Scott R

I live in CT and had my '02 SC430 (~166K miles) sitting unused in my garage for about a month or two. Last time I used it, it ran perfectly fine. Went to fire it up and the battery was dead, but I expected that (pretty sure it's a common SC430 issue for the battery to drain when unused, and I was prepared to jump it). With the jumper, I got it fired up (a couple extra seconds to catch, and some dark smoke out the back). Backed it out of the garage, but then remembered something I needed to check on at the house. Put it in forward and it wouldn't move. Ugh. Fiddled around with the gears and determined that reverse seemed normal, but all of the forward gears seemed useless. I then put it in 1st gear and revved the engine a bit more and it moved forward (very slowly) and I was able to get it back in the garage.

A couple of other background details:
1) Parking brake has been flakey for over a year. I always use it, but when I release it the light stays on and I have to fiddle with the release handle to get that to go out. I don't think that's a factor here, though, because when I've had it (unknowingly) still engaged in the past, it would move forward but squeal.
2) I've got mice coming into my house, some of which through the garage, so I'm wondering if they may have made a home somewhere, chewed through things, or something, while it was sitting unused.
3) It's CT and wintertime, so sitting unused and cold cold, though our winter thus far has been pretty mild.

Googling this, it sounds like it's likely a trqnsmission problem (probably significant). But seems weird that the last time I used it, it ran fine (no signs of transmission issues). Overall, it's been a super-reliable car. But it's a 2002, so for the last couple of years I figured that it was due for some problems, and would likely be something related to it's age (e.g., plastic hoses getting brittle from age).

Anyway. I'm not someone who works on cars, but figured I'd post here before calling the mechanic I typically use, just to check if there's something easy/cheap that I might get lucky with, or at least so I can talk intelligently with my mechanic about possibilities. And to see if anyone else has experienced something similar and can give me an idea as to how bad ($$$) I might be looking at.

Tanker

Check your transmission fluid level.

DshngDaryl

If you don't find any problems with your trans fluid (like it is low) then

I would pop the hood and take off the engine cover. It is just a couple of nuts to do that.

Then I would look for a rats nest. They are usually easy to spot. There will be insulation, or grass in an area. Often times you can use your nose to find them. If you find a nest, you will most likely find broken wires.

The rats don't usually chew the wires for food, they chew the wires because they are in the way. So generally all the broken wires will be around the nest.

I would also check your brake fluid. Low fluid due to worn brake pads can trigger your brake light

GmanSC

I still check the parking brake. If the brake was set at the max, your car will not move. Mine won't. Just make sure the parking break is disingaged.

If you see the mice droppings, it indicates the rodent infestation.

Scott R

I haven't had a chance to look at the transmission fluid yet, but I did find a couple of YouTube videos where Lexus vehicles of a similar year had the same sort of issue, the fluid was dirty looking (but at a normal level), and flushing it seemed to resolve the problem, so I'm holding out some hope. Example:

Scott R

Just wanted to report back on a couple of things...

I couldn't find a way to check the transmission fluid. I think it's a closed system, isn't it?

I ended up waiting for my wife to get back from her business trip and fired it up again. Of course I had to jump it, because the battery was dead again. This time putting it in drive seemed to be working fine. So maybe i should have just tried again while my wife was away, instead of being stuck at home for a week. I was going to drive it to the mechanic I use and ask them about checking/changing the transmission fluid, but decided to drive it back home. Good thing, I guess, because I called my mechanic later and he said they weren't equipped to do a transmission fluid change on it and suggested a different place.

I ended up letting it sit at home again unused, and now my wife has another business trip. I go out, and the battery is dead again. And now I'm thinking that my battery may need to be replaced (I think it's about 3 years old), as I wasn't able to jumpstart it with my Dewalt DXAELJ16 Lithium jumpstarter.

I've got a Pro-Logix battery charger (not a jumpstarter) hooked up to it now to see if I'll have success with this.

Wilson2000

If you haven't changed your ATF in 160K miles, you probably shouldn't change it all at once, but changing 2-4 quarts would be a good thing to do. Some people experience problems after a complete fluid change. In another 20-30K miles you could change out another 2-4 quarts without issue.

Your tranny problem was likely due to the fluid settling out of the pump and passages: then it took a while for the pump to prime. I doubt the age of the fluid had much to do with it.

Batteries can wear out in 3-years if they've had a hard life--long periods of sitting in a uncharged condition, long periods of cold weather without charging, too many fast charges, etc. A trickle charger will prevent all these problems and extend your battery life.

Bgw70

See the red circle in the pic below. That is the transmission dip stick.
also, read your owners manual on how to check the fluid level.
if you need an owners manual, go to Lexus.com and order one for free or just download a digital copy.

changing the transmission fluid is easier than changing the engine oil because there is no filter. Just drain and refill, should be about 3-4qts.
your mechanic can do this job.