There was a fix in 2002 for it, but I doubt Toyota will give that for
free. And now you know the probable reason why the previous owner got
rid of the car. It's a known defect, so maybe Toyota will cut some
slacks and cover it.
A little Google will show you that there are many problems with the
01 RX transmission. But normally Toyota is going to stick it to you
after CPO. The dealer's already told you that ($6300).
I'd use that money for a down payment on a new BMW. Might as well get
a true luxury car.
DetMich1, Club Lexus:
"My friend Shelby, a service writer at Lexus tells me the transmission
failures on the AWD models is common on the 99-01 model years. Lexus
switched transmissions for 2002 and beyond and solved the problem.
When I was car shopping she said "don't buy an AWD RX 300 manufactured
prior to 2002. Also, the oil sludging problem wasn't corrected until
late 2001 (due to a wide temperature differential between the block
and cylinder heads). The experience with any single car can be good or
bad but statistically over a large sample, the incidence of problems
is much lower with model years 2002 and newer."
On Apr 27, 7:33 am, Lurfys Maw <inva...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I would appreciate any comments on the story I am getting from my
> Lexus dealer.
>
> My wife has a 2001 RX 300. We bought it CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) in
> 2003.
>
> Friday afternoon, she called me from a friend's house saying it was
> making strange noises and seemed to have difficulty ****fting out of
> low gear.
>
> I called the dealer where we bought it and who has done all of the
> service. They sent a flat bed truck to get it.
>
> The tow truck driver drove it onto the flat bed truck. I didn't hear
> any noises. He showed me what appeared to be oil streaks on the lower
> side of the car just behind the right front wheel. I also noticed what
> appeared to be quite a bit of oil on that wheel housing. But there was
> no oil under where the car had been parked while it was waiting for
> the tow truck (about 90 minutes).
>
> A few hours later, the service tech called. They had not had a chance
> to work on it, but it will not move at all and they believe it is the
> transmission.
>
> I asked him what ha caused this. He said they wouldn't know for sure
> until they take it apart, but they just wear out.
>
> I asked him if it could be caused by a service mistake, like not
> replacing the transmission oil or not tightening an oil plug or
> something. It was just in for service in February. He said "No, there
> is still oil in there". There are no oil spots in the garage where it
> is parked.
>
> I am puzzled by the oil streaks on the side of the car (if that's even
> what they were) and the oil on the right front wheel housing. Isn't
> the transmission in the rear?
>
> He quoted me $6,300 for a new transmission.
>
> What is the expected life of an RX 300 transmission?
>
> What chance do I have to get this covered by Lexus. I believe the CPO
> warranty was for 5 (more) years or up to 100,000 (total) miles. We are
> well past the 5 years, but well under the 100,000 miles.
>
> He also said that they usually do not even open up the transmission if
> is it completely frozen, like this one is. They just replace it.
> should I insist that they try to figure out what the problem was?
>
> The car had 35,000 miles on it when we bought it. It now has 68,000.
> My wife puts about 7,000 miles on it each year, 90% city driving. She
> is a very careful driver.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
|
