A known issue, but I wanted to post my experience in case someone is in a similar situation.
My truck is 2001 LX470, currently at 120k miles. I bought it used at 112k miles; all previous service was completed by the previous owner at the local Lexus dealer. It is in great condition, and besides for the ignition tumbler snapping earlier this year, it has been great.
Prior to the transmission failing, I experienced zero signs of potential failure. No slipping, odd friction noises, grinding, hard shifting...nothing. Last week as I drove home on the freeway, I exited the off ramp nearest my home. As I came to a stop, I noticed the truck start to shake and vibrate violently. I initially thought it was a braking issue, because once I applied gas, the truck operated and sounded normal. I then approached a second set of stop signs, same thing happened with shaking, except now I felt like the truck wanted to stall. I gunned it through the stop sign and made it home without stopping again. I stopped (in drive) in front of my house, it stalled, at that was all she wrote. The trucked started normally, but once I put it in drive or reverse...it stalled immediately.
I called around town and found a local independent shop who was confident they could help. I basically brought it in asking for a quote for a transmission replacement. They charged me $500 to confirm my transmission was ruined, then wanted an additional $8100 to install a Toyota factory remanned transmission. That figure sounded high, so I call the local Lexus dealer and they quoted me $6000 for the same transmission install. Done deal, called AAA and my LX is currently getting the remanned transmission installed.
Pretty frustrating to have the transmission grenade at only 120k. My neighbor at work has a '99 LC, with 385k miles on the clock...original trans. However, it is obvious from reading all of the threads on MUD that the 2000 and 2001 LX and LC's have a troubled transmission.
Once I get the report back from Lexus, I'll post the actual cause of the transmission failure. The first shop I took it to didn't provide any specific details besides "large metal chunks and shavings in the pan"
My truck is 2001 LX470, currently at 120k miles. I bought it used at 112k miles; all previous service was completed by the previous owner at the local Lexus dealer. It is in great condition, and besides for the ignition tumbler snapping earlier this year, it has been great.
Prior to the transmission failing, I experienced zero signs of potential failure. No slipping, odd friction noises, grinding, hard shifting...nothing. Last week as I drove home on the freeway, I exited the off ramp nearest my home. As I came to a stop, I noticed the truck start to shake and vibrate violently. I initially thought it was a braking issue, because once I applied gas, the truck operated and sounded normal. I then approached a second set of stop signs, same thing happened with shaking, except now I felt like the truck wanted to stall. I gunned it through the stop sign and made it home without stopping again. I stopped (in drive) in front of my house, it stalled, at that was all she wrote. The trucked started normally, but once I put it in drive or reverse...it stalled immediately.
I called around town and found a local independent shop who was confident they could help. I basically brought it in asking for a quote for a transmission replacement. They charged me $500 to confirm my transmission was ruined, then wanted an additional $8100 to install a Toyota factory remanned transmission. That figure sounded high, so I call the local Lexus dealer and they quoted me $6000 for the same transmission install. Done deal, called AAA and my LX is currently getting the remanned transmission installed.
Pretty frustrating to have the transmission grenade at only 120k. My neighbor at work has a '99 LC, with 385k miles on the clock...original trans. However, it is obvious from reading all of the threads on MUD that the 2000 and 2001 LX and LC's have a troubled transmission.
Once I get the report back from Lexus, I'll post the actual cause of the transmission failure. The first shop I took it to didn't provide any specific details besides "large metal chunks and shavings in the pan"
