my 1995 lexus sc400 will go into reverse just fine, but w...

Hello, my name is \*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* sorry to see you are having issues. Give me a couple of minutes to review your issue and I will assist you Roy Good morning Let me check for you. Roy

OK, since it goes into reverse, the fluid and filter must be good due to the high demand of pressure to apply reverse. There are clutches for forward gears that sound like they have failed either being worn out, seals bad or the piston is bad. This is not an easy fix. The transmission will have to be removed and inspected for the failure and either be rebuilt or replaced. Roy

you think it’s something to do with the transmission and not electrical? i didn’t smell burning, didn’t hear any clanking, i was just going about 45 mph and it just felt like the transmission popped itself into neutral. car didn’t jerk or anything. i changed the fluid and filter yesterday and still the same thing.

Going into forward and reverse is mechanical, not electrical. Shifting is electrically controlled but not application of drive or reverse. Roy

you wouldn’t suggest changing out the solenoids or anything electrical?when i took the transmission pan off i didn’t see any teeth or broken pieces. i could tell though that the fluid hasn’t been changed because it was straight black. also when i first took it out i smelt a burning smell for a few seconds

No to the solenoids as they control shifting. The bad fluid indicates the clutches were burning up. That would confirm the clutch failure. Roy

alright do you have an estimate on how much it’d be to do a rebuild?

A rebuild would be around 1800-2200 depending on parts needed. A used one would be around 1200-1500. Roy