the service people tell me it will cost between $4 to $5,000 to repair. This is on a car that is worth about $7,000, doesn't make sense to repair. With all of toyota's problems this rx300 should be on recall!
Wife driving 1999 rx300 lexus w/ awd and it just stopped and unable to engage reverse due to transmission failure. It was towed home and after some inquiries just parked until enough money can be raised to attempt repair (very costly).
Accelerator entrapment in aftermarket floor pad of a lexus rx 300 last september. (I don't know what kind of floor pad, I bought it in 1999 and installed it then, it is one of the thick ones that is good a holding snow and water.) I figured out that the floor pad was the problem while the engine was revving to 90 MPH and the brakes would not stop the car. Lexus could find nothing wrong but said nothing to me about this being a problem in toyota products. No crash and no injury since I figured it out; the floor mat felt thick to my foot so I yanked it out from under the pedals. Just really scary.... Specifically, I came out of a side street on to a main road and needed to get ahead of traffic so I stomped in the accelerator pretty hard- not my typical driving style- and then the accelerator stuck, the car revving and going to 90- 100 MPH. I stood on the brakes but it would not stop. I tried to throw it into park ( but thankfully the car wouldn't let me- I was thinking about trying to use the parking brake to stop it, but it doesn't have a hand brake so that's why I was so stupid and tried to throw it in park. The noise from that was so horrifying I did not put it in neutral). Then I felt the lumpy floor mat and yanked it out from underneath the pedals. It was late at night and there were no cars on the road so I had a mile of clear road to work this out. Car had about 275,000 miles on it. Built in july 1998, jt6h10u7x0032830 is serial I can't give you the exact date because I can't find the service receipt- sorry!
I purchased a lexus rx300 in october 2009. The car has been maintained and proper fluids checked or replaced. On february of 2010 the transmission went out. No warning lights indicating that there was an issue with engine or transmission. Now I am told that it will cost approximately 4400k to replace. As I research I come to find out that I have purchased a top of line vehicle with a mid class transmission (camry). Car is sitting in driveway still no check engine or warning lights. Something is wrong with this picture.
On or about 12/5/09 my daughter was driving home from work on 55 when all of a sudden she said the car seemed to lose traction and she said before she knew it she was inches away from going into a ditch and just missed hitting another car,thank god the traffic behind her did not crash into her. A guy she missed hitting got out of his car and asked if she was ok and that she almost hit him. We contacted lexus that morning and was told to bring the car in so we had it towed and was given a loaner for about a week and was finally told what was wrong,the front differential was locking up &fluid inside was completely black from metal shavings to the tune of $5000.00 we at that time asked if there was any recalls on the car because everybody we talked to said the car should not have done that,was told by the service guy there were no recalls,we went looking on the internet about differentials and happened upon lexus website and there we found recall on my car 1999 rx300 recall #72421 describing exactly what happened to us.contacted lexus was told it was not my car,not my VIN #,different manufacturer. After numerous calls to try and resolve this getting the runaround was told by the service manager he would be willing to do the labor for free and but did not feel like he should assume all responsibility and to call corporate was told by them that there was no recall that it was a "technical bulletin".and finally they would allow 25% off of parts and that was a final offer,also I received a $500.00 gift card toward parts,there is a recall # .I took very good care of my car,spent $2000.00 in 11/08 for work on the car.besides the fact no one was hurt lexus is giving me the runaround they flatly said no recalls even though their website has recall with recall #. I think they are taking advantage because we are women and supposedly was not going to pursue this. If the service guy said to contact corporate which we did as well as the bbb,and mr. Fix it from the sometimes.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lexus rx300. The contact stated that she noticed a noise on the front end of the vehicle and within a few minutes while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped moving forward. She turned the vehicle off and tried to restart it; however, after 10 attempts to restart the vehicle she was unable to do so. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer offered her a 50% discount off of the total repair costs. The vehicle had not been repaired to-date. The current and failure mileages were 86,192.
We owned a 1999 lexus rx 300 SUV. We recently encountered a complete transmission failure on 11/26/2009 (thanksgiving day) at ~134000 miles while driving to attend a thanksgiving dinner. The car was well-maintained and well-kept since the purchase. The entire maintenance history can be verified & confirmed by lexus of portland in oregon. We were very surprised that the transmission went out so soon for a lexus. This is very disappointing. Not only the situation was dangerous and unsafe for my wife & I (we were on a highway) but we later found out that lexus is charging us $4400 to replace a rebuilt transmission. As I investigate further, sounds like lexus/toyota is well-aware of the problem and not offering any compensation to help with the heavy burden replacement cost. We would like to file this complaint as a way to get higher authority to help the affected lexus owner. Hopefully you can review & investigate into the matter with lexus/toyota for us.
I had some diagnostics run on the transmission, and the verdict was that the planetary gear would likely need to be replaced if the transmission was rebuilt. Apparently the original planetary gear had four gears mounted in an aluminum carrier... Who knows, heat, wear whatever the carrier fails and allows the gears to tilt, and then your tranny is toast.. The new replacement planetary gears are mounted in a steel carrier, with 6 gears instead of the original 4....very interesting.... And much stronger I spoke with the service manager at my local lexus dealer (who himself had an rx300 and had to replace the transmission, ironically), and he went to lexus corporate and got them to pay for half of the replacement cost. This brought the estimated cost to about $2200 including tax. The estimated costs on the overhaul were between $1500-$2000. The lexus service manager had said that when his own transmission went out, he'd grilled the lexus engineers on the remanufactured part. He said that the engineers admitted that there were some "improvements" made in that transmission post-2001 and that they'd rather have a remanufactured 2001+ tranny than a brand new 2000 transmission. They never admitted to an issue, only that the 2001+ part was definitely better. I consider myself to be pretty darn good at knowing when someone isn't telling the full truth, and this guy was, so I believe him.
I am trying to decide what to do at this rock and hard place with my 1999 lexus rx that I purchased new. I love this car, however since the warranty ended, I've had a series of problems. Sensors mostly and a check engine light that always seems to be linked to co2 issues. It has been on and off for about three years now. Finally, I had a checkup done when my car started to infrequently shudder when it downshifts from 3rd to 2nd gear or delay reverse when put in gear. Nothing showed up engine/transmission wise...... Thought it was an alignment problem with the tires so had it realigned. Problem still remains and appears to be worsening and I'm getting concerned about driving it. The car has 86,000 miles on it and I have always had the lexus dealership do the scheduled maintenance when appropriate. This is a very poor quality issue for a company who claims to have quality as their main goal. I guess they just don't claim to have "good or great" quality as their motto. I will be shouting this loud and clear to all of my friends.
Transmission on my 1999 lexus rx300 started slipping. We took it into a lexus dealer and were told to not do anything until the transmission failed, then bring it in. I asked if we should have it serviced or some maintenance to prevent a failure and they advised that it was not worth it. It failed, then the dealer wants $4,200 to fix it. Research shows that this year and model lexus has transmission problems nationwide and suggests it is a widespread problem. This is a safety issue as well as general mechanical failure.
I have read as many of the owners of 1999 lexus rx300 SUV , I am not surprised to know that I am now a proud owner of a brand new transmission that failed on my wife while returning from greenville to columbia sc. The transmission was indicating problems by shifting slow as many other complaints that have been filed . When these transmissions start to fail you experience slow shifting when the car has been sitting , even if you let the car warm up first before moving into any gear drive or reverse. When you try to back up in reverse the transmission will not shift into gear, then jumps into gear hard. I have been in the mechanical field for 35 years working for bridgestone/firestone ias a managing partner of retail locations and know this is the signs of transmission problems. This vehicle has been serviced only by lexus only. Also are severe oil sludging problems, have serviced hundreds of these models and every horror story is the same . Oil sludging causes severe engine damage restricting oil flow through out the engine. When is our rights as consumers going to be upheld by our government . I don`t think I want to buy other new transmission from toyota corporation or another toyota product . The cost to repair was $4075.00 and the only transmissions available are thru toyota with apparently with the new design . These problems were corrected in 2002 with the new design, what about us the owners of the defective ones!!!! Chapin s.c.
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