330 lexus 04 info

A number of owners of the 2004 ES330 have noticed that the new 5-speed transmission in that car hesitates a second or two before downshifting when the driver hits the gas. This translates into an unresponsive and sluggish feel under some circumstances. The computer does adjust for different driving styles, but the adjustment will not cause this sluggishness to disappear. This is just an idiosyncracy of the vehicle.

-Doug in VA

I have both a 98 ES and an 02 ES (which has the new 5-speed auto).

The 98 has far and away the better trans, even if only a 4-speed. The new

5-speed, which has been in the ES since the 02 model came out, is pure crap. Lexus came out with an attempted firmware "fix", but that did nothing but change shift points a little. I've been driving my 02 for exactly 2 years now and the trans hasn't adjusted.

Actually (and this may be what Lexus and the dealers rely upon), it is more an adjustment on the driver's part - not their crappy transaxle. They hope that we'll adjust, and just accept the way the trans behaves.

I love the way my 98 handles/shifts, etc., and would love to have that

4-speed in my 02. I said, after buying the 98, that I'd never own anything but a Lexus again. Their new 5-speed, and the way they have treated the owners of that poorly-engineered junk, has caused me to re-think my future with Lexus.

They called the firmware upgrade an "enhancement", rather than a "fix". That implies that they actually think the original 5-speed shifts good, and they're making it even better. That is not the case, and they know it. The

5-speed, developed for the 02 ES and beyond, is a failure, pure and simple. They should (and probably are) ashamed of that product. Lexus has not come forward to admit they have a problem here. That's the first step. I remember years back when Audi refused to respond to complaints about a problem, and sales subsequently went down. I look for the same owner reaction from owners of the present Lexus 5-speed.

Some have said "It's a good trans, but just has firmware problems". That's like saying your new and very expensive plasma wide screen TV is a great set, but the tuner doesn't work. When I spend over $37k for a luxury car, I want it to be perfect. I have every right to expect that.

I wish Lexus luck in their "relentless pursuit"...........because the ES isn't there yet.

I've had the same experience with a couple of SC400's I've owned. I had a '95 with the 4-speed transmission and now own a '98 with the 5-speed transmission. The '95 was much better in terms of shifting, acceleration, etc. However, the '98 is much better in terms of gas mileage. Of course this may be due in part to improvements in the engine as well as the transmission.

What exactly is a firmware upgrade? What did you have to do to get the firmware upgrade?

Thanks,

David

I received a letter from Lexus advising me that an enhancement had just been made available for my transmission by Lexus. The letter advised me that while there was not a problem, the enhancement could provide subtle changes that some owners might feel improves their driving experience.

I hadn't been happy with acceleration at highway entrance ramps, etc., and had heard rumors that Lexus might have been working on a firmware fix, re-writing some of the shifting instructions that reside on the car's ECU (PROM) chip.

I was happy to hear they had, what I thought would be, a fix for something many '02-'03 ES owners had complained about. I scheduled the upgrade. When I went to the dealer, I waited about an hour and a half, and the advisor finally came and told me I'd have to come back to have it completed on another day.

It turns out they had trouble downloading the upgrade from Lexus while I was waiting, and couldn't do the job. (I think they also ruined my PROM chip in the process, and borrowed one from another car to get me on my way.) The advisor said that instead of doing it the same way again, they'd just order a new ECU that had the upgrade, and install that when it came in.

They ordered it. I had it installed. It changed my shift points. That corrected some problems (entering highways), and created other problems (goosing the pedal at a slow (appx 5 mph) roll, such as pulling out of a parking lot or driveway into traffic.

So the upgrade can be done in two ways:

They can plug into your ECU and overwrite the shifting instructions/criteria right there in the shop,

or

They can order a newer ECU which now already has the new instructions on it.

My wife (who drives the car most) says it was better before, and tells me I should not have had the upgrade done. I think it's just as bad now as before. The car's great on long highway drives, but stinks when more downshifting/upshifting is involved. The car was only made to be accelerated very gradually, it seems - and never punched from a slow roll.

I'm glad I drive the '98. That's when they made a drivetrain that did what it was supposed to do.

Lexus ES - "relentless withdrawal from perfection"

With such high standards, how do you live? What kind of foods do you eat? What kinds of houses do you live in? I am serious here!

I have the es330, and I noticed a lot of people talking about the slugishnes, etc. I traded in a Cadillac CTS and I think the es330 is much better!!! What slugishness? I also have a 2001 M5 (BMW) - I drive that to the shop most of the time (my wife follows me in the lexus to pick me up).. The BMW is a piece of crap in terms of reliability.

The es330 is not meant to be a racer, but for the $35k i paid for it, it feels like the 740i I used to own (in terms of luxury)!!

She has a ES330, had it in the shop yesterday and made some adjustments and she thinks it is a little better. Thanks to all

Agreed on all points, Lexus has fallen short of the gold standard they advertise. It's very unfortunate that they have chosen not to take ownership or accountability with this hesitation problem. My 2002 ES300 will be the last Lexus I ever own.

Don't be so hard on him, Dan. A lot of Lexus customers are very angry that Lexus has not taken responsibility to fix the very real problem of hesitation in their newer onboard computers. It seems pretty obvious to most that their motivation was to tweak MPG to meet EPA standards, rather than making the engine more fuel efficient in other ways. Some customers, in their own particular driving habits, have not noticed the problem. Others have had the feeling of blood rushing to our feet while another car is quickly approaching from the rear, and our ES300 just sits there almost in idle for 1-2 seconds. It's a far different thing that you speak of. The ES300 does, in fact, have plenty of power, and could be capable of aggressive driving, in spite of it not being a "racer" as you put it. The frustrating point is that the driver is subjected to the wanton and random will of the onboard computer, which doesn't always make the best decision about when it should let the driver accelerate.

In news:jGH_b.34738$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews5.bellsouth.net, Steve Larson being of bellicose mind posted:

LOL HEhehhehehhe! You GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR .... and ... you paid for TOO MUCH.

Next time, buy a Corolla. NO fly-by-wire throttle, no 5 speed confuso-matic transmission, and no other black box crap that isn't germane to fundamental operation of a car. Surely this statement will rub a few pseudo blue bloods the wrong way ... which is my intention.

Your point is valid, but I would have to agree with you that your delivery seemed to fall a bit short. Many times these manufacturers try to get to fancy and they end up creating an inferior product. That seems to have happened for Lexus, at least according to some of their customers.

In news:JQP_b.496$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews1.bellsouth.net, Steve Larson being of bellicose mind posted:

Thank you, Steve. Why is a 5 speed plus lockup automatic transmission now required in a moderate weight car with over 200 (and in a few cases 300) horsepower? It's not like people were pulling Airstream trailers, fer Pete's sake! And when you have to fight a computer over the throttle setting ... that's going TOO damned far. Then there's all this climate control crap, Twilight Sentinel headlamp "nanny" control, GPS navigation, $150 smart ignition keys, on and on. Bunch of crap ... ASKED for ... by people who have lost sight (probably never had it) of the basics of d-r-i-v-i-n-g.

Take your pot shots people ... you molly coddled decadent yuppies. You'll find this retired trucker has a deaf ear to your whining. ;-)

Actually, I kind of like the automatic climate system. Without it, I used to ride the controls to keep setting it warmer and colder because I never could seem to get it right. GPS? I don't have it, but I sure could use it, I'm hopeless with driving directions. 4-speed versus 5-speed? I'm not seeing much advantage to the 5-speed automatic, especially with the hesitation problem. I prefer to have the 4-speed with overdrive, and the higher shift points without the extra computer control. I actually would prefer a manual transmission, but had to reach a compromise with the family by going with automatic. I don't like what Lexus has done with their automatic transmission. Odd that there are in fact a lot of satisfied customers also. At the end of the day, if they have more satisfied than unsatisfied customers, they won't see a need to "fix" the product. And I agree with you, they charge too much for their product.

My '96 ES does not have the hesitation problem, but it does seem that Lexus managed in a few ways to screw up a near perfect 6cyl Camry while converting it to the ES. I own both.

The break rotors and calipers cost a LOT more to replace on my ES then on my Camry. Same for struts and shocks. Try to repair a broken CD changer on a Lex... hahahaha!

Maybe I should have bought another Camry. I was shopping for a high end model when I found my ES. I bought the ES because I liked its styling better than the Camry, and because it actually cost about $1000 less than a comparable year high end Camry. The ES is a very nice car, but so is the Camry... and when it comes to cost of operation the clear answer always is CAMRY CAMRY CAMRY

Why not just go back to Model T or horse and buggy then?

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.supernews.com, Dan J. S. being of bellicose mind posted:

I see you're one of those all or nothing people who can't find a happy medium for yourself. One who bounces off the extremes. Good luck to you in finding the middle.

All I am saying is on a larger scale, like an airplane, you are already trusting a computer to take you to a destination and even land you there. I trust computers more than human beings (especially drunk ones etc). I never had any issues with the electronics of Toyotas. However, just as an FYI -- I am looking for a Plymouth Barracuda from 1969. Very simple muscle car. Just as a hobby.

I don't fly. Does the word JACKSCREWS mean anything to you? Do you recall the robot B2 bomber that punctured the Texas landscape due to navagation computer failure? Numerous high tech helicopters and fighter planes that have done the same. There are TOO many crashes to list due to computers or actuators controlled by computers. I don't trust computers. Anybody running WINDOWS knows computers are vulnerable to software. Computers are fast but not infallable nor are they resourceful beyond their program.

Hahhahahha! Looking for a "fish" ... as we used to call 'em. Good luck! :-)