ml30306

I own a 2000 Lexus ES300, 126k miles. I noticed that whenever I e.g. park on a slight incline, put the car in park, then step off the break, the car moves a good 2-5 inches backward, even bounces a little.

This being my first automatic transmission vehicle - is that normal? Is that much play ok or is this a sign of a failing transmission or another problem? I also noticed this when stopping at an up-hill incline. The car moves slightly backwards like a manual shift car.

What is the cause of this? Can it be corrected? Should I be concerned?

marcoes300

if it do that only when you was on reverse and then pu on park its normal that the car move forward 2-4 inch when u realese the brake... make a video :P

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

yeah its normal.

Mine does this, depending how much of a slope i park on...

decypher

same here.. I have a 99.

Benbendx

iTrader: (1)

I got the same car 2000, its normal. I've just been putting the e-break on every time I park my car ever since I noticed that. I totally forgot about that

93LexusES3

sounds like a pretty normal phenomena ,i've had that happen in all auto transmission equipped vehicles,i guess thats why they want you to engage the parking brake before letting off the main brakes...seems like it would prevent stress in the transmission.

ml30306

Thnak for the replies. I have been using my park brake before releasing the main brakes, so I guess I should be fine.

BoostedE21

It's Normal.

When you put your car in park, the parking-brake mechanism engages the teeth on the output shaft to hold the car still. This is the section of the transmission that hooks up to the half shafts - so if this part can't spin, the car can't move.

When the shift lever is placed in park, a rod pushes a spring against a small tapered bushing inside the park mechanism. If the park mechanism is lined up so that it can drop into one of the notches in the output gear section, the tapered bushing will push the mechanism down. If the mechanism is lined up on one of the high spots on the output, then the spring will push on the tapered bushing, but the lever will not lock into place until the car rolls a little and the teeth line up properly. This is why your car moves a little bit after you put it in park and release the brake pedal -- it has to roll a little for the teeth to line up to where the parking mechanism can drop into place.

xXTimmayXx

completely normal

I've had 3 automatic transmission vehicles, and they all will move slightly when on any slope. I always use my e-b as a precaution, but again, it's all good.