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.

- Chelsea, AL, USA

Faulty transmission. Faulty design leads to failure of transmission on generation one Lexus RX300.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

2001 RX300 transmission failed at 110,000 miles and had to be completely replaced. Normal commuter driving at highway speeds, very little city or high traffic situations.

- Waunakee, WI, USA

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.

- Hayward, CA, USA

Lexus 2001 model RX300 in excellent condition purchased new with zero miles from Lexus dealer. This all wheel drive vehicle experienced total transmission failure without warning. Transmission type U14F. Vehicle was always dealer serviced and just completed the 85,000 miles service. Transmission is defective, and a chronic problem on all rx models. Dealer would not provide service under 100K extended warranty due to age. Cost of repair $5,500 plus labor & taxes. There should be a class action lawsuit started for these transmission problems.

- Houston, TX, USA

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.

- Plano, TX, USA

Car began have transmission problems transmission failed in process of having to rebuild/replace transmission.

- Statesville, NC, USA

RX300 car either won't go into gear or jumps out of gear. It has occurred several times and many many reports on owner sites re: Transmission failure. The latest incident left myself and my 4 year old son stranded in a parking lot in low teens weather. It also jumped out of gear once while driving. I'm afraid to drive the car.

- Washington Crosing, PA, USA

Transmission failed at 137,000 miles and needs complete replacement.

- Vallecitos, NM, USA

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.

- West Babylon, NY, USA

1. grinding noise. 2. transmission failure. Car stopped moving. 3. transmission replaced.

- Chester, NJ, USA

Our transmission failed in the middle of the highway causing our wheels to lock. I spent nearly $4000 to have the transmission replaced like the many Lexus RX300 owners have had to do. This has not only significantly impacted our wallets but more importantly could have killed my wife and I.

- Wilmington, MA, USA

At only 98K miles, the transmission failed on my 2001 Lexus RX300. My husband and I were driving down the highway and were nearly home when the transmission started slipping. We had some minor problems with it for the last several weeks, but they seemed to go away once the engine warmed up. This time, however, it went from driving to just revving, as if in neutral, in about a minute or less. We had to coast down an off-ramp and push to a parking spot before having it towed. Our mechanic says it will be between $2-3K to fix it. This is totally unacceptable for a luxury vehicle with less than 100K miles on it.

- Louisville, KY, USA

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

- Rosemead, CA, USA

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!

- Kansas City, MO, USA

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.

- Cheyenne, WY, USA

2001 Lexus RX300. Transmission failure at 120,000 miles. The car would not go over 30-40 mph on highway the would come to complete stop. Will have to get a new transmission or rebuild old one. This seems to be a problem with 99-02 Lexus 300. Would like to see a recall.

- Pontotoc, MS, USA

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

- Graham, NC, USA

Complete transmission failure.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

First, the car would not shift into reverse. Then, after attempting several times, the car violently jerked me into reverse and I almost crashed. After backing up, I shifted into drive, but locked up on me again. After revving the accelerator and trying different gears, finally jerked me and children forward into drive. Initially, Lexus "supposedly" fixed the problem by replacing O2 sensor, but problem recurred in June again. Since the problem could not be duplicated at Lexus shop, they gave me my car without any repair. Then, a more serious occurrence happened in mid July when the gear got stuck while driving. I was driving about 30 mph when gear got stuck, shifted to neutral, then violently jerked me and kids forward and into drive again. Children and I were very frightened. This is a safety issue because not only are you dropped out of gear into neutral while car is in motion, but then you are suddenly jerked forward into drive. To make it worse, its frequency is erratic so you just hope this doesn't happen on the freeway. According to many online blogs (especially edmunds.com), it is a common problem that 1999-2001 Lexus has but will not acknowledge. Mostly happens at about 65,000 miles. Don't understand why there hasn't been a recall already. Are we waiting for there to be a fatality or serious injury for this to receive attention?

- Monterey Park, CA, USA