iriaf2001

Hello

I am new to this forum and new to Lexus cars as well. A 1991 Lexus ES250 was given to me. It has automatic transmission. When I acquired the car it had a transmission issue where Reverse worked fine and Neutral worked fine but all forward gears did not - when on any of the forward gears you had to rev the engine very high to get the car to move. This was consistent for the several weeks I had the car then one day I was driving it on to car ramps and all of a sudden the forward gears started working - meaning once on any forward gears the car would move even on idle power - but now there is no Reverse. Also when the car is in Neutral it would still drive forward. So for the moment the car does not go on Reverse, moves forward if the gear shift is in Neutral or on other forward gears. One other thing I notice is when gear shift is on Reverse and I floor the gas pedal the engine rpm will not go past 2500-3500. Transmission fluid level is good. Just looking to see if anyone here has experience the same or similar symptoms and maybe get some input on what they have done to troubleshoot or fix the issue. Thank you.

Richardsr

Here’s a good read...
“A540E / A541E / A540H / A247E
The transmissions above are front wheel drive 4 speed automatic transmissions. They are computer and throttle pressure controlled. Common symptoms are transmission shifting erratic, slipping or not shifting at all. Also the check engine light can come on.
External sensors like the throttle position sensor, vehicle speed sensor or output speed sensor quite often go bad, causing these symptoms. Check the throttle pressure cable that goes from your transmission to your carburetor or throttle body depending on the configuration of your engine. Always run a scanner first to see if a sensor is causing your problem. Check the shift solenoids that attach to the transmission casing, sometimes they can go bad.”

http://www.usatransdoctor.com/foreignlexus.htm

jakeh90

Did you get this figured out? I have the same model and year and the same problem. I love the car, engine is great, with mine reverse is gone, neutral is drive and sometime it stalls like a manual if I come to a stop too fast and I still like driving the car.

LeX2K

First check to make sure the shift cable is not damaged, have someone watch the shift lever under the battery while you move through the gears, or make a video. If that is not the issue this car has a known problem with certain gears going out, delayed going into gear and eventually the car won't move. If fresh fluid doesn't solve anything the transmission has to be torn down to have the clutch packs replaced.