2005 Altima

I think you answered your own inquiry...the results on CR should be questioned. IMHO its better to look on usenet or elsewhere online and gauge possible problems before looking at what they think is a 'reliable' or high quality automobile.

Toyota makes on average good cars, and maybe the best of all the auto makers over the past decade. But looking on usenet tells me there are some annoying problems they have not addressed. Do a google search on 'Lexus hesitation' (or lag). I would be surprised if CR mentioned this design flaw, most of mainstream media has ignored it to date. I would rather have a few rattles than a buggy drivetrain.

Hesitation issue goes beyond Toyota's luxury line

Friday, December 10, 2004 By Don Hammonds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Toyota engineers are working to find an acceptable fix for a hesitation problem in five-speed automatic transmissions in certain of its luxury Lexus and Toyota models, the Japanese automaker said yesterday.

The problem was brought to light this week when the Post-Gazette reported on troubles McMurray resident Timothy W. Farabaugh was having with his 2004 Lexus ES330 ("Hesitating Lexus unsettling for owners," Dec. 8, 2004). The vehicle didn't respond immediately when his wife pressed the accelerator while trying to merge into traffic, causing her to narrowly avoid an accident.

It became clear the problem was more widespread when other readers who saw Wednesday's PG story reported the same hesitation with their Toyotas and other Lexus models.

It turns out that the five-speed automatic in the 2002 to 2004 Lexus ES300 and ES330 models also is used in the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX330 sport utility models, two of the company's biggest sellers.

"The engineers in Japan are trying to come up with a fix on this problem ... The first attempt to solve this has not been completely successful," said Toyota spokesman Wade Hoyt. That first attempt "involved reprogramming the computer that controls the transmission," he added.

The reprogramming "relieved part of the problem, but did not completely cure it,'' he said -- a statement with which Alvise Anti of Pittsburgh can concur.

She said her RX330 had the "update -- Lexus calls it the fix -- but obviously it's not working. The car is drivable, but if you are not aware of the problem, it can be dangerous."

Another owner, Beth Caldwell, said her 2004 Toyota Highlander V-6 with the five-speed automatic transmission had the same hesitation problem and that when she took it to the dealer's service department, she was told "that's how the new transmissions are."

Scott McAliley said he got a similar response when he approached his dealer about his 2004 Lexus ES330. He said the dealer told him that, "a.), They couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and b.), The problem would diminish over time as the computer learned our habits."

One 2002 ES330 owner, Michael Moran, said he "made contact with the customer service department at Lexus headquarters in California, which led to a test drive of my car and a resultant confirmation of the malfunctioning transmission.

"I was offered a new 2004 ES330 for $4,000, an offer I unfortunately accepted. ... The 2004 ES330 model I am now driving has an even more pronounced malfunctioning transmission."

There have been no reports of serious or fatal accidents because of the problem.

Spokesman Brad Nelson said that once Toyota comes up with a successful fix, it may issue a technical service bulletin to dealers so they could make repairs on cars when they are brought in or launch a service campaign that would notify owners that there is an issue and that the problem can be corrected.

Hoyt said he believed that only drivers who were unusually sensitive to their cars' shifts and performance would notice the hesitation.

(Don Hammonds can be reached at...