Automatic Transmission problems of the 2001 Lexus RX300 - part 1

2001 Lexus Rx300 failed transmission with no prior symptoms @ 106k miles. Estimated $3,800 - $4,800 to replace with rebuilt transmission.

The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph and attempting to accelerate but the vehicle would not respond. The contact applied pressure to the accelerator pedal and the engine would exhibit an increase in rpms but the vehicle still would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where the contact was told that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 104,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that when shifting into reverse, the vehicle would not respond. She then shifted into drive and the vehicle exhibited an abnormally loud thump. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. The failure and current mileage was approximately 105,000.

My vehicle was stopped for a traffic signal and shifter in "drive". When light turned green I applies gas and the vehicle went into reverse with the shifter still in the drive position. Transmission will need replacing. Repairing dealer advised this is a common problem with this model vehicle.

I would like to report a safety issue with my 2001 Lexus RX 300. The transmission went out when I was driving in traffic when attempting to get on interstate. The vehicle has 120,000 miles on drive train and vehicle was properly maintained. The transmission was looked at months earlier to fix potential problems with transmission. The technician did not discover anything unusual and said vehicle was okay to drive. The transmission just quit and left my children and me stranded in rush hour traffic. Real dangerous!!! I think vehicle needs to be recalled.

The automatic transmission on my 2001 Lexus Rx300 fwd went out at 142,000 miles. This car was purchase new from a Lexus dealer and serviced, in accordance with the service manual, at the same dealer. Most recently the transmission was serviced at 135,000 miles and all was fine. On Jan. 8 the car was on the freeway and the transmission dropped into a lower gear for no apparent reason and the engine revved close to red line. Check engine light did not come on. I was able to pull over just before entering a tunnel. Transmission fluid looks fine. The car was towed to the dealer and I've been told it needs a new transmission at a cost of $5000+ for parts and labor.

I was driving down the road and my car went into neutral. I was moving about 40 mph at the time of the incident.

1. May18th, 2010 on my way to work the Lexus RX 300, 2001, 98k stalled and the gear did not shift either in d or in r. The transmission died. 2. No sign of failure or symptom before that 3. I called a local shop specialized in transmission to tow it to the shop. The cost to rebuild the transmission is 2800$. I went to Lexus dealer and ask for a replacement (Lexus does not rebuild transmission). It costs 5000$ or more. I believe that the transmission is a defective design. I'd like to complain and request Lexus to provide supports for this defect.

The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated as she accelerated from a traffic stop at speeds of 40 mph, the vehicle lunged forward without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where she was advised the transmission would need to be replaced. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 95577. The current mileage was 95780.

My transmission died on my 2001 Lexus Rx300 at 110k miles. The car stopped in the middle of a road during morning rush hours.

The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to a Lexus dealer. The dealer stated that the transmission had to be replaced. The vehicle will be repaired at the owners expense since there was no valid warranty. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileages were 116,000.

The transmission in my 2001 Lexus Rx300 failed with a little over 108k miles. No warning lights came on. I had trouble getting it in reverse 2 days before - thought it was a fluke. Then I had trouble starting it for 2 days. On 8/16 it started fine, so I drove it to the dealer. Twice on the way there, it jerked & hesitated when accelerating from a stop - I almost got rear ended. I am the 2nd owner - I bought it in 2003 with 41,462 miles on it. It was Lexus certified pre-owned. The car fax report noted the original owner registered it as private/personal use & no issues were noted. I have had all service done by the dealer, except the last oil change. I've only driven about 9k miles per year, drive it responsibly & have never towed with it. Very frightening that I had few symptoms, and no warning light to alert me there was a problem. Lexus dealer wants $4,300 to replace it with a Lexus remanufactured transmission. I have not decided what to do. I'm seeing lots of information online about how bad these transmissions are, and they often need replaced multiple times. Scares me to know I could replace it, have it fail & perhaps be in an accident. I am a realtor & frightening that I could have been in an accident with clients in my vehicle. My expectations of Lexus quality & safety have not been met.

Was driving to work, noticed the engine was revving but speed was dropping. Applied gas, engine only revved harder. Pulled into a parking lot, heading into a parking spot. Determined it would be better to back in, in case a roll back was required, it wouldn't engage in any gear. After letting it sit and cool for an hour or so it went into reverse and I backed it out for the wrecker. I love(d) my Lexus, why is my tran going out at 140k miles. It was too much money to have a major failure at this point.

My transmission died on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 in my 2001 Lexus. It had previously died in 2007 and replaced by the Lexus dealer where I bought the car new. Basically, this will be the third transmission on this car in 9 years.

Transmission went out in my 2001 Lexus Rx300 at 122,000 miles. I also have a 1999 Lexus Rx300 where the transmission went out at 67,000 miles. Lexus does not stand behind this as a defect. We were told we should have requested a flush of the transmission fluids as it is not a routine service provided and that it is only done when the fluids are dirty. How would we know that? aren't they supposed to determine appropriate services for their vehicles?.

I have just discovered on a recent trip - that the cruise control does not work on my 2001 Lexus - 300rx - system will not engage. Has anyone else experienced this problem? the car has just under 60,000 miles. Could this problem be in any way related to the transmission(power train) problems that many other owners of this model Lexus have reported? guess I will find out what's involved next week when I take the care in for 60,000 mile check-up. * tr.

Transmission problem code 0770 this is very common complaint from 2001 Lexus Rx300 have the same problem with the most of the owners.

Defective transmission on Lexus Rx300 from a known model defect stranded my wife on the highway. Transmission is being replaced by Lexus dealership at our cost of over $5000.

Faulty transmission. Faulty design leads to failure of transmission on generation one Lexus Rx300.

Without any warning, out Rx300 decided to give up its reverse gear. Towed it to the Lexus dealer and they confirmed the transmission needs to be replaced - which is a $5000 job. For a Lexus, this is silly. We pay "extra" to have a car that has no worries and will last forever. Sure - we are now at 102,000 miles, but that is still young for a Lexus. In the mean time, I have contacted Lexus and they have opened up a case to see how they can serve me by reducing the cost of the repair, but I don't think the repair will be $0. Reading all the other complaints, and the remarks from the Lexus customer satisfaction guy, Lexus knows about this problem but they fail to help their loyal customers by repairing a known issue with the transmission. So much for the Lexus brand. Please contact Lexus and force them to reimburse all repair costs for all the owners who had to go through this. Or start a class action lawsuit in which the result would be the same. If you are a Lexus person reading this, hint. . . Help your customers, don't drag your Lexus name through the mud. If you are a lawyer reading this - start a class action lawsuit and get Lexus to fix its known problems.

I have a 2001 Lexus Rx300 with 105,300 miles; the transmission has gone out prematurely, beginning to slip with colder weather and failing entirely some 300 miles later. According to other internet sources, this is a common problem occurring on these model vehicles between 70k and 120k miles and is due to a design flaw by the manufacturer (Toyota). Yet the manufacturer will not repair the transmissions as at this mileage the vehicles are outside of warranty. Cost to repair ranges from about $2000-$3300 from an independent transmission shop to approximately $4400 by the dealer.

While driving the car just stopped dangerously in the middle of a 4 lane highway and was unable to be pushed to side of road ,even when put in neutral position on the gear selector. The transmission locked up internally and vehicle impeded traffic for quite some time causing a severe safety danger for us and any cars traveling on the highway and encountering an unexpected slowing of traffic because of the blocked roadway .

I have a 2001 Rx300, as I am reading I have not been the only one to experience a transmission issue! I have had this car for 3 years and the transmission has to be overhauled, as I was driving my children to church on Sunday the car got to about 30 mph and started revving up really hard and then jerked, in a 65mph zone, where I was nearly rearended by another vehicle trying to get off the interstate! this is a safety hazard, I cannot Lexus to help and will be paying $3500 to replace! I work in transportation safety and I must say this is a huge hazard and there should be something someone can do to make Lexus fix this problem being they are not going to care about fixing it on their own!.

My transmission went out . . It will not shift right or drive correctly and Lexus will not fix it.

Failure of transmission in 2001 Lexus RX 300. There is a known, well-documented history of problems with the transmission and transaxles in this vehicle. Lexus has not recalled the vehicle and fixed the problem.

Transmission locked up and nearly caused severe crash on a luxury SUV with less than 100,000 miles.

Was driving home from minnesota to pennsylvania in my 2001 Lexus Rx300 on June 28th, 2008; and my transmission went out on me. I was on a major highway at night time in the pouring rain and it fell down to 5 mph. I found the nearest exit and had it towed to the nearest garage where I rebuilt Lexus transmission was installed, at a cost of $,4600. 00. I received a twelve month unlimited mileage warranty on the transmission from Lexus. My SUV had approximately, 112. 000 miles on it at this point. Now, less that 10 months later, I have metal chips in my fluid and was told that I need yet another transmission, at a cost of over $4,000; as the dealer here in my state won't honor the Lexus warranty. I have been back and forth on the phone with the dealer here and the dealer in ohio and was treated very rudely by the dealer here. I was informed that even though Lexus issued the warranty, they can not follow through with it, even though the dealer in ohio said that they have to. I am completely at my wits end. I called the 1-800 number for Lexus and have also contacted my attorney. Someone needs to admit that there are severe transmission problems with these vehicles, and quit trying to pass over us; the people that paid for them. If there is a class action suit in the making, I ant to become a part of it. The whole idea of "customer satisfaction" flew out the window and Lexus dealers need to be reminded where their paychecks come from. I was treated rudely today , without reason; and here I sit with a warranty that I can't use to get my vehicle fixed.

My 2001 Lexus Rx300 died on the freeway. I am told my transmission is ruined and needs to be replaced. I regularly serviced my car and there is no way it should have a blown transmission with only 84,000 miles. After seeing all the similar complaints on the internet, I think there should be a class action suit against Lexus.

Transmission went out on my 2001 Rx300 at 100,000 miles. Normally I would just consider this bad luck but the 3rd party transmission guy says that he replaces tons of these and that he is convinced there is a problem. This presents a dangerous condition as the transmission went out virtually immediately, leaving the vehicle essentially disabled and almost as if in neutral. Other internet posters have claimed that this transmission locked up causing unstable vehicle performance while moving. When I go to the internet and search this issue there are countless websites with owners with the same problem. You see countless posts on Lexus forums, edmunds, etc. , about 1999, 2000 and 2001 RX 300 suvs with transmission issues. Many as early as 50,000 miles (which are covered by Lexus) and many more over 70,000 to 100,000 like me.

The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. While the contact was backing out of his driveway, the vehicle suddenly stopped moving. The vehicle was unable to move in any direction, as well as in neutral. The vehicle was towed to a transmission service station. Four thousand miles before the failure occurred, the transmission was rebuilt. The contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle beforehand and has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 146,000.

2001 Lexus Rx300 w/80k miles. Driving on freeway, pressed gas an nothing happened. Car kept revving but wouldn't drive. Very dangerous. Found out the transmission went. Researched this and discovered this was due to a manufacture defect that Lexus will not admit to (although their service staff will admit to this). Lexus paid for the new transmission, but forced me to pay $1500 labor when they are at fault. These cars should be recalled! please research this online. I researched online and spoke to several owners of this model who all had the same experience between 70-80k miles.

My transmission on my 2001 Lexus RX 300 died at 100,000 miles. I take excellent care of my car. A rebuilt transmission with no warranty is costing me $2500 from a friend who is a mechanic. Lexus quoted me at $5,000 with a 1 year warranty! this is outrageous, a transmission should not fail at 100,000 miles. I have been reading all about multiple complaints in regards to this specific issue and no one at Lexus seems to care.

I had service at Lexus and my transmission still went out. They were racist and biased and would not fix it. I had to pay out of my pocket. After that happened, a cylinder went out so now I need that fixed. I thought that Lexus was a superior car. (they do not honor the warranty as they should, at least not in houston west Lexus). This one certainly is not worth what I paid and is not what I expect from Lexus.

Vehicle started shifting hard & making a whinnying sound. When engine warm could not duplicate problem. Left car at dealer for cold start they found the problem. Replaced w/ rebuilt transmission at a cost of $1199. 00.

Made a complete stop at a stop sign and when I tried to accelerate, the car lost power and would rev less than 2000rpm. Pulled over to the side and shut engine off. Restarted the car and tried to accelerate, but car still wouldn't rev above 2000rpm. Since I didn't want to block a driveway, I attempted to put the car in reverse, but it didn't move. Had to tow my 2001 Rx300 with only 56k miles to the dealership and replace my transmission.