Problems with 2000 Lexus RX 300 POWER TRAIN

Loss of power, check engine light, ran extremely rough lexus rx300 2000. *tr

I was driving my vehicle to work and suddenly the transmission will not move the vehicle. i tried shifting to other gear positions but the vehicle still won't move. first time that this happened on me, i don not know if it occurred before to the previous owner. bought the 2000 lexus rx 300 in 2004 and has 85k miles when transmission problem happened. has to pay the dealer $4,000 to repair. some owners of the same model vehicle has experienced the same problem. *tr

Lexus rx300 transmission failure at 68,000 miles and 7.5 years old. *tr

Transmission failure in 2000 lexus rx-300 awd with 110,000 miles. while driving to work on a very busy 3-lane highway, i stopped to make a left hand turn with a number of cars behind me. after coming to a stop at the intersection, waiting for cars to clear, when i tried to accelerate through, the car went into neutral although it was still in drive. i tried reverse (risking hitting the car behind me) and it stayed in neutral. after turning the car on and off a couple of times, it finally went into drive and i was able to drive two blocks to the toyota dealer. their service shop checked it out and simply said the transmission needed to replaced at a cost of $5200. the lexus "owner's manual supplement" with maintenance schedules says only to "inspect" transmission fluid at 30k, 60k, 90k, 120k, and 150k miles. see pages 77 - 97 of the maintenance log book. only for "special operating conditions" is it recommended to change the transmission fluid and then only at 60k and 120k miles. i have not operated the vehicle under any of the special operating conditions. yet, both the lexus and toyota dealers i use recommend replacing the oil every 15k miles, which i have done. based on my limited research, this appears to be a common problem with early model lexus rx300's and unacceptable that it should fail, especially given the added service / maintenance that lexus recommends, which is at odds with what is written in their own manual. had this transmission failure happened while driving in 50 -60 mph rush hour traffic , it would have put me in a potentially deadly situation. i strongly suspect lexus is well aware of the problems with this transmission, given their dealer service recommendations and should be held accountable for the cost of repair. *tr

Rx300 failed to go into reverse from park in october 2007. took to toyota dealer insofar as no local lexus dealer in bend, oregon. flushed the transmission fluid. problem returned 4 months later at 2,000 miles into the new atf, with occasional failure in drive gear. 4/9/08 vehicle was moving in drive from home garage when transmission went bump/thump twice. 50 yards further forward, the transmission began a grinding noise. pulled to side of road and vehicle would not go into reverse, but drive forward was okay. returned to vehicle in 2 hrs and restarted the engine. no reverse gear when shifter was in reverse. neutral would allow freewheel. tried to turn 180 and return to home garage. vehicle was now perpendicular to both lanes of traffic. tried to engage neutral to freewheel in reverse. vehicle seemed to be in gear or park when in neutral on the shifter. drove forward one foot and tried neutral, got a sound like something coming unstuck and becoming synchronized. neutral now allowed freewheel. reverse gear now worked and i drove the vehicle the 50 yards home and backed it using reverse gear into the garage. 68,745 total miles on 2000 rx300.lexus says vehicle out of the 6 year/70,000 drive train warranty. lexus says transmission has failed. *tr

The transmission in the 2000 lexus rx 300 has failed completely and requires replacement. *tr

Premature failure of transmission on lexus rx 300. dealers refusal to step up to pay for an originally defective product, and request to pay $4500 for a remanufactured transmission. lexus' refusal to address multiple complaints of a widespread issue on an obviously defective product. lexus denial of a clearly manufacturing problem. *tr

While driving my rx300 the vehicle rpm started going higher than normal. i could only dry the vehicle locally since does not want to shift. when i drive it a 40mph the rpms are at 3 rpm. i search to see if has been a recall or if the lexus corporation is aware of this problem with the tranny in this model.. *tr

Drove my lexus rx300 to lake tahoe. it was 28 degrees as i entered the tahoe area. the transmission begain to slip, not maintaining engagement. i was able to get to the hotel but about an hour after registering i tried to drive and the transmission would not engage. it was now 24 degrees. i tried again in the morning but it still would not engage and now there was a whirling sound. i had it towed to the lexus dealership one hundred miles away. the transmission failed due to the front-side transmission pump. lexus/toyota will not replace the part. since it is an internal transmission problem they will only replace the whole transmission. lexus policy. it is a 15 hour repair. even if it were possible to replace the pump it would have taken more hours to repair. the contact was advised by the dealer prior to purchasing it that it was in impeccable condition. an inspecting authorized mechanic also stated that its rare to see a vehicle in as excellent of a condition. an suv should not have a problem in slight extremely cold conditions. the service technician stated that the transmission failure isnt uncommon if they are in extremely hot or cold climates. the contact stated that there is a design flaw. he has never had to change the transmission fluid as frequent in his previous vehicles. the contact is aware of the safety risk involved. it cost $4700.00

My 2000 lexus rx 300 started shifting funny on december 4th. we took it to the mechanic on december 5th and it was determined that the transmission was failing. i have since learned that this is a very, very common problem for these vehicles and am now out thousands of dollars due to this problem. *tr

The day before thanksgiving on a 300 mile trip to see family, our lexus rx 300 lost the transmission at 86,000 miles and ruined our entire holiday weekend. after going back and forth with corporate lexus they have decided even though they have put our a tsb and are well aware of the transaxle failure in this model, they will not contribute any financial monies to help justify our $6,000.00 bill. i will never own another lexus nor anyone within my family. very dissatisfied customer *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

Failed transmission. *tr

Lexus rx-300 yr2000 (transmission problems). *tr

Car has 94,000 miles and has received all scheduled maintenance, including comprehensive 90k service two months ago. no impending problems were reported by dealer. car made clinging/hesitation when leaving stop sign 2-3 times. parked car and stopped engine. car would not move in reverse. shifted to drive - car moved fwd as much as possible (limited space). tried rev again - car moved 12-18 inches and made very abrupt stop. could not shift to neutral. took car to dealer who recommend complete transmission replacement. did search for "rx300 transmission failure on internet - found dozens of reports of similar problem - complete transmission failure, with absolutely no warning, on this make/model of car with similar mileage. i believe this is a manufacturing defect that should be investigated.*jb

Rx300 transmission went out at 96,00 miles. then 6 months later, the motor needed work. this is not a quality car as i was led to believe. it has cost too much out of pocket money when the warranty was not honored by houston northside lexus. *tr

Failed transmission after 90,000 miles on a $50,000 lexus rx 300.*jb

Tl* - on 12-22-06 while driving on the highway at 70 mph transmission dropped to first gear and would not move out of first gear. the contact stated that the vehicle has been serviced at the dealership on schedule. the contact currently has vehicle at the repair facility. *ak updated 2/27/2007 - *nm

Purchased 2000 lexus rx300. serviced by dealer at all recommended times. one previous owner prior to me. at approximately 125,000 miles. engine light came on, diagnostic done. need new transmission. apparently this is a well known problem with this model. how can they be allowed to sell defective product to consumers? isn't that fraud? *jb

Mileage 75000 awd rx300 complete failure of transmission pump. loss of vehicle control and manuverability => dangerous car was 100% maintained by a lexus dealer web revealed many similar failures first time toyota tried to use a lifetime transmission fluid, it did not work!!!!*jb

While traveling on central expressway in dallas us75 going about 65 my lexus rx300 lost forward acceleration as cars zoomed past me, the engine was still on as i managed to safely exit onto the access road and into a parking lot. i turned the vehicle off and checked for leaks or a broken belt, but found no problem. i restarted the vehicle and kept going. i talked to the lexus dealer in plano but service dept. was closed and they reffered me to take it into my austin dealer. i was told that without a check engine light nothing would be found. i continued to drive my vehicle and while on another trip it lost forward acceleration again, only to find out it was the transmission. i had to replace it , rent a car and then fly back to a toyota dealer to pick it up.