Problems with 2002 Lexus RX 300 POWER TRAIN

Suddenly my gears began shifting into neutral, park, reverse and into !st and 2nd gear without locking into any of them. no matter what the shifter moves freely. my car only moves forward no matter which gear it's in, including reverse. i put it into park and it still keeps moving forward. in order to park and stop, i have to use my emergency brake and turn the car off. i do not know the cause (unknown) it just suddenly happened on a toll road at the pay station. also, my internal lights do not come on when i open any door, including the trunk lights. my radio does not change stations and knob does nothing, reception is poor & comes and goes. i cannot get any am stations.

Catastrophic transmission failure at 48,000 miles. *tr

The transmission totally failed. vehicle would not move in any gear. rpms pegged out at 6k. had the vehicle towed to northtown lexus in amherst, ny. they agreed that the transmission was totally shot and would cost approximately $5,500 to replace, just for the part. i subsequently had the vehicle towed to continental transmission in buffalo, ny, where it was rebuilt for $3,100. i understand from posts at the lexus owners club of usa that rx300 transmissions are prone to failure as they were not designed for the added stresses imposed by and suv. *tr

While driving out of the parking space transmission started making very loud noise and then got totally stuck and vehicle could not move. it was incredibly difficult to load and especially unload the car from the flatbed truck. my mechanic evaluated the transmission and it was beyond repair and needed to be replaced. transmission fluid was totally black. of note, the manufacturer's sticker on the transmission specifically indicated not to change transmission fluid. *tr

When i was driving three light turned on at the same time. the check engine light, vsc and trac off light. i went to a mechanic and he stated there is something wrong with the solenoid. took it to the mechanic to check the oil pan and the stolenois is getting clogged because the transmission is shot. *tr

Transmission has failed. transmission failed on the highway with a max speed of 70 mph. fortunately there were no injuries. i ended up calling a tow truck to tow me to a transmission shop where it sit. i am now reading about the many who has suffered and is suffering transmission failure. why isn't the government acting on forcing lexus to recall and fix this issue? this is not an isolated problem. first and last lexus. *tr

I'm writing to make you aware of a serious safety issue with my vehicle. it started awhile ago, i heard a whining noise & hesitation,had lexus check it out. they said & documented in my profile it was my tire treads. i got the best goodyear tires for that vehicle at the time fortera's. noise rating i believe is 8 out of 10 (10 being quietest). i let it go & had many more oil changes since then & no mention of any fluids needing to be changed. my car has always been dealer serviced wherever i lived. past 4yrs been @ thompson lexus,50 swamp road,doylestown, pa 18902. vin:[xxx]. i change my oil religiously every 8wks or so (my oil is exceptionally clean like a new engine) nothing was ever said about my fluids. none of my paperwork shows recommendations of any fluids nor were there any verbal recommendations about fluid changes.they did recommend a timing belt which i did but they also stated that i should have my water pump done as well even though nothing is/was wrong with it. so, i did what they said. but things got worse. usually when i am at a stop light/sign &/or making a left turn from a stopped position & im pulling out into intersection, the rpms tend to go up but my vehicle doesn't accelerate/respond with the pressing of the gas pedal. with this ongoing intermittent acceleration response, im scared but i need the car to get family around. i had another oil change & i told them to change transmission fluid. they advised me the whining was the transmission & lexus dealership did not recommend that the trans oil to be changed & it is a waste of my $100. i got it verbally & in writing on my service receipt. i believe the issue at hand (based on research) is the transmission & directly related to workmanship (poor design) & also the lack of knowledge, of technicians, to check fluids & recommend changing certain fluids at certain times. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Early transmission failure on early model lexus rx300 from 1997 to 2003. i own a 2002 rx300 and the transmission failed at about 100,000 miles. it happened with no notice causing my engine to slow on the road and then was rear ended by another vehicle. i seem to be a lucky one as i read thousands of lexus rx300 owners transmissions needed to be replaced between 70,000 and 90,000 miles. lexus/toyota has done nothing to admit their is a problem with the transmission in this car and in fact denied any problems to myself. it is costing owners of these vehicles to outlay between $3,000 to $6,000 for the transmission to be replaced. all you need to do is go on the club lexus forum for lexus owners and type in transmission problems for rx300 and you will see thousands of owners complaining. please do everything in your power to make lexus/toyota acknowledge the problem and issue a recall and reimbursement to those owners of these cars. thank you. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 lexus rx300. while driving at approximately 40-50 mph, the contact attempted to accelerate and the transmission failed without warning. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. he called the manufacturer who stated that because the vehicle was outside the warranty, they would not assist with the repair expenses. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were approximately 100,500.

Fwd vehicle. gear slippage began without warning and in minutes the transmission failed completely. no warning lights came on. the mechanic says the clutch is burned out, requiring a new transmission. the car has 94k miles on it and this is not covered under warranty. the cost for replacement with a re-manned oem transmission is $3,900. it is being replaced by the local toyota dealer. *tr

On february 20, 2009, i was driving my 2002 lexus rx300 with approximately 79k miles when it would not shift into overdrive. i brought vehicle to repair shop where i was informed that the knock sensors needed to be replaced. i had them replaced and vehicle seemed to be working fine. on may 5, 2009, my transmission began slipping when shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. when vehicle brought to repair facility and i was informed that transmission is no good and needs to be replaced. at this time i looked on internet and found that many lexus rx300 are having the same problem. the cost of repairs is approximately $4,500. i paid $1,500 for knock sensors to be replaced already. there should be a recall. *tr

A total failure of my transmission left me stranded on the highway, no warning, no signals, just quit. i've driven toyota products for 30 years and several over 200k miles and i've never had such a catastrophic failure. the cost to repair is $4000 from the dealer. the sad thing is that i just paid this vehicle off less than a week ago. after searching many forums of lexus owners i have found out that the early rx300s were all susceptible to this failure., why hasn't and doesn't lexus admit this failure. lexus has just lost loyal customer for them and toyota products. *tr

I drive a 2002 lexus rx300. i was smelling a burning odor from below my car and called up to have it checked by the lexus service. they said they couldn't see me for a week and made an appointment to take the car in for check up. i expressed my concern about driving the vehicle while this smell was present and was told to check if :there was any object such as a plastic bag stuck under my car. *checked the oil, since he said that the engine oil lubricates the entire power train. after telling him that the dipstick showed that there was no need for oil he said that the vehicle "should be ok until i bring it in for checkup. by this time i had developed a false sense of security and totally forgot about the odor. until saturday night august 30 when i was heading west on the cross bronx expressway.i was driving at approximately 60 mph when suddenly i heard this loud bang and the vehicle started to spin out of control on the high way with 18 wheelers on either side of me. god i was terrified. fortunately i remembered to steer the car in the direction of the skid and was able to stabilize the vehicle and prevent a rollover. after coming out of the car and inspecting it i found that there was no visible damage but the [xxx] car would not move. here i was cris-crossed 21/2 lanes of traffic on the cross bronx expressway with other people yelling at me to move my[xxx] vehicle out of the way and i had absolutely no way of moving it because the rear axle was jammed. after not having my car for 1 month to be exact, i was given back my vehicle and told that there was damage to the rear differential that caused the axle to seize up. fortunately it was covered by warranty. i do not know what kind of damage could have occurred especially since this car only had 17,000 miles on it and was driven only on paved surfaces. i seriously think the there was a defect and that it should be investigated. *la information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). ...

Vehicle would roll backward when stopping on a hill . dealer was notified. feel free to provide any further information.*ak