jjawaya

does anyone else have a problem with the reverse gear slipping on their car???? my car is an 05 gs300. here's my story. i noticed the problem a little while after purchasing the car(used.) took the car to the dealership a total of three times, and spent about $400. still no fix. they tell me that the slipping is a "normal" characteristic for the particular trans on the gs, there is no manufacture's recall,fix, or solution, and that i just have to live with it. they told me that they have other documented cases of this problem. i just want to know how common of a problem this is, and why lexus isn't willing to do anything to correct the problem. please post up, because obviously there's something wrong with my car, i'm frustrated with the answers i'm getting, and i have nowhere else to look for a solution...thanks

i've posted this in another forum, but to no responses yet. thought i'd try this one..

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Transmission slipping is not normal at all. My reverse engages right away, and with a slit blip of the throttle, the car goes. How much is your car slipping by? What have the dealership done so far?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Your car is an 05. I think the powertrain warranty is 6yr/70k and I assume you haven't passed that mileage yet. I have no idea why the heck the dealership is even charging you at all. If you are close to the mileage, say 60k range...the dealer might try to be shady and keep giving you excuses and holding you off until after the warranty period is over. Then at that point they will hit you with a heavy $6000 transmission replacement repair bill once the warranty is expired. If they keep giving you the runaround, then call up Lexus Corporate and explain your situation to them. As far as I know, there is no widely documented case or issue of the GS transmission slipping at all.

Also, check the transmission fluid level. If it's too low then the transmission will slip.

jjawaya

it's more of a surging feeling, and it's only the reverse gear. i've had the trans flushed by the dealership. they tell me that they had another car with the same problem and they replaced the whole drive line except the motor, and the problem still existed. so, they arn't willing to do anything to my car. to me, i know that there's something wrong with my car. just because they don't know what's wrong, doesn't mean that they arn't obligated to correct the problem. i know that not every gs has the problem, therefore my car's busted somehow. my car is still within the warranty period. i'm just looking for more information before i might try to plead my case to a higher offical. by the way does anyone know of anyone at lexus usa that i can talk to?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

That still hasn't answered my question. Why did they even charge you the $400 in the first place? I'm sure that's something you can dispute and get your money back. Also, if they keep giving you the "it's normal for these cars" crap...then ask them to let you test drive a few of their Pre-Owned GS300 on their lot with a year close to yours. Take out one or two of them just to make sure. I'm sure those cars won't have that problem. Then after that you can tell the manager to eat it. Trust me, the dealers don't want to fix stuff if they don't get to make a healthy margin.

I've been to the dealership to try to get an issue resolved. One of my trunk hinges don't line up 100%. They kept trying to tell me that my car has been in a wreck and the rear end has been replaced/repaired. Obviously that's 100% untrue since the back of my car has never been in a collision. They tried every trick in the book. Telling me the vin tag is missing(on the GS the trunk tag is under the carpeting, you have to pull it back to see it), claimed that the rubber stoppers are not painted so therefore I had it repainted/replaced(they are infact color matched to every car from the factory. I showed them the trunk of 4 other pre-owned GS300's on the lot to prove my point), and a few other BS excuses. They did not expect my knowlege of these cars to be so extensive and every excuse they thought up of I proved them wrong. I tear apart and rebuild these cars all day long. In the end they came up with some excuse of a "adjustment warranty" period is expired.

After 2 hours of hassling back and fourth and wasting my time I just told them to eat it and I was never going to buy another car from them ever again and also recommend all of the people I know not to buy their new Lexus from them. All the people I know who bought their new Lexus, I directed them to the other dealership. Good thing there are two dealerships within my city so it's not too far of a drive to either.

jjawaya

$200 for the trans flush that they told me i had to do before they would even consider more work on my car, and the rest is from taking my car in previously to the trans flush and them telling me that nothings wrong before even doing any research, and for some kind of fee because they had to pay for the mechanics time while he was trying to figure out what's going on. unfortunatly, there's only one lexus in honolulu, and it's really hard to come by these cars here. i checked the dealership for about 6 months, and finally gave up and went to another used car lot to buy my car. don't get me wrong, i think that the service manager is really trying to help me, but someone above him is d!#king around with my claim. i'm ready to give up the fight, but can't stand knowing and actually feeling that there's something wrong with my car. i love my gs and really don't want to ***** talk lexus, but maybe i should just go down there and bash all their heads in!!! lol.....since you work on these cars all the time, have you ever encountered a trans problem like mine? thanks...

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

The car does not slip from the factory. It also depends what you mean by slip. There is a half second delay from when you shift to until the car fully engages the gear(same with any other car out there), but anything more than that is abnormal. If it continues to slip after that initial half sec or one second then that's not normal. A few causes that come to mind: trans fluid is bad/old, not enough trans fluid, or wrong type of trans fluid. Another cause is that the first/reverse set clutch packs in the transmission are worn out, but again that is extremely unlikely on a 2005 unless the previous owner beat the hell out of the car. Then again, I beat the hell out of my transmission(at stock power levels) and it didn't give my any problems.

jjawaya

thanks. i guess i just have to continue the fight with lexus.

FLexed

So the car will move in reverse by taking your foot off the brake... But, lets say you're on a slight incline and you ease on the gas, it hesitates a little and then almost "clicks" into gear?

1996gs300

I get that same issue every once in awhile on my gs430. It is very random for me though and has only happened say 3x in the 4 months I have had the car. I can drop the car in drive and the car will pull away but like its in 3rd gear or something and then it kind of clunks all the way into gear and takes off

jjawaya

it happens about 1 out of 3 times. the car engages into reverse, no problem. while in reverse, and letting go of the brake, the car surges, like the clutch isn't fully engaged. the feeling is almost like if i was pumping the brake while in reverse, but not as severe. it's a constant feeling, even when i give it a little gas. it's really weird. i've asked everyone i know about the problem, and no one has the same problem, or an answer for me. i've even stopped people on the street with similar model cars as me, and nothing. the dealership is supposed to have legal documentation for me stating that the issue is "normal," but we'll see tomorrow when i call them. i think that it's time to talk to the gm in person.

habeeb89

iTrader: (3)

I have a 2002 GS430 and never encountered the problem, my one guess would be a fluid exchange or clogged filter, but you said you already tried it.