2001 Lexus RX300: jerking or lurching

Filed Mar 16, 2019 · Transmission · 200,000 miles · TN

The vehicle was started and in park in a flat lot. When I shifted to reverse, it did not engage/roll back. As I applied pressure to the accelerator nothing happened until a it suddenly clunked and lurched back. I put it back in park and then it repeated the same synptom. The transmission has now begun to whine and there is rumbling and jerkily between rough shifts on the streets and highway. After hearing and reading numerous horror stories of these transmission problems, and how they have suddenly gone out or locked up at highway speeds, I'm sure this is a problem lexus has known about and is defective, especially since it represents more than 70% of the nthsas published complaints on this vehicle. There should be an investigation into this. The sudden unreliability of this transmission and it's potential to cause harm is not a coincidence among these many reports. If this were a boeing max 8 plane it'd be out of commission for a failure like this!

Filed Sep 26, 2012 · Transmission · 146,000 miles · TX

Driving along normally, the transmission began moving in and out of gear spontaneously. Depressing the accelerator resulted sometimes in revving the engine, other times in acceleration, and other times switching back and forth between the two causing the car to jerk. Thankfully, I was not far from home and was able to get back safely.

Filed Aug 18, 2010 · Transmission · 108,200 miles · OH

The transmission in my 2001 lexus rx300 failed with a little over 108k miles. No warning lights came on. I had trouble getting it in reverse 2 days before - thought it was a fluke. Then I had trouble starting it for 2 days. On 8/16 it started fine, so I drove it to the dealer. Twice on the way there, it jerked & hesitated when accelerating from a stop - I almost got rear ended. I am the 2nd owner - I bought it in 2003 with 41,462 miles on it. It was lexus certified pre-owned. The car fax report noted the original owner registered it as private/personal use & no issues were noted. I have had all service done by the dealer, except the last oil change. I've only driven about 9k miles per year, drive it responsibly & have never towed with it. Very frightening that I had few symptoms, and no warning light to alert me there was a problem. Lexus dealer wants $4,300 to replace it with a lexus remanufactured transmission. I have not decided what to do. I'm seeing lots of information online about how bad these transmissions are, and they often need replaced multiple times. Scares me to know I could replace it, have it fail & perhaps be in an accident. I am a realtor & frightening that I could have been in an accident with clients in my vehicle. My expectations of lexus quality & safety have not been met.

Filed Apr 8, 2009 · Transmission · 125,000 miles · NC

Actually, there was little or no warning. On saturday, while driving, the car seemed to get stuck in neutral, and then lurch forward. This happened a couple of more times, and each time was somewhat more exaggerated, so much so, that I attempted to keep my foot on the accelerator, trying to circumvent a stall. By the third time, the car sounded as if I was dragging something underneath. I returned home safely, but when my husband went to check the car, it would not even shift into neutral! Aaa came to tow the car and the rear wheels seemed to lock, so much so that the car was dragged onto the towing bed, leaving some rubber on the driveway. The dealership has reported to me that I need a brand new transmission on my 2001 rx300 lexus, with 125,000 miles, to the tune of $5000.

Filed Dec 3, 2008 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · MO

I have a 2001 rx300, as I am reading I have not been the only one to experience a transmission issue! I have had this car for 3 years and the transmission has to be overhauled, as I was driving my children to church on sunday the car got to about 30 MPH and started revving up really hard and then jerked, in a 65mph zone, where I was nearly rearended by another vehicle trying to get off the interstate! This is a safety hazard, I cannot lexus to help and will be paying $3500 to replace! I work in transportation safety and I must say this is a huge hazard and there should be something someone can do to make lexus fix this problem being they are not going to care about fixing it on their own!

Filed Jul 30, 2008 · Transmission · 97,500 miles · CA

First, the car would not shift into reverse. Then, after attempting several times, the car violently jerked me into reverse and I almost crashed. After backing up, I shifted into drive, but locked up on me again. After revving the accelerator and trying different gears, finally jerked me and children forward into drive. Initially, lexus "supposedly" fixed the problem by replacing o2 sensor, but problem recurred in june again. Since the problem could not be duplicated at lexus shop, they gave me my car without any repair. Then, a more serious occurrence happened in mid july when the gear got stuck while driving. I was driving about 30 MPH when gear got stuck, shifted to neutral, then violently jerked me and kids forward and into drive again. Children and I were very frightened. This is a safety issue because not only are you dropped out of gear into neutral while car is in motion, but then you are suddenly jerked forward into drive. To make it worse, its frequency is erratic so you just hope this doesn't happen on the freeway. According to many online blogs (especially edmunds.com), it is a common problem that 1999-2001 lexus has but will not acknowledge. Mostly happens at about 65,000 miles. Don't understand why there hasn't been a recall already. Are we waiting for there to be a fatality or serious injury for this to receive attention?

Filed Jul 18, 2008 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · NC

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 lexus rx300. While driving uphill at 70 MPH, the contact's vehicle lost power when she swerved to avoid another vehicle. She depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to move; however, the engine revved. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. She feels that this is a serious safety issue because she and her family could have been involved in a serious crash. The current and failure mileages were 85,000. Updated 08/15/08. *lj the consumer stated the transmission began to slip and hesitate when she would attempt to accelerate. At one point, the consumer put the gear in park with the engine running and the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. The dealership replaced the transmission, however it was the same transmission that was removed from the vehicle. Updated 08/15/08

Filed Jun 19, 2008 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · TX

Automatic transmission failed at 67,000 miles. It gave out in stop-and-go traffic. When accelerating, the engine started revving and the transmission would then slam into gear. The third time the car jerked when attempting to accelerate and then the transmission was completely gone ' the car would not move at all in any gear. I had to push the car to the side of the road and get it towed. Repair required putting in a rebuilt transmission at a cost of $3,800. Lexus provided no assistance on this issue. The car was always maintained per lexus/toyota schedules, so there is no reason for a complete transmission failure especially this early. The transmission was full of fluid and there were no leaks, etc. You will see many complaints for this same issue.

Filed Apr 28, 2008 · Transmission · 109,000 miles · AL

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 lexus rx300. The contact pulled into her driveway and attempted to place the vehicle into reverse, but was unsuccessful. Prior to this failure, while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and the gears would not switch properly. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and they replaced the front passenger side cv joint in 2007. After being towed to his facility, the mechanic diagnosed the driver side cv joint, but found that was not the cause of the failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. When she called lexus, they stated that the vehicle had to be towed to them in order to be diagnosed. The lexus dealer was 35 miles away. The failure mileage was 109,000. Updated 09/16/08 *bf updated 09/22/08.

Filed Apr 3, 2003 · Transmission · 27,000 miles · CT · crash

The vehicle lurched forward after the engine was turned off, and the keys were removed from the ignition, which caused an accident.