05 Es330 Improved Handling Over 04

[hilchan]

Took my wife's 04 ES330 for warranty work and got a new 05 ES330 with less than 4k miles on it as a loaner.

This is what I notice immediately:

Improve handling.

The handling seem to improve a lot over the 04 ES330 without AVS.

I haven't heard of any suspension change so it could just be 17" with Toyo tires.

I have a 16" with Bridgestone Potenza (crap) and AVS. I know having a lower profile will improve handling. But with the 05, I will be happy without the AVS since the ride is still smooth and still maintening good handling.

Transmission delay is minimal.

Delay seems to be minimal to a point where the car feels more responsive. I know there is no engine upgrade. This is a delay I can definitely live with. On the 04 ES330 I've experienced a good 1.5 - 2 seconds delay which is very dangerous. Got to a few close calls with this delay.

On the 05, there is a few millisecond delay that is not that noticeable and I would consider safe to pass.

Overall, I enjoyed driving the 05 ES330 so much and was bum I have to drive my 04 back with the bad throttle response.

Anyone else experienced the difference between 05 and other models with delay problem.

[Lexusfreak]

Took my wife's 04 ES330 for warranty work and got a new 05 ES330 with less than 4k miles on it as a loaner.

This is what I notice immediately:

Improve handling.

The handling seem to improve a lot over the 04 ES330 without AVS.

I haven't heard of any suspension change so it could just be 17" with Toyo tires.

I have a 16" with Bridgestone Potenza (crap) and AVS. I know having a lower profile will improve handling. But with the 05, I will be happy without the AVS since the ride is still smooth and still maintening good handling.

Transmission delay is minimal.

Delay seems to be minimal to a point where the car feels more responsive.  I know there is no engine upgrade. This is a delay I can definitely live with. On the 04 ES330 I've experienced a good 1.5 - 2 seconds delay which is very dangerous. Got to a few close calls with this delay.

On the 05, there is a few millisecond delay that is not that noticeable and I would consider safe to pass.

Overall, I enjoyed driving the 05 ES330 so much and was bum I have to drive my 04 back with the bad throttle response.

Anyone else experienced the difference between 05 and other models with delay problem.

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The tires make a huge difference that's for sure! B) Wait till you put a real good set of tires on your ES with AVS......you might think it will be better than the 05. :D I hate to say it.....Lexus couldn't have choosen a worse tire on the 04 ES than the Bridgestones. B)

[vcv10guy]

I heard there was an update available on the ES transmission program. I'm not sure it's for the '04 ES330 or not. Take a look at the pnned transmission topic on the top of the page for information on the update (If you haven't looked already). If all else fails you can trade it in for a newer one. That's more exteme but it seems like you were a lot more satisfied with the '05 than the '04.

[SW03ES]

Oh yeah the improved handling comes from the 17 inch wheels vs the 16 inch wheels. The tradeoff is a little drop in ride quality and more tire noise. If you want to make your 04 drive the same way put the 05's 17 inch wheels on it and buy some good quality tires. I've never driven an AVS car but they're supposed to have mushier handling.

As for the delay, there hasn't been any change to the transmission or the throttle by wire system on the 05, my guess is when the 05 got broken in you'd experience the same hesitation. The 05 I drove behaved just like my 03.

[Lexusfreak]

Oh yeah the improved handling comes from the 17 inch wheels vs the 16 inch wheels. The tradeoff is a little drop in ride quality and more tire noise. If you want to make your 04 drive the same way put the 05's 17 inch wheels on it and buy some good quality tires. I've never driven an AVS car but they're supposed to have mushier handling.

As for the delay, there hasn't been any change to the transmission or the throttle by wire system on the 05, my guess is when the 05 got broken in you'd experience the same hesitation. The 05 I drove behaved just like my 03.

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Actually sw, the most firm (and second most firm) setting on the AVS is quite well controlled & not mushy at all. The middle setting & the 2 'softer' setting I would agree with. B)

[sonewsy]

Oh yeah the improved handling comes from the 17 inch wheels vs the 16 inch wheels. The tradeoff is a little drop in ride quality and more tire noise. If you want to make your 04 drive the same way put the 05's 17 inch wheels on it and buy some good quality tires. I've never driven an AVS car but they're supposed to have mushier handling.

As for the delay, there hasn't been any change to the transmission or the throttle by wire system on the 05, my guess is when the 05 got broken in you'd experience the same hesitation. The 05 I drove behaved just like my 03.

←

Actually sw, the most firm (and second most firm) setting on the AVS is quite well controlled & not mushy at all. The middle setting & the 2 'softer' setting I would agree with. B)

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Hi all,

Wasn't going to weigh in until I had 1,000 miles on my 2005. So far I have 890. Here are my impressions. I test drove a 2003 and immediately told the salewoman and my hubby, who were in the car, something doesn't feel right. My Camry, which was totaled, felt smoother with over 125,000 miles.

It was later that I discovered the hesitating transmission problem through internet research.

Then I test drove a 2004 with 3500 miles. A bit better but still not smooth.

Then I test drove a 2005. Ah! Felt right.

My car had 10 miles on it when I test drove it. I didn't take it on t he highway during test drives. Initially it felt weird, like mayo in the transmission, when I drove less than 10 mph. That quickly went away and I can honestly say it's getting smoother by the day. For the first 200 miles I didn't do any crazy stops. Essentially babyed it.

Once in stop and go traffic the car lurched forward a bit. That was wild. But I am seldom in stop and go traffic. So the other day I deliberately took the long way with plenty of lights. No pausing or lurching, everything was smooth.

I do mostly highway driving. No problem passing or merging. The only change I'm making is from the toyo summer tire to Michelin, cause the toyo is crap/noisy. I have the 17 inch tires.

Do I regret my purchase? Not at the moment. I pray my car doesn't develop the 1-2 second hesitation problem after the 1,000 mile mark.

Hope this helps.

[SW03ES]

Plus as has been expressed here before the hesitation is really a function of how you drive. Mine doesn't have any hesitation and its an 03.

Which Michelin tires are you looking at? You might want to look at the Toyo Proxes TPTs instead, they're a much higher line tire than what comes on the cars from the factory. I have them on mine and my dad has them on his 04 LS430 (with 17" tires) and we're both very satisfied with them. Much cheaper than the Michelins.

[Tsquared]

The 17" tires may have a ride difference in the 04 vs. 05 but the 17" tires on my 05 are sorry tires. The 05 comes with a disclaimer on the 17 " tires that they will only last 20K miles. They squeal around corners that I take at the same speed with my F150 pickup with no problems. They also will spin easily from a dead stop with an engine that (IMHO) could use a turbo to get about 50 more HP out of it from 2000 RPM up.

I prefer the AVS in the firmest setting but it still feels like a soft ride vs. other European "luxury" cars of the same size. I prefer a firmer ride and I hope Billstein will come out with a performance suspension for the 05 soon.

The 05 ES330 is a comfortable, well apportioned, car that has an excellent fit and finish with it's trim. I believe it to be the best car in its class otherwise I would not have purchased it.

[SW03ES]

Yeah loose those tires as soon as you can, you will enjoy the car so much more with tires befitting its design. I kept my OEM tires way too long.

I don't know why Lexus always fits its cars with such shoddy tires...

[Lexusfreak]

Oh yeah the improved handling comes from the 17 inch wheels vs the 16 inch wheels. The tradeoff is a little drop in ride quality and more tire noise. If you want to make your 04 drive the same way put the 05's 17 inch wheels on it and buy some good quality tires. I've never driven an AVS car but they're supposed to have mushier handling.

As for the delay, there hasn't been any change to the transmission or the throttle by wire system on the 05, my guess is when the 05 got broken in you'd experience the same hesitation. The 05 I drove behaved just like my 03.

←

Actually sw, the most firm (and second most firm) setting on the AVS is quite well controlled & not mushy at all. The middle setting & the 2 'softer' setting I would agree with. B)

←

Hi all,

Wasn't going to weigh in until I had 1,000 miles on my 2005. So far I have 890. Here are my impressions. I test drove a 2003 and immediately told the salewoman and my hubby, who were in the car, something doesn't feel right. My Camry, which was totaled, felt smoother with over 125,000 miles.

It was later that I discovered the hesitating transmission problem through internet research.

Then I test drove a 2004 with 3500 miles. A bit better but still not smooth.

Then I test drove a 2005. Ah! Felt right.

My car had 10 miles on it when I test drove it. I didn't take it on t he highway during test drives. Initially it felt weird, like mayo in the transmission, when I drove less than 10 mph. That quickly went away and I can honestly say it's getting smoother by the day. For the first 200 miles I didn't do any crazy stops. Essentially babyed it.

Once in stop and go traffic the car lurched forward a bit. That was wild. But I am seldom in stop and go traffic. So the other day I deliberately took the long way with plenty of lights. No pausing or lurching, everything was smooth.

I do mostly highway driving. No problem passing or merging. The only change I'm making is from the toyo summer tire to Michelin, cause the toyo is crap/noisy. I have the 17 inch tires.

Do I regret my purchase? Not at the moment. I pray my car doesn't develop the 1-2 second hesitation problem after the 1,000 mile mark.

Hope this helps.

←

I agree with sw sone......the problem is the fact the tires are summer tires......switch to a performance all season like the Toyo Proxes TPT. Michelin does not have a great choice of tire in the size you need......the Michelin MXV4's are average at best overall & expensive. A much better choice in terms of better all season traction (especially heavy rain & snow conditions), not to mention a less expensive tire that has the same treadwear rating (60,000 miles) is the Toyo Proxes TPT. The best part? In your size you can choose which speed rating you prefer (either H or V speed rated). Good Luck! B)

[hilchan]

I know the brand of tires makes a difference due to different compound being use, but I've never upgraded to a plus one tire and didn't realized it would make that big of a difference, now I have a good excuse to change my rims after it hit at least 20k miles. (I'm at 12k)

I stopped by yesterday at the Lexus dealer while they are upgrading my nav software and replacing my seatbelt switch all under warranty and asked about the transmission fix again, of course they don't have any fix yet.

Thanks for the advice guys.

[SW03ES]

Oh yeah, upgrading the wheel size makes a huge difference in the handling characteristics of the car. The reduced sidewal makes turn in much more responsive and makes the car seem much more nimble. The tradeoff is theres less sidewall to absorb bumps and less overall inner tire area to diffuse noise.

LF- Bear in mind though that the MXV4 line was just updated with the MXV4 S8. I had those tires on an RX330 loaner and they were very quiet, maybe even quieter than the Toyos.

[Lexusfreak]

Oh yeah, upgrading the wheel size makes a huge difference in the handling characteristics of the car. The reduced sidewal makes turn in much more responsive and makes the car seem much more nimble. The tradeoff is theres less sidewall to absorb bumps and less overall inner tire area to diffuse noise.

LF- Bear in mind though that the MXV4 line was just updated with the MXV4 S8. I had those tires on an RX330 loaner and they were very quiet, maybe even quieter than the Toyos.

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The larger tire I agree, but all one needs is a top quality tire of the original size will meke a world of difference as well.......if one does not want the plus 1 size that is.

Sw, I gotta check out the 'updated' Michelin you mention. B) You could be right. How much was it changed? & can I find it on the Michelin website?

[SW03ES]

Yep, tire rack has it too.

[Lexusfreak]

I'll check it out sw....thanks! B) The Toyo Proxes TPT however should not be overlooked which as we know Tirerack doesen't carry. B)

[SW03ES]

Oh yeah, they're great tires.

[05ES330]

Oh yeah, they're great tires.

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Speaking of tires I have the 16" Michelin MXV4's Plus on my 05 ES330. I find the tires are very quiet at the recommended 29psi. The issue I have is I find the car doesn’t track very well. I am constantly having to make corrections to keep the car going straight on the hwy. The dealer told me to increase the tire pressure to 32psi for the winter months. The car does track better but still not great. Also there’s a little more road noise at 32psi. Is there a better tire for tracking straight down the hwy?

[Lexusfreak]

Oh yeah, they're great tires.

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Speaking of tires I have the 16" Michelin MXV4's Plus on my 05 ES330. I find the tires are very quiet at the recommended 29psi. The issue I have is I find the car doesn’t track very well. I am constantly having to make corrections to keep the car going straight on the hwy. The dealer told me to increase the tire pressure to 32psi for the winter months. The car does track better but still not great. Also there’s a little more road noise at 32psi. Is there a better tire for tracking straight down the hwy?

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05ES, there are several tires that will track better & give you better overall traction than your Michelins. The Toyo Proxes TPT & Falken Ziex ZE-512. Do a search in the tire forums. B)