sm0kescree

I have 2002 LS430 that I bought earlier this year from a friend. Since it's started getting colder I've been noticing a weird issue and thought someone might shed some light on it before I try taking it to a dealer for diagnosis.

Every morning when I back out of my driveway (I have a rather long driveway) the transmission will "slip" (for lack of a better word) out of gear 3-4 times. In other words, I put it in reverse, start backing out and suddenly it will act as though I've just shifted into neutral (even though I haven't). I can put my foot on the gas and the engine will rev, but I'm not going anywhere. If I wait 5-10 seconds it will then re-engage into reverse, or if I shift into neutral and then into reverse again it will be fine.

Like I said, this will happen 3-4 times while backing out.

Until yesterday I wasn't noticing any issues in drive, however twice yesterday I did notice when I was pulling away from being parked it hesitated as if it was in neutral briefly again.

My fear is that it's suddenly going to do this while I'm driving on the expressway. I am obviously going to have to take this to get it looked at, but this is my first Lexus so I don't know any "gotchas" or if this might be something obvious so I don't get taken. I'm hoping it's something minor, as even though it has a lot more miles than I would typically be comfortable with (160k) I had read that these transmissions were very reliable. I'd be really disappointed if I needed a new one.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

sm0kescree

Well, I ended up taking it to the dealership. I left it overnight so they could try it when it was cold this morning. Didn't hear back from them so I finally called. The SA told me "oh yeah, it did that for us. We checked and the transmission fluid was low, so we flushed and replaced that. You owe us $160 for that. And you also need a new pan gasket which will be another $330". I asked him why they had not called to provide me with an estimate before doing ANY work. He told me he 'assumed I would want it done'. Plus, he said the document I signed gave them the right to do up to a certain amount without my express consent. Funny that, since I was given NO documents to sign whatsoever when I dropped the car off. He finally relented and admitted yes, he had "forgotten" to give me that to sign.

So now he wants me to pay for the flush and refill plus he wants to do the gasket. I called a local import shop and they will do the gasket for 1/2 that, but they would have to flush and refill again. So I guess I'm going to just take it to them. Now I have to decide whether to actually pay the dealer for the work I never authorized.

BradTank

I would work something out, but really the dealer doesn't deserve more than an hour fee for the diagnosis. The service advisor is supposed to call before having the work done, you're not being unreasonable to expect that.

And those fees sound incredibly high, it's almost $500 for a few quarts of transmission fluid and a new pan gasket. Most mechanics could do a job like that in 30 minutes.

Has the car been leaking any fluid on your garage floor before you brought it in?

yuri.ber

iTrader: (7)

By the way there's no tranny pan gasket, it's on silicone.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

coming from the SC forum for the past 3-4 years, time after time when people had a tranny problem, it turned out to be the fluid, either too low, too high , or wrong fluid or just old fluid.

Even myself, I bought a second Sc a few months ago, after getting it running, the tranny started bucking, slipping in and out of gear and acting horribly, turned out fluid was too high, drain and replaced it and it was fine.

Back to you though, at least be happy that they fixed your problem, and that they didn't lie and say u needed a tranny rebuild or a new tranny altogether, I would go in there, and refuse to pay for the gasket.

warminwisc

I have had 3 drain and fills in my LS ownership never was charged for new silicone gasget. My understanding is they do a drain and fill, flushes not recommended, but if they hooked it up to a "machine" to do a flush like on other cars why do they need to drop the pan.

Forgot is the key word here I would not pay or pay them for what you got a quote from and not go back. The service advisors make commisions on running up bills at my dealership, every time I went there the bill was higher than quoted wasn't to fast before they where just a memory. A bad one.

lorenr

iTrader: (1)

The dealership really did do you a favor.

If the transmission slips in reverse or forward and then engages, the first thing you check is the transmission fluid. $160.00 for a flush and fill is a bargain since they would use the approved Toyota ATF. Toyota ATF is about $6.00 a quart times ten to fourteen quarts plus labor. That's a deal.

Not changing fluid IMMEDIATELY is a really bad idea. You do not want to rebuild that transmission. Very expensive to do it right.

I've always done my own transmission service. DO use a pan gasket, not silicone. Silicone gasket residue can get into the transmission. Not good. The gaskets work better.

Doing the job myself, I'm not sure I could do it with the good ATF for $160.00. A transmission flush is a PITA and requires a flushing machine.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Take this situation up with the service manager. The usual procedure is to contact the owner prior to initiating work unless it has been signed-agreed upon. They'll likely give you a credit for future service work and or discount the rate they charged you.

My other suggestion since the tranny fluid has been neglected is to have the rear differential fluid serviced and same done for the brake fluid. Fluids in these cars are critical for their longevity and these simple maintenance procedures will keep you away from more costly repairs.

warminwisc

Maybe I am referring to an 04. Is there a filter on the 02 that you have to drop the pan on a machine flush?

sm0kescree

Thanks for the replies-they called me rhis morning and said the refill/flush/whatever it was they did seemed to fix the problem. He also agreed to not charge me the $160, so since it was already there I agreed to pay the $317 to have gasket replaced and the fluid flushed (I don't know if that's exactly what he said, something about hooking to a machine, etc.). Honestly I was still seeing red about the whole thing and really wasn't listening that much.

In the end, the car seems to be OK now. I at least learned I'll never take it to this dealership again. Wasn't planning on keeping the car too long-term anyway, so hopefully it holds out at least 6-8 more months (with track record with cars though, I'm not counting on it).

Anyway, thanks for the input.

Gene01

There is a big difference between a "power flush" and a "fluid exchange", even though both are performed with a machine. A power flush is not recommended while a fluid exchange will make your transmission happy.
I would guess that a reputable mechanic would know this and NOT perform a power flush on any LS430.

sm0kescree

I don't actually know what they did-the SA didn't even come out to talk to me when I went to pick up the car (he saw me but made it very clear he was "busy" and wanted nothing to do with me).

At that point, all I wanted to do was pick up the keys and get out of there as fast as I could. The good news is, no slipping when backing out this morning.