Sounds to me like it just needs a band adjustment. A simple procedure, but not an everyday do-it-yourself project. Tell the dealer to f/off and drive the vehicle to a transmission repair shop.
Another idiotic decision
Hello fellow drivers,
My car is a 2004 Lexus LS 430 with approximately 150k+ miles. No major repairs throughout ownership. Excluding wear and tear such as brakes, tyres and suspension, minor ones are the door actuators, oil leak (engine gasket) and cruise control. Now, I am hit with a $6000 bill for the transmission. Anyone with the ability of making logical judgement would sell the car in the blink of an eye but my heart often overrides the brain.
A few months ago, the car was sluggish occasionally going in reverse but once it was given enough time to warm up, it reversed without any problems. Fast forward to last week, instead of difficulty in reverse, the car was sluggish to accelerate. Again, the car drove fine after a few minutes. Two days ago, the car did not move upon start up unless the engine hit 2000 rpm, which is ridiculous. My experience is that the car only hits 2000 rpm or above when travelling 60 mph+.
Although as ignorant as I am, I do not need a dealer to tell me the transmission is failing. What it is beyond comprehension is that at this astronomical repair cost, the dealer would only put a re-manufactured one to my car. If the donor car has more or less the same mileage as my car, if not more, it is just a matter of time for the donor transmission to fail. Perhaps I may be better off to roll the dice, buy a used transmission from eBay and pray a transmission shop will do the job right at a fraction of the cost. The pain of losing my love is still excruciating and certainly I do not want to experience anything similar again (over the years, I have developed bonding of some kind with this car). Selling it is the last thing I hope for.
Are Toyotas made to last? I will leave this to your judgment. My answer to that would be 'depends'. Honestly with the age of this car, it is understandable that something starts to fail. As with my other newer LS, a failing suspension at 26k miles is ridiculous. This is why my jaw drops each time reading stories of Prius / Camry / Corolla that never breaks at unbelievably high miles. Why is not the case for Lexus?
Thank you for taking the time to read.
My car is a 2004 Lexus LS 430 with approximately 150k+ miles. No major repairs throughout ownership. Excluding wear and tear such as brakes, tyres and suspension, minor ones are the door actuators, oil leak (engine gasket) and cruise control. Now, I am hit with a $6000 bill for the transmission. Anyone with the ability of making logical judgement would sell the car in the blink of an eye but my heart often overrides the brain.
A few months ago, the car was sluggish occasionally going in reverse but once it was given enough time to warm up, it reversed without any problems. Fast forward to last week, instead of difficulty in reverse, the car was sluggish to accelerate. Again, the car drove fine after a few minutes. Two days ago, the car did not move upon start up unless the engine hit 2000 rpm, which is ridiculous. My experience is that the car only hits 2000 rpm or above when travelling 60 mph+.
Although as ignorant as I am, I do not need a dealer to tell me the transmission is failing. What it is beyond comprehension is that at this astronomical repair cost, the dealer would only put a re-manufactured one to my car. If the donor car has more or less the same mileage as my car, if not more, it is just a matter of time for the donor transmission to fail. Perhaps I may be better off to roll the dice, buy a used transmission from eBay and pray a transmission shop will do the job right at a fraction of the cost. The pain of losing my love is still excruciating and certainly I do not want to experience anything similar again (over the years, I have developed bonding of some kind with this car). Selling it is the last thing I hope for.
Are Toyotas made to last? I will leave this to your judgment. My answer to that would be 'depends'. Honestly with the age of this car, it is understandable that something starts to fail. As with my other newer LS, a failing suspension at 26k miles is ridiculous. This is why my jaw drops each time reading stories of Prius / Camry / Corolla that never breaks at unbelievably high miles. Why is not the case for Lexus?
Thank you for taking the time to read.
1 - 6 of 150 Posts
You forgot to SCREAM that the transmission fluid on a 2004 Lexus LS430 needs to be at a hot operating temperature before checking the fluid level. The transmission oil is only able to fully expands after it becomes completely heated. A cool temperature reading would give a false low fluid indication on the dipstick, and accidentally overfilling the transmission on an LS430 would prove catastrophic.Holy failed troubleshooting you guys!
Jessica. Before you do anything check your fluid level. Keep the car running in park. Find the transmission dip stick. Pull it out. Wipe it off. Put it all the way in, then pull it out. What is the reading on the stick?
Low fluid levels will produce the classic symptoms she is experiencing.
It’s a fact that repair shops customarily charge a markup on parts. You will save money shopping for the transmission yourself, but in return the shop that installs it will usually refuse to offer any warranty on the labor.Perhaps I may be better off to roll the dice, buy a used transmission from eBay and pray a transmission shop will do the job right at a fraction of the cost.
True that, but the 2004 Lexus LS430 will have a dipstick for checking transmission fluid level.Oh, not all cars actually have transmission dipsticks anymore or oil dipsticks for that matter…
You talking about a dipstick that’s stained with lipstick? 💋I'm really surprised there was not a single post sexually about the dipstick
Yes, located near the backside of the engine compartment on the driver-side of the vehicle.Are you sure the 04 to 06 ls430 has a dipstick?
1 - 6 of 150 Posts
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