tangalanga

whats the percentage of having the transmission failure on the RX300??

lexus114

Seem`s like a higher rate of probability on the 99-2001 models.

Blkongray

Just for reference, the HEC transmission I got has a 3 year/30K mile warranty on it, and it was about $2600 for the unit... then you pay what ever a shop charges for the install.

lexus114

That sounds like a good deal.I like that warranty.

salimshah

add 12hr of labor (which you must pay each time (in case of a problem) .. not covered under warranty) + 2 times the freight (getting the replacement and returning the core) the $s add up.

So if you are mechanic it may be a good deal ... as an individual, I would be reluctant as it becomes a 3party deal. Too many ways to finger point if things are not perfect.

Salim

mikey00

Not true according to the HEC site. Warranty covers labor, shipping, rental car and towing. There shouldn't be any finger pointing as long as you use a shop that sells and installs HEC transmissions. You really don't want to walk into your local transmission shop with a HEC trans under your arm and asked to have it installed.
The only thing I did notice about the warranty is that the standard warranty is 12 months, 12,000 miles on HEC automatic transmissions. There are options above that up to 5 years, 50,000 miles that all come at a cost. Just like buying an extended warranty on anything.
It looks like HEC has a good process. I guess it works best for those in the Los Angeles area (or at least west cost) where it is more cost effective and easier to support.

mikey00

I have my car back a week now from the trans shop so I thought I would report my experience. Final cost was $3400 to have my trans rebuilt by a single shop independent in Denville, NJ. Warranty is 2 years 24,000 miles. It required all the parts in the standard rebuild kit plus they had to source some gears from Lexus. The trans worked fine from the minute I picked it up. No learning time, shifted like it always has before failure. The shop uses Mobil 1 full synthetic trans fluid and a felt filter (yes felt). They use this combo in all the failing Lexus transmissions and have excellent success. I guess time will tell.

hcfarm

which one has higher percentage?
FWD or AWD?

thanks

bob2200

There is an interesting third category: FWD with the towing package (that includes the transmission cooler). I have never seen any statistics reported.

lexus114

FWD transmission`s don`t seem to be affected. It`s the extra strain from the AWD that is the culprit with the early RX. Plus the goofy location of the trans. cooler probably didn`t help matter`s much either.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Consumer reports is a good source for reliability issues with cars. The 1999-2001 RX300 shows no evidence of having a particular problem with it's transmission on their relibaility surveys. Of course, if this is a design flaw that takes 100,000 miles to occur, then these are probably just coming up to this mileage, on average, and there may be a precipitous drop in score over the next couple of years as more and more vehicles accumulate this and more mileage.

Right now, however, they show the RX300 transmission to be Lexus-Like "Much Better Than Average"!

lexus114

Sktn,I am a member of Consumer Reports,and I take what I read on their as a guide before purchasing.I looked at the write up on their before I bought my RX.And was pleased to see all the full and partial red dots.However,this is also the same company that gave the Plymouth Horizon a very good rating back when they first came out,and those were the biggest piece crap car their ever was on the road next to the Russian built Yugo.So what I`m saying is your right when you mentioned that only time will tell on a new vehicle model.