aer6438

I have a 2001 rx and yesterday it died on me. No not the engine but something else entirely. Started it up and drove about 1/2 of a mile. I stopped at a stop sign. Made a left turn, Accelerated into first and going into second it felt like my transmission dropped out of the car.
So where I am now. Idles fine in park. Reverse sounds like a clunking and whine. Neutral while engine on is fine. Neutral while being pulled/towed has a whine. The faster we went the louder it got. Drive is even worse than reverse. Shakes the whole car violently. Grinds. Whines. It will not drive or reverse at all.
Any clue if I'm looking at the transmission or the axle or something else? I haven't had any signs of transmission failure. Have fluid and actually just had it changed at 200,000 miles. (Its at 220,000 now)
all the help I can get is much appreciated as I don't want to be towing it all over town to different shops. Thanks in advance.

salimshah

At this time the issue is not about diagnosing over the net.

You need to find out which place you will take your RX for repairs.
Dealer (most expensive)
Transmission overhaul [indi shop]
Mechanic to do a swap
or
call it curtains

Salim

aer6438

So there is no information anywhere on my problem because this had never happened to anyone else?
and I'm guessing from what you said that at least narrowed to the transmission.
Thanks

salimshah

Maybe some one has insight to your problem, but from the description you posted the problem is in the transmission.

When in 'N' as the wheels turn (pushing/pulling) the insides of the transmission rotate and if you hear abnormal sounds, then you have to examine the transmission.

Based on this, I suggested finding a transmission shop. My apologies if you found my first quick response to be insensitive.

Salim

fastnoypi

by the description, it sounds like one of the differentials went bad which would explain the whiine. Is this an AWD RX?

aer6438

No not insensitive Salim. Just trying to understand and get an idea of what I'm looking at. Seems strange to me that it just boom. Died. I checked my codes and I only have 3 showing and they are all oxygen sensors and levels. Don't think that has anything to do with it tho. Towed it to the house. Guess I'm gonna have to get a roll back to get it to a shop. I don't know what a differential is but I'm guessing that when it was in neutral it was pulling on the engine. It is an AWD RX.
Any ideas on buying a new transmission or getting a rebuilt one?

matts6887

Well; I am not a 100% expert; But!; I can safely say that a rebuilt trans will most likely cost much less than a brand new one will. A brand new one will run ya like anywhere from 3-5,000. As for a rebuilt one I am not totally sure on that so you would probably have to call around to find out unless someone else on here can chime in on that part which i believe at least someone out there may know how much a rebuilt trans is.

aer6438

JEEZ. Maybe the best option is to just park it in the car grave yard and call it a day. Thank you for the info.
Also would getting a tranmission out of the 03-05 highlander be an option? I know most parts are compatiable just don't know about parts this big.

fastnoypi

used rx300 awd transmissions start at 1K on ebay. You might get lucky at an auto salvage yard for a cheaper unit.
Be sure to get the U140F coded transmission for awd. U140E is for the fwd.

kalali

A brand new one will cost a whole lot more. A rebuilt unit from a reputable source will be around $4K. To the OP, if the rest of the RX is in a very good condition and the rest of the drivetrain has been maintained well, it might be worth fixing the transmission .....otherwise......

aer6438

The bodys in great shape inside and out. Other than the 3 oxygen sensors (and did the knock sensor trick about 8 months ago) its engine is perfect. It even still sounds good when I turn it on except for the current problem. it does need a new timing belt. Im figuing in about to put at least 3grand into it in the next few weeks. the RX330s are running betweem 8 and 11 thousand where im currently living. I would love to keep what I have but it has to make it another 4 years and 120,000 miles to be worth putting that much into it and not getting something newer with less miles and hopefully less problems. On the bright side though, its got awesome tires. just purchased a little over a month ago. :-/

matts6887

Well; i thought it was 3-5000. I guess just like everything else around us it seems; prices have gone up considerably over the years for new transmissions. But yea u are right. If the rest of the vehicle has been maintained well and the drivetrain is in good shape still; then it probably would just be worth fixing the trans.

EDIT: on a side note here; I almost was ready to get a used i think it was a 01 rx 300. But as it turned out Im glad i didnt because in addition to other things wrong; it had major transmission fluid leaks in several places and to fix all that plus the other things it would have run just about 10,000!. So its a good thing we had it inspected and in the end said no way to it.

RX300Crys

I wanted to weigh in. Today, my transmission died. 8 days ago I spent $2500 on my 2003 RX 300 AWD. It drove great, but needed a new timing belt and some other parts from the dealer. This was all unrelated to the transmission. I am the second owner. The vehicle has 287,242 miles. I was taking it in to have it tweaked. It was making a noise related to the work that was done 8 days ago. Yesterday, I thought I noticed the vehicle lurching forward a little bit or pulling. It was almost imperceptible. However, when backing up I noticed it was really shaking. It felt as if it were all going to shake loose. This morning on the way to the repair shop it would not accelerate. It would go forward but not very fast. It would lose power. I finally stopped and had it towed to the shop. The tow truck driver told me to back it away from the truck once he unloaded it. I put the car in reverse and nothing. The engine revved but the vehicle would not move. Who knew? When I backed it out of my space this morning that was the last time it would back up. With the amount of miles on the vehicle, I can;t put another penny into it. I am so broken-hearted because it drove great and still looks good after all these years. I recommend not putting $2-3k into it if it is over 220k. It seems that those of us who made it that far are very fortunate and should not push our good fortune. The 350k+ that your uncle has achieved is awesome!!!

salimshah

This being your first post, I wanted to welcome you to Club Lexus. As I read through the post it seems you are announcing departure too.

I have to commend you on your attitude. Most of folks would be very upset at the money recently spent on the vehicle to find out that it time to say goodbye. You clearly realize that with 220K miles the beast has served its purpose.

Out of curiosity, did the shop do a transmission flush?

So at this time you are at another decision making juncture. Spend another 3-4k and get a transmission or sell as is.

Either way, I think you already have found the means to a happy life ... your attitude. Keep it up. Hopefully you will stay with us for while.

Salim

RX300Crys

Good morning, Salim. Thank you for the commendation on my attitude. I realize I was very fortunate to drive my car so many miles before needing transmission work. At this point, the engine is still good. I know a lady who replaced the engine and transmission around 160k. The more reading I do, it seems that both of these items are replaced much sooner. So, I remain thankful. I am disappointed about the repairs but nonetheless grateful.

To answer your question, it is possible that i did the flush and don't remember. Sorry I can't be more helpful. My parents now both have Lexus cars. All of us agree that it is the best car we have ever driven. My parents have owned a BMW and Corvette in the past. My Lexus was driving so good before yesterday that I am very tempted to get the transmission. However, I am concerned that once I put the transmission in the engine may go. 287k miles is a lot. I have been fortunate. I don't want to be greedy. My plan is to buy another Lexus.