Hey guys, I have a 05 Lexus Es330 with 209xxx kms here in Toronto, Canada with a tranny that has just kicked the bucket. Has had a bad shake for the past 40,000 kms or so and after a long highway drive it basically is just in neutral now. After getting it towed to a shop near me and having it scanned, it had a solenoid fault. All solenoids were checked and were found to be working, but based on the amount of metal shavings in the fluid it looks like I’m going to have to go shopping for a rebuild or a new used transmission. I know these cars are notorious for transmission problems but the car is in overall excellent condition and I’m really having a hard time with the idea of letting it go. On the low end I was quoted 4300 for a full rebuild which is pretty rough considering the cars only worth that much with a working transmission. The mechanic suggested I put a used transmission in for 1k labour with the tranny costing anywhere from 500 to 2k depending on mileage. Wondering if anyone has gone this route before and what your experience was. Also worried that I’ll put the used tranny in and run into the same issue around the same km range. At this point I feel like I’m just gonna roll the dice with a used on because I really don’t want to just scrap this thing. Thoughts?
I would not rebuild and just find the lowest mileage used one available to you.