Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Hey everyone



Long time toyota tinkerer here, I mostly deal with mr2s but recently brought an ES300. It was cheap because it has a few issues non of which is a biggy except for one. The Tranny.



The issue is that it has no reverse at all and the car has no neutral and will start when it is in "neutral" but then actually drives forward as if it's in drive which is pretty dangerous as it starts then takes off. Also in reverse nothing happens the car won't move and has a 2000rpm rev limit like it's all loaded up maybe it's a rev limit intended for neutral??? The previous owner did an engine swap and his wiring skills look less than steller. I'm wondering if something is out of whack making this happen



Was also wondering if the sensor thing on the gear cable selector on the gearbox that tells it what gear it is in can be adjusted or just messed up to no end. It is really weird driving around in neutral although I am enjoying having a non-sports (read well equipped nice riding) car with a bit of go so would like to fix it and have it for a while before selling it on. Also as a side note if I can't fix it this engine is going in an MR2 conversion for a bit of fun but I would rather not since this car is damn nice (perfect body and interior) for a $600 car.

Reply 1 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Just took it for another test drive and it tries to move forward in every gear. Starting in park it lurches and loads up against Park and then shifting to every gear it stays in forward gears, I can make it hold gears and change up or down using manual mode but it won't go into any other gears ie neutral or reverse. It apparantly didn't have this issue before the engine swap so I think it's not the box itself but something he has changed or broken like a valve body line or something maybe. Any input or experience with this would be great I'm just going through a general troubleshooting procedure to figure it out.

Reply 2 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

No one? Tomorrow I'm going to check all the plugs etc and see how easy getting to the valve bodys and such is and go from there. If I find the problem I'll report back for possible future benefits to others with similar issues.

Reply 3 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328FTW No one? Tomorrow I'm going to check all the plugs etc and see how easy getting to the valve bodys and such is and go from there. If I find the problem I'll report back for possible future benefits to others with similar issues.

Your transmission is ALWAYS in one forward gear, locked into a forward gear. Put it in reverse also and the gearbox LOCKS up due to two gear "ratios" being engaged simultaneously. 2000 RPM is most probably the torque converter stall speed, the RPM you would get with the brakes locked and trying HARD to drive forward.



In park the parking pawl is engaged and will not allow the halfshafts to move, same as standing on the brakes.



May be as simple as a solenoid stuck, sludged up, within the transaxle.



But IMMHO more likely the valve body.

Reply 4 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by wwest Your transmission is ALWAYS in one forward gear, locked into a forward gear. Put it in reverse also and the gearbox LOCKS up due to two gear "ratios" being engaged simultaneously. 2000 RPM is most probably the torque converter stall speed, the RPM you would get with the brakes locked and trying HARD to drive forward. In park the parking pawl is engaged and will not allow the halfshafts to move, same as standing on the brakes. May be as simple as a solenoid stuck, sludged up, within the transaxle. But IMMHO more likely the valve body.

From what I see yes it is locked in forward and it is selecting 2 gears for reverse and loading up in park. I got a hold of the manual and looks like getting at the valve body is not that hard or big of a job so I might pop the bottom off the box pull the oil lines and stuff off then clean up the valve body with carb cleaner and inspect for sludge in it and if that doesn't work then I will try a new box since niggling problems take too much time. A new box from a part out is only $100 plus the work to swap it so might as well give it a shot and if that fails for whatever reason the engine goes into my mr2 then I part the rest of the car out. Just another toy to tinker with lol.

Reply 5 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Alright so I removed the valve body and cleaned out the crap and flushed it then carefully put it back together making sure not to mess up where the balls and valves went and it still doesn't work right same as before all go no woah so it might be a bad solenoid but at the same time could be anything so I'm going to pull the box. I found a crashed 93 camry with a 3vz and they are built on the same platform so it should work and it's only $90 so in it goes. Was hopeful this would work but no and I can't fiddle with it forever so a new box it is.

Reply 6 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Did you say the ES300 had an engine swap? If it did, find out which engine was put in. 5 years ago when I still had my 3rd gen Camry, I had an engine swap from the Lexus ES300 due to a mechanic f**king up my old 3VZ-FE engine. The engine from the ES300 and Camry might be the same but the tranny aren't same in a way. I had the engine swap done at a mechanic. drove it for a few weeks, and then the tranny started slipping and other stuffs. I took the car to my uncle who does transmission. He said it was the kick down cable that was needed to be replace. I had to get another Camry cable to fix the problem, and it did. Good luck and hope the information helped.

Reply 7 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznstylez Did you say the ES300 had an engine swap? If it did, find out which engine was put in. 5 years ago when I still had my 3rd gen Camry, I had an engine swap from the Lexus ES300 due to a mechanic f**king up my old 3VZ-FE engine. The engine from the ES300 and Camry might be the same but the tranny aren't same in a way. I had the engine swap done at a mechanic. drove it for a few weeks, and then the tranny started slipping and other stuffs. I took the car to my uncle who does transmission. He said it was the kick down cable that was needed to be replace. I had to get another Camry cable to fix the problem, and it did. Good luck and hope the information helped.

It should be another ES engine because it is a whole front clip that has been put in and I think from looking at the oil sender and stuff that it is ES plus like I said it is a whole front clip and subframe. This was not a kickdown cable although it was questionable being locked in drive from startup is not really a symptom of that. The car I got the tranny from was australian assembled and had the transmission code stamped on it and it looked the same the A540 I think? We will see today when I get the old tranny off and put them side by side, no biggy if they are different I just sell the tranny then plus while the 3vzfe is on the floor I am doing measurements for a flywheel adaption.



Weren't the ES300 based on the Camry platform anyway? The whole setup looks very much the same the frames are almost identical from what I see. On a lighter note the yard hadn't emptied the fully charged air con when I was working on the car so I pulled a pipe and it blew out and then sprayed around for about a minute

Reply 8 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

It fits!!!! Not a problem I changed over the sensors and pipes/brackets and then twisted the torque converter in and bolted it on. The axles fit not a problem and everything is the same to a T. Tomorrow I drop the whole now sparkling clean assembly back in and fill er up and see if it work. Fingers crossed this works like I hope it will.

Reply 9 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

MAGIC!



The new tranny works a treat and at $90 plus the 4 hours to pull it free (without an engine crane it was hard) it was a steal. I also got all the measurements I needed off the 3vzfe crank plus I changed all the plugs and painted the covers while I could get at the firewall side of the engine. When I put it back in I had a fight but I got it in the end. I filled the water/tranny again and started it up then pushed the throttle to the floor and it picked up way quicker than I thought and bounced off limiter Backed it out (bliss lol) and all the gears work



Also while I was under there I removed the cat since when I looked in it the thing had melted from being blocked and heating up I have gained about 20hp and I'm not joking the thing was like a straw I put a straight pipe in it's place the throttle response is now awesome explains why it chugged in 2nd gear up hills that should have been no problem.



The next step is to tune a 3vzfe up to 230hp with simple mods and put it in my mr2 with a manual gearbox to make it fly So for anyone browsing this in the future the Camry tranny works they are the same the axles fit no problem in fact its a direct swap and servicing a valve body sucks really bad then it doesn't work anyway. So there you have it a $750 ES300 in not bad nick including repair costs.

Reply 10 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328FTW MAGIC! The new tranny works a treat and at $90 plus the 4 hours to pull it free (without an engine crane it was hard) it was a steal. I also got all the measurements I needed off the 3vzfe crank plus I changed all the plugs and painted the covers while I could get at the firewall side of the engine. When I put it back in I had a fight but I got it in the end. I filled the water/tranny again and started it up then pushed the throttle to the floor and it picked up way quicker than I thought and bounced off limiter Backed it out (bliss lol) and all the gears work Also while I was under there I removed the cat since when I looked in it the thing had melted from being blocked and heating up I have gained about 20hp and I'm not joking the thing was like a straw I put a straight pipe in it's place the throttle response is now awesome explains why it chugged in 2nd gear up hills that should have been no problem. The next step is to tune a 3vzfe up to 230hp with simple mods and put it in my mr2 with a manual gearbox to make it fly So for anyone browsing this in the future the Camry tranny works they are the same the axles fit no problem in fact its a direct swap and servicing a valve body sucks really bad then it doesn't work anyway. So there you have it a $750 ES300 in not bad nick including repair costs.

Hi from PanamaMike. I have a 1994 Lexus ES300 and have been driving it for 8 years and love it. However, 4 years ago after changing trans. oil and filter, plus engine light came on before that, the transmission won't go into drive for 15 minutes every morning. After it goes into drive it runs o.k. all day. However, it goes immediately in reverse in the morning, just not into drive. Prior to that, I had an engine check light come on, and a garage hooked up the electronic sensor box under the glove compartment, and said it was a sensor on the motor (not enough oxygen or something). I have been driving it for 4 years with the engine check light on. Any ideas what could be my transmission problem? It seems weird and you would think it would fail after 4 years, but it doesn't. Thanks for your time. Panama Mike in Panama

Reply 11 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

You could try seafoam in the transmission to clear the valve body. ATF does have excellent detergent properties on its own but flushing can help.





To pull the code for the engine go for a drive and warm the car up. Turn the car off and in the engine bay there is a plug called "diagnostics". Open it and using a bit of wire or paperclip jumper terminals E1 and TE1. Turn the ignition on and count the flashes, it will be a pattern say like 4-2 where the - is a slight pause in the flashing then a long pause and it will repeat. You can look up what the codes mean and fix the appropriate issue which will clear the CEL after resetting the ecu by pulling its fuse.

Reply 12 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328FTW You could try seafoam in the transmission to clear the valve body. ATF does have excellent detergent properties on its own but flushing can help. To pull the code for the engine go for a drive and warm the car up. Turn the car off and in the engine bay there is a plug called "diagnostics". Open it and using a bit of wire or paperclip jumper terminals E1 and TE1. Turn the ignition on and count the flashes, it will be a pattern say like 4-2 where the - is a slight pause in the flashing then a long pause and it will repeat. You can look up what the codes mean and fix the appropriate issue which will clear the CEL after resetting the ecu by pulling its fuse.

Hi, 328FTW...



Thanks for responding so fast to my transmission question. Really appreciate it. I do, however, have some questions about your replies.

1) What is seafoam? Do you put it in the trans. and run awhile, drain and put in regular Dexron Type II or III trans. oil? I read on another site that some guy claimed that flushing an old Lexus trans. causes it to be too clean and then the old worn parts internally won't have any friction and will stop working well, but this seems a bit strange to me. What do you think?

2) When you say jumper terminals E1 and TE1, turn engine on and count the flashes.........where are the flashes?

3)I assume by counting the flashes this will equate to a code. Right? and then can I look up these codes on the internet? where on the internet?

4) You said "fix the appropriate issue which will fix the CEL, what is CEL?

5) What is ECU by pulling it's fuse? Where is fuse located.



I know some of these questions may sound dumb to you, but please help.

I am 71 years old, retired without much money, and Toyota Lexus wants and arm and leg to repair the car. Can't really go buy another right now.

Have done work on cars in my life, but quite frankly this electronic stuff (and I worked on computers in the Aerospace industry in So. Calif) really is quite confusing.



Thanks for all, and have a good day.



Panamamike in Panama.....

Reply 13 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

No problem, CEL = Check Engine Light.

This link explains well how to retrieve the codes.

http://www.troublecodes.net/Toyota/





The ecu reset to clear codes is usually done by pulling the fuse labelled ecu (normally a name like that). You can disconnect the battery for a minute then reconnect to, but that resets the clock and radio so I avoid doing that.



Finally as for flushing the gearbox, there are lots of horror stories about all sorts, Remember that ATF contains detergents anyway, just you are adding something stronger. Seafoam is a cleaning product designed for engines and transmissions, can be used in the intake of the motor as well to clean the internals. I do not recommend putting it in your engine oil however, dislodges lots of junk that goes through your bearings and clears out seals causing leaks on older cars. Best to just keep up with your regular oil changes.

Reply 14 : Transmission Issues ES300 auto

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328FTW No problem, CEL = Check Engine Light. This link explains well how to retrieve the codes. http://www.troublecodes.net/Toyota/ The ecu reset to clear codes is usually done by pulling the fuse labelled ecu (normally a name like that). You can disconnect the battery for a minute then reconnect to, but that resets the clock and radio so I avoid doing that. Finally as for flushing the gearbox, there are lots of horror stories about all sorts, Remember that ATF contains detergents anyway, just you are adding something stronger. Seafoam is a cleaning product designed for engines and transmissions, can be used in the intake of the motor as well to clean the internals. I do not recommend putting it in your engine oil however, dislodges lots of junk that goes through your bearings and clears out seals causing leaks on older cars. Best to just keep up with your regular oil changes.

Thank you very much. Your info is very informative. I checked out the web site for codes, and you're right, lots of detail. Thanks for that web site. I honestly have never heard of Seafoam, and I have never seen the product here in Panama. Is that a brand name? Maybe there is an alternative, or maybe I can try to buy on-line but usually the shipping costs make it very high priced. So, an alternative would be better if you know one. For example, another more common brand name or something of that sort????



I would like to ask you a direct question? Do you think this Lexus transmission can be saved by cleaning with Seafoam or another product or will it need to be rebuilt? In your first message reply you indicated Seafoam might clear a valve (forgot name and thread won't let me look up) Evidently, you have the feeling that this valve can cause a problem similar to what I am experiencing. Does the valve get stuck? Why does it go after 15 minutes? Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for bugging you. Have a good day. PanamaMike