QuestionMy dad just gave us his car as he has upgraded, and he had been having some problems when the Lexus was cold of having to put it in low gear to get going, but once it was warm it was much better. however it is not much worse, it now has to be in low gear whenever it needs to go from a stop position and it takes about 3-5 seconds for it to kick in and actually really start going. Once it is going there are no problems. we drove it on the interstate home last night and it was fine, there is no slipping in and out of gear so we don't think it is the transmission, and maybe it could be the vacuum system or a seal is broken and the pressure is not able to build like it needs to. Do you have any ideas, or worked on a car that had this same issue. We just kinda need to know what it is to know where to start looking and what to prepare for in the way of cash out. Thanks for your help.
AnswerFlush the fluid in the automatic transmission. It sounds like the fluid level is too low to engage the clutch packs for first gear & it is probably very old from a lack of maintenance.
The automatic uses specifically Dexron-III. (Along with the differential & power steering systems by the way.)
You can flush it with about 12-16 quarts of fluid using the cooler lines, or you can drain the fluid out of the pan, refill it, drive around until it's warm park & shift to all gear positions. If you're doing drain & fills, it takes atleast 3 cycles to change just 80% of the fluid.
On a side note. That car is a complete tank, but it must not ever be allowed to overheat or it will warp a head & blow a head gaske. You must be religious in flushing the coolant out every other year, changing the thermostat & both pressure caps every other flush (4 years).
www.clublexus.com is a good owners site for you.
