Problems with 1999 Lexus RX 300 POWER TRAIN

I was driving down the street doing about 40 or so and all four wheels locked up at once suddenly. it causing the car to a come pleat stop in the road. the car behind me had to lock up all most causing a accident.

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lexus rx300. the contact stated that the vehicle would not shift into drive or reverse. while attempting to make a turn, there was an abnormal noise coming from the hood of the vehicle. as a result, the vehicle seized. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 300,000.

At approx 195,000 the transmission has completely failed. i recognize mileage might be high but i believe that as engine is good for 250,000 to 300,000 the transmission should also be rated that high. *tr

This has been happening since 2013- the car goes up to 35 mphs and then loses power and then shuts off. i have to forcefully pull it over to the side. first time it was worked on replaced battery and thought it was the computer. a year later at 136,000 miles the car makes electrical noises and has difficulty accelerating and shifting above 3000 rpms. when brought it to the dealer, they said it was the transmission and solenoid. this seems to be a common complaint and needs to be investigated. *tr

1999 lexus rx300 which had transmission service on march 17th 2011 at , began to make a whirring sound and slip out of gear while driving on interstate 85 north on saturday july 9th 2011. i immediatly pulled off onto the shoulder of the interstate to check the fluid and it showed full on the dip stick. on monday july 11th 2011 the rx300 in question was taken to the same dealership which performed the service of the transmission on march 17th 2011, and they informed me that i would need a new transmission costing upward of $4500. after further investigation i have found there are thousands of complaints regarding the rx300 model years 1999-2001 describing the exact same drive train failure. it is apparent that lexus is aware of this issue and has failed to issue any type of warning to its consumers of impending transaxle failure due to an inferior shifting apparatus. as stated earlier service was performed on my rx300 and any mention of impending problems were absent. as a consumer i feel that it is the responsibility of lexus to warn its customers of any problems which may arise due to inadequate equipment. below are links to other websites which list complaints of the exact transaxle failure. a recall for repairs should be issued as this is a serious vehicle failure. if i had been informed of this impending issue costly repairs and damage certainly would have been avoided. us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28020 - http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/webx/.f111d9c/1. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt

The automatic transmission on my 1999 lexus rx300 failed at 165,000 miles. it constantly tried to downshift, and as a result it ran hot and burned transmission fluid. prior to failing, it ceased shifting into overdrive while i was on the highway, forcing me to drive in a low gear at 4,500 rpms and waste gas while i drove as far as i could toward the mechanic. *tr

138,000 used vehicle. upon purchase did timing belt, water pump and all belts. then had a transmission flush. went on a 500 mile round trip and upon returning lost overdrive. made it home then next day a severe lose of power and trans would not shift. after restarting would shift but no overdrive. after investigating found hundreds of similar incidents when you query lexus transmission failure. i can understand losing a transmission but reading all these complainants it is clear that this product is defective. *kb

Lexus rx300, transmission shift problems at gear 3 and 4. rpm goes over 4000, irrespective of warm or cold engine. i have an engine light code 0765 (solenoid shift d malfunction). *kb

Transmission failure at 110k miles; required transmission replacement. *tr

Began with very rough idle. transmission then refuses to shift to overdrive gear. *tr

I bought a '99 lexus rx300 for my wife at 62k miles. i did all of the schedule maintenance including the expensive stuff (like the timing belt change). unbeknownst to me, the engine rear main seal was leaking at the time that i purchased it. i figured it was simple and "its a lexus, right?". i found out that it would cost $1700 to fix and that it was common on this model. i ignored the leak because my wife loved the truck otherwise. unrelated to the oil leak, at 183,000 miles i'm driving on a family vacation with the car on cruise control and the transmission suddenly starts to slip. i manage to make it my destination, but after research and getting diagnostics from the dealership and trans shops, i found it would cost $3000-$4000 to fix. i decided to fix it and paid $3700 for it. no sooner than i took off driving, the car started smoking horribly and was now slipping in 1,2, and 3rd gear. these transmissions are a nightmare to repair, and i would recommend anyone that buys one to count your losses when it fails and trash the car. *tr

I was driving on a interstate and the transmission started slipping until it gave out. *tr

I have a popping in the steering column. i hope that the steering is not lost from this popping. *tr

About one week ago, i noticed a tinny/humming noise coming from somewhere under the hood of my rx300. i took it to several mechanics to have them tell me what was wrong with it, but by the time i got there the engine was operating at normal temperatures and the noise was practically non-existent. yesterday morning, while traveling at highway speeds, it would suddenly lose power and the tachometer would show the rpms raising suddenly, as if it was in neutral. it would do this for several seconds or more before deciding to apply power to the wheels again when it wanted to. this has caused me to have to creep along at times, unsure of what it might do next. not being in control of when (or where for that matter) my vehicle will go is a safety concern. will it poop out on me when i'm needing to pass somebody or trying to turn left across oncoming traffic? will it lunge me forward on its own at an unpredictable moment? yesterday afternoon my "check engine" light came on, my mechanic told me the code rang up as "shift solenoid." this car has always been taken care of according to manual specs. my last tranny fluid change was about three months ago. the car also appears to have a rear engine leak at the gasket between the engine and tranny. this "quality" lexus car has less than 114k miles on it! my sister just had her rear engine seal replaced and her transmission rebuilt for $4400 and hers has just 125k miles on it. what a joke! i will never by a toyota again. i've always gotten better safety and longevity out of fords. poo on you lexus. i am scheduling a time to have my mechanic repair this; still waiting on a quote though. i expect a min of $400, but once he opens the tranny up he may advise me to rebuild the thing (another $4-$5k). lexus either believes in safety, in which case they should fess up to poor engineering and fix their mistake, or they don't! deaths/injuries:? = not yet. *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

I have owned a 1999 lexus rx 300 since it was new. now has 98,000 miles and transmission went out yesterday. i have read and talked to service people that said the 1999 and 2000 models have transmission defects but the service people tell me it will cost between $4 to $5,000 to repair. this is on a car that is worth about $7,000, doesn't make sense to repair. with all of toyota's problems this rx300 should be on recall! *tr

I purchased a lexus rx300 in october 2009. the car has been maintained and proper fluids checked or replaced. on february of 2010 the transmission went out. no warning lights indicating that there was an issue with engine or transmission. now i am told that it will cost approximately 4400k to replace. as i research i come to find out that i have purchased a top of line vehicle with a mid class transmission (camry). car is sitting in driveway still no check engine or warning lights. something is wrong with this picture. *tr

1999 lexus rx 300 vehicle 99,000 miles in very good repair suddenly stalls due to transmission failure on the freeway. no previous warning. i was very fortunate to "coast" off the highway into a safe area to stop the vehicle. it would no longer move, transmission was reported to be dead by two mechanics. after researching this model there are many reports about transmission failures some causing accidents and injuries. neither was the case with my incident but it is a disturbing trend. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lexus rx300. the contact stated that she noticed a noise on the front end of the vehicle and within a few minutes while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped moving forward. she turned the vehicle off and tried to restart it; however, after 10 attempts to restart the vehicle she was unable to do so. the vehicle was towed to a dealer who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer offered her a 50% discount off of the total repair costs. the vehicle had not been repaired to-date. the current and failure mileages were 86,192.

On or about 12/5/09 my daughter was driving home from work on 55 when all of a sudden she said the car seemed to lose traction and she said before she knew it she was inches away from going into a ditch and just missed hitting another car,thank god the traffic behind her did not crash into her. a guy she missed hitting got out of his car and asked if she was ok and that she almost hit him. we contacted lexus that morning and was told to bring the car in so we had it towed and was given a loaner for about a week and was finally told what was wrong,the front differential was locking up &fluid inside was completely black from metal shavings to the tune of $5000.00 we at that time asked if there was any recalls on the car because everybody we talked to said the car should not have done that,was told by the service guy there were no recalls,we went looking on the internet about differentials and happened upon lexus website and there we found recall on my car 1999 rx300 recall #72421 describing exactly what happened to us.contacted lexus was told it was not my car,not my vin #,different manufacturer. after numerous calls to try and resolve this getting the runaround was told by the service manager he would be willing to do the labor for free and but did not feel like he should assume all responsibility and to call corporate was told by them that there was no recall that it was a "technical bulletin".and finally they would allow 25% off of parts and that was a final offer,also i received a $500.00 gift card toward parts,there is a recall # .i took very good care of my car,spent $2000.00 in 11/08 for work on the car.besides the fact no one was hurt lexus is giving me the runaround they flatly said no recalls even though their website has recall with recall #. i think they are taking advantage because we are women and supposedly was not going to pursue this. if the service guy said to contact corporate which we did as well as the bbb,and mr. fix it from the sometimes. *tr

We owned a 1999 lexus rx 300 suv. we recently encountered a complete transmission failure on 11/26/2009 (thanksgiving day) at ~134000 miles while driving to attend a thanksgiving dinner. the car was well-maintained and well-kept since the purchase. the entire maintenance history can be verified & confirmed by lexus of portland in oregon. we were very surprised that the transmission went out so soon for a lexus. this is very disappointing. not only the situation was dangerous and unsafe for my wife & i (we were on a highway) but we later found out that lexus is charging us $4400 to replace a rebuilt transmission. as i investigate further, sounds like lexus/toyota is well-aware of the problem and not offering any compensation to help with the heavy burden replacement cost. we would like to file this complaint as a way to get higher authority to help the affected lexus owner. hopefully you can review & investigate into the matter with lexus/toyota for us. *tr

I had some diagnostics run on the transmission, and the verdict was that the planetary gear would likely need to be replaced if the transmission was rebuilt. apparently the original planetary gear had four gears mounted in an aluminum carrier... who knows, heat, wear whatever the carrier fails and allows the gears to tilt, and then your tranny is toast.. the new replacement planetary gears are mounted in a steel carrier, with 6 gears instead of the original 4....very interesting.... and much stronger i spoke with the service manager at my local lexus dealer (who himself had an rx300 and had to replace the transmission, ironically), and he went to lexus corporate and got them to pay for half of the replacement cost. this brought the estimated cost to about $2200 including tax. the estimated costs on the overhaul were between $1500-$2000. the lexus service manager had said that when his own transmission went out, he'd grilled the lexus engineers on the remanufactured part. he said that the engineers admitted that there were some "improvements" made in that transmission post-2001 and that they'd rather have a remanufactured 2001+ tranny than a brand new 2000 transmission. they never admitted to an issue, only that the 2001+ part was definitely better. i consider myself to be pretty darn good at knowing when someone isn't telling the full truth, and this guy was, so i believe him. *tr

Transmission on my 1999 lexus rx300 started slipping. we took it into a lexus dealer and were told to not do anything until the transmission failed, then bring it in. i asked if we should have it serviced or some maintenance to prevent a failure and they advised that it was not worth it. it failed, then the dealer wants $4,200 to fix it. research shows that this year and model lexus has transmission problems nationwide and suggests it is a widespread problem. this is a safety issue as well as general mechanical failure. *tr

While driving my lexus rx300 i heard a slight pop under the front. and the car stopped. i was told the transmission went bad. the car has 128,000 miles. *tr

I have a 99 rx 300 lexus with 75,000 miles. the transmission just died today. i did all that lexus recommended with fluids replacement (each 10k miles which is outrageous) and with all that the transmission died i hope that you can do something about it. *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

Transmission failure in a lexus rx300. *tr

My 1999 lexus rx-300 automatic transmission failed to engage in higher gear and continued at 2nd gear. i have flushed the atf with original toyota type 4 atf fluid every 30k miles. this vehicle has always been well-maintained regularly and driven under normal driving condition. *tr

1999 lexus rx-300. i have 94,000 miles on it, original owner. have gotten every scheduled maintenance service on it including 30,000 , 60,000 and 90,000 miles service in october 2008. now march 2009 and have complete transmission failure at 94,000 miles when i had 92,000 miles on my car for its service in october 2008. saw all the talk on the internet about thousands of people in same situation and lexus customer service says they have no idea what i am referring to! *tr

Transmission had slipping problems about 6 months ago. drained trans & changed filters. removed shift solenoids & checked to see if they operated. road tested fairly good. found out from reputable trans repair person that this particular year model trans has had many problems that lexus has not been addressing. they can rebuild trans but cannot update computer for the shifting problems which will ruin trans during test drive. now my trans will not go into reverse. *tr

During normal driving - the engine started to rev higher than normal - barely got the car home (2 1/2 miles) - going down the road with a 55mph speed limit at 20 mph, the next day i took the car for a short test drive and it would not shift - will be taking the car (99 rx300) to a shop to have it fixed. *tr

I am trying to decide what to do at this rock and hard place with my 1999 lexus rx that i purchased new. i love this car, however since the warranty ended, i've had a series of problems. sensors mostly and a check engine light that always seems to be linked to co2 issues. it has been on and off for about three years now. finally, i had a checkup done when my car started to infrequently shudder when it downshifts from 3rd to 2nd gear or delay reverse when put in gear. nothing showed up engine/transmission wise...... thought it was an alignment problem with the tires so had it realigned. problem still remains and appears to be worsening and i'm getting concerned about driving it. the car has 86,000 miles on it and i have always had the lexus dealership do the scheduled maintenance when appropriate. this is a very poor quality issue for a company who claims to have quality as their main goal. i guess they just don't claim to have "good or great" quality as their motto. i will be shouting this loud and clear to all of my friends. *tr

The transmission on my 1999 lexus rx300 failed. there was little to no indication of the problem before full failure occurred. my wife was driving the vehicle when it stalled and was almost in an accident. this looks to be a very common problem with this vehicle. it will cost me $5000 to repair. *tr

The transmission on this car went completely dead last week. the car was running fine and then it suddenly would not go anywhere. you can put the car in gear and push gas but it won't budge. i got it towed to a lexus dealership and they confirmed that the transmission was gone. *tr

I am the owner a 1999 lexus rx 300 that had a transmission failure. depending on who i talk to it will cost anywhere from $4000 to $6500 to repair the vehicle. i found out since this failure that this is a common problem with this vehicle. my source for this information has been the internet, transmission repair shops and the dealership employees themselves. this a well known problem that has been known for a while. lexus should do the right thing and recall these vehicles to correct this problem. i should not have to pay for a transmission that has a design flaw. thank you *tr

My wife was driving home from work @ midnight in her 1999 lexus rx300 with 98,000 miles and transmission goes out with no previous signs of malfunction. now a new transmission is needed at the price of $4000. many other owners of the lexus rx300 have the same problems and feel lexus should be responsible for poor product. *tr

I had a 1999 lexus rx300. it had transmission sensor replaced at ~86k miles. and recently, at 140k miles, the transmission totally broke down. from reading http://www.carsurvey.org/viewmorecomments_review_54694_4.html, there are so many 1999 rx300 owners had the same transmission problem. *tr

Lexus rx300 transmission failure at 100,000 miles. *tr

While running local errands on 9-1-08, my 1999 lexus rx 300 suv experienced sudden failure of awd automatic transmission, resulting in rapid deceleration and momentary loss of control. the vehicle was towed to local toyota dealer, which stated that transmission was destroyed and had to be replaced. estimated cost is $5,100. *tr

Noticed inability of the transmission to consistently upshift into overdrive in freeway conditions with minimum load, flat surface. *tr

Transmission went out of my 1999 lexus rx300. *tr

The transmission completely failed. could not drive the vehicle. occurred on the freeway at 60 mph. *tr

I purchased used 1999 lexus rx300 in 2008 and so far i've had to replace the transmission due to unexpected catastrophic failure, both air ratio sensors, both knock sensors, oxygen sensor, front strut mounts, and now possibly have to change the transmission again (not shifting correctly). i was not aware that the 1999 to 2001 rx300s were so problematic. since this is my only vehicle and i am still making payments on it, i am stuck footing the bill for all these repairs. which from what i have researched are attributed to bad engineering. i am constantly having to repair a vehicle which is supposedly known for quality. the problems that i've mentioned are just the major repairs. i have other minor issues such as rear power window must remain locked or it opens on it's own, dashboard lights do not illuminate,and power roof gets stuck open intermittently. *tr

I own two 1999 lexus rx300's. one with 100,000 miles and one with 76,000 miles. within the last two months, the transmission has failed in both cars. *tr

I am the owner of a '99 lexus rx 300 with only 60k miles on it. i recently experienced serious transmissions problems. it first started when i tried to get out of my parking space and could not put my car in reverse. the car would not respond for the first initial attempts and then it violently jerked into reverse. i took my car to my mechanic and he diagnosed a transmission problem. i am having a rebuilt transmission put in the car for $2000, which appears pretty competitive compared to the average price of $4k that is being quoted over the internet. lexus should be responsible for paying for this obvious defect in this make and model vehicle. *tr

1999 rx300 first heard knocking from the hood and cut off, next day the car would not go forward or backward. *tr

The transmission failed in my 1999 lexus rx300 with no warning at only 97,000 miles. *tr

My transmission broke down on me and had to be replaced on my 1999 lexus rx 300, with less than 124,000 miles. there was no indication that the transmission was going bad.

Transmission failure at 169k with no warning, car has been fully serviced according to lexus guidelines. dealer wants $5k to replace the transmission. *tr

The transmission on the 1999 rx 300 wa s serviced exclusively by performance lexus, started to slip, and by the time i got it home it had no gearing. i had a problem with it one year ago, and took it to my dealer, who said they could not find anything wrong. *ak