The transmission is failing on my 1990 Lexus ES250 again. I had it replaced about 2 years ago to the tune of $3,200 dollars. It uses the A540E transmission that is mated to the 2.5L V6 2VZ-FE engine that was found on V6 Camrys during that time. Everything else about the car is fine: smooth running engine (~120,000 miles), and interior and exterior that still looks good...etc...my question is...should I spend the money for another transmission? How much should it cost this time? I was told I spent way too much the first time around to have it fail again so soon. The first repair came with a 1-year, 12,000 mile warranty. I've used only 11,000 miles, though...all local driving. Didn't drive it hard, either. Would it be feasible to replace it with a 5-speed manual gearbox from the V6 Camry of that year? Maybe rebuilding it with a manual gearbox will make it more reliable? Good idea? Expensive?
Seems to be a waste to sell it or junk it when everything else about the car is still like clockwork...Thanks for any opinions.
Having been in similar situations prior I had to assess what the car was worth used in working order and what the cost of the tranny would be. I then said the car owes me nothing up till this point and looked upon it as an investment into a cheap ride. Investment is a poor term to use in the case of cars but Lexus does come close.
An friend of mine has a 92 Lexus with 450000 km and the original tranny. Why one should give out and not the other is always a strange one. Perhaps you just piss off the transmission gods.
I'm far from an expert on this, never having a transmission fail, but here's my opinion.
The most important thing about extending transmission life is to change the fluid often. In an automatic transmission, the fluid acts both as a friction material (actually the friction material is on the disks and internal clutches, but the fluid complements that operation)
-- anyway, both a friction material and a lubricant. The internal friction of operation creates heat, and when the fluid overheats it begins to degrade such that the next time it is less resistant to heat, and the cycle of fluid degradation accelerates. The moral of this story is that it is very important to keep the transmission fluid clean to extend the useful operational life of an automatic transmission. Since there's a drain plug on the pan, the simplest thing is to have a machine that exchanges all the fluid (including the amount retained in the torque converter) replaced with all new fluid, clean the inside of the pan and screen, and then just change the fluid with the drain plug on the pan, regularly after that. Perhaps I am practicing excessive maintenance, but I use Mobil 1 fully synthetic ATF (better resistance to thermal breakdown) plus Lucas transmission fix as preventative maintenance. (according to the factory manual, total transmission capacity for my A140E is 5.9 qts., so orig. 24 oz. was 12.7% concentration. to maintain 12.5% would be 10 oz. in 80 oz (2.5qts.) I initially added this product to quiet a very slight (perhaps normal) hydraulic groaning sound under moderate load. Now the transmission is quiet and very smooth. By changing the fluid every 5,000 miles with scheduled engine oil changes I expect it to last forever. It ticks me off, that automatic transmissions are normally expected to fail under 200,000 miles. To answer your question more directly, it is my opinion that transmission rebuilding shops are not to be trusted. There may be an exception out there somewhere, but generally, my opinion is that they do not thoroughly rebuilt all parts to "as new" tolerances in the same way that engines can be rebuilt. It is only my opinion, that generally a rebuilt transmission will not be expected to last as long as a new transmission from the factory, although I imagine that _would_ be prohibitively expensive. Next best choice, find a used transmission from a salvage yard, where the fluid is not excessively darkened, and the indicated mileage is not excessively high, and have the mechanic install it for you. This way you're getting a transmission that's never been opened up and altered, plus the cost will be less than rebuilding. Then exchange the fluid with new, also clean the pan and screen, and follow a regular schedule of fluid maintenance to avoid having to replace that transmission again.
I have to wonder if you are being ripped off by a crooked transmisison outfit. Modern AT's have sensors (not sure about your 1990) and if one of those sensor's go bad your AT seems to have failed but the repair is relatively minor in cost. If you went to the same AT repair place I would have someone else take a look at the car. Hopefully someone who knows the 1990 model car will be able to verify for you by posting here whether a mere sensor failure is possible in your 1990 car.
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