In article
<660bf106-a5ab-4c74-b72f-c156ec3273fd@r10g2000yqa.googlegroups.com>,

Best find $2500 or so for a trans rebuild.

Ask me about my 94 ES sometime.

First thing to check would be the ATF fluid level.

I was about to ask about the driving habits of everyone who's used the car.
But then I noticed that you bought it used. So much for useful information
about how the car's been treated. Unless the transmission had some kind of
nasty defect to begin with, it takes real skill to wreck it in 86K miles.

So, like someone else said, open the checkbook.

First, check the condition and fill level of the automatic transmission
fluid (ATF).  The ATF should be red or reddish-brown and translucent.  If it
is black or if there are shiny metallic flakes on the transmission dipstick,
the transmission is probably bad.  If the fluid level is low, then add the
correct ATF.

One of the things that will prematurely wear a transmission is shifting from
drive to reverse and vice versa before the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
Shifting directions while the vehicle is in motion has the effect of rapidly
wearing the friction surfaces in the transmission.  I see people do this a
lot, and their transmissions rarely last much past 100,000 miles.

An electrical issue would probably cause the check engine light or OD light
to illuminate, and since the vehicle did move for a while, an electrical
issue is not likely.

There is no NOX sensor in the vehicle.  Oxides of nitrogen are reduced by
the vehicle's exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and a malfunctioning
EGR system may cause the engine to stall but would not result in the
symptoms you are describing.

The engine is equipped with knock sensors.  When the knock sensors detect
engine knocking or pinging, the engine control computer will retard ignition
timing but will not result in the symptoms you are describing.

The symptoms you are describing sounds like a badly worn transmission, or if
the transmission was flushed within the past year, then dislodged internal
sludge may have clogged an internal fluid passage.

If the vehicle is not drivable, then a proper diagnosis would require
hooking up a transmission pressure gauge for a series of pressure tests.

Yea like most comments check the ATF level first.
And its condition.
I was never sure how to do this.
Until I checked and found ( told by Toyota Auto box guy )
Run car at least 10 miles.
Leave car idling.
Then check the dip stick level.

I always felt when Toyota filled mine that it was over filled.
But I was not checking it RUNNING.

I hope you find a better solution than opening that Cheque book.

My 1995 4 has 98K miles on now

Good luck

Johnny UK

Some people sell their cars as soon as they learn of major problems.
And sounds like this is one of them. As stated by others, the simplest
cause can be low ATF level. Just check and add the proper amount if
low. When any 86K mile transmission stopped moving these days, I'd
guess it's either heavily abused or never been serviced.

Another cause is low ATF line pressure. If these A-series transmission
have never been serviced every 30K miles (or 15K in severe service),
then the friction/steel debris in there probably plugged up a few
things. This can cause accelerated wear to clutch packs and brake
bands, and you basically have to do a rebuild.

These inexpensive Aisin A-series transmissions are fairly dirty and
they lack a suitable filtration system (they have only strainers).
That's why they should be serviced (including strainer) every 15K
miles if you intend to keep them. They're kinda flimsy when you push
them, not performance transmissions by any means, but work well in
typical driving. Some owners have reported they crap out around
80-120K miles.

So I'd:
1. Check fluild level and condition.
2. Drop the pan, replace the strainer (Fram ATF kit), inspect wear
particles and wipe pan clean.
   Refill with proper amount of ATF. Cleanliness is important here.
See if this fixes it.

Then it starts to get involved:

3. If not, measure main line pressure.
4. Consider pulling valve body and inspect/clean it and slap on a new
VB gasket kit (see local transtarindustries.com) before you consider a
rebuild.

And then it really gets expensive:

5. Rebuild or get a re-manufactured transmission. Call Jasper Engines
and see if they have one for your model/year.
http://www.jasperengines.com/index.php

I'd recommend only Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Assoc (ATRA)
members. Click on "Find your local ATRA Member".

www.atra.com

On Jul 1, 2:52 am, condor_...@yahoo.com wrote:

On Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:52:47 -0700, condor_222 wrote:

=======

That's rough, having that kind of transmission problem so soon after
buying the Lexus.  Good luck to you.  It might have been a good idea to
have gotten an ATF fluid analysis done on the car before buying it.
Blackstone Labs would have charged $22.  86,000 miles sure is premature
for a transmission failure.

[snip]

This sounds like something I had and probably why I got the
car at such a good price.  An ES300 with 86K on it is barely
broken in, so I doubt it is the transmission.

For me it was some kind of electronic control, possibly even
related to cruise control.  Sorry I don't remember all the
details, or even any of them.  I do remember after they did
some diagnosis they replaced a control unit and everything
worked fine after that.  It wasn't easy for them to find, so
don't buy "the transmission needs to be replaced" until they
really check.  I remember it was less than $1K.

Ok, it's fixed, and here is the update.

First of all, thanks so much to John for recommending ATRA!

I first took the car to a transmission place that I went
to last year.  They wanted $3200 to rebuild the tranny!

I searched for ATRA members in my area, and found
another place.  In the end, I went there, and only
paid $1700 for the rebuild!

Both places said that it needed a rebuild.  That these
Lexus transmissions were one of the Lexus weaknesses.

There were metal shavings/dust that was sticking to
the magnets in the transmission pan.

When the transmission was apart, I took a look at
all the damage.  There were chipped gears.  And a
cyndrilic object that had metal chewed off the
outside edges at the end.  About 4 inches in diameter,
and 6 inches in length.  Welds holding gears that had
loosened. Lots of damage! No wonder it didn't want to move.

He said it looked like the transmission had already
been replaced.  And that one gasket had been put on the
wrong side of an object. That was the reason it self
destructed.  So, from what he told me, it was an off the
shelf rebuilt transmission.  Put together wrong.
And slowly self destructed over time.

Now that it's replaced, the car sounds different.
I'd thought after I bought the car, that it sounded different
from my old Camry.  There was always some noise
when I accelerated, and coasted.  Now, the Lexus sounds
more like my Camry did.  It's quieter.

Fortunately, there was no reason to change any of the
electronic sensors, which would have been extra.  I'd had no
lights coming up on the dash.

One thing I learned when I contacted the Lexus dealership.
These transmissions require the Toyota number 4 transmission
fluid.  Regular Dextron 3, will cause the transmission
to self destruct over time.  The Lexus parts guy said that
Jiffy Lube had indirectly been one of their best customers.
Because they kept causing so many failed transmissions by
using Dextron 3.

So, I hope this helps anyone else who has issues with their
Lexus.   Good luck!