chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 I have adjustable pedals! Oooh, I feel unique now :D I personally use 87 octane, running at $1.77 per gallon (chevron with techron, although the only reason i actually go to chevron is itz two blocks from my house )
E Dawg Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Wow I never heard of them before. Do you actually feel a difference from 91 octane to 94?
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 chillaxin, Was your car equipped with Adaptive Variable Suspension also? When I was shopping for my '03 ES I spoke to at least 5 dealers in my area(New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut) and that option and the variable height pedals were unavailable.
chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Yup, I got the adaptive variable suspension also! :D although I had no idea that was the actual full name of it. But it's a pretty cool feature to have, being able to switch from sport suspension to comfort suspension. There's actually four different settings you can adjust your suspension to. Gives me something to talk about when people get in my car
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 One other question chillaxin: Do you have the transmission problem that have been plaguing owners of '02-'03 ES's?
chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 What transmission problem? If I do have a transmission problem, I haven't noticed it. I'm assuming that the transmission problem you're referring to is the hesitation in acceleration and stuff, but my car's been pretty responsive, sorry, don't hate me for having a car with barely any problems!
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 I just spoke to Lexus about this hesitation that plagues ALL '02-'03 ES models and they are definitely aware of it. He told me the fix is forthcoming this Fall or definitely by the end of this year. Here is a paragraph from the Edmunds website exactly describing this problem: "The V6 has been mated to a new transmission, upgraded from a four-speed to a closer-ratio five-gear unit. Upshifts are crisp enough, but downshifts are sludgy and come only after the car thinks about it for a while. Under most normal driving circumstances, it's perfectly acceptable, but trying to wring some spirit out of the ES 300 is more of an exercise in futility; it's as if some goblin had poured butterscotch sauce into the fluid reservoir. This could be attributed to our test car's status as a prototype vehicle; future production units could be in for more fine-tuning." I have driven more than 12 '02-'03 ES's and everyone of them exhibited this glitch. I guess you feel that this is normal shifting.....but it isn't, and I'm sure if I drove your car I could show you exactly what I mean. ;)
chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 I don't know, there might be the same problem with my car, but the responsiveness of the transmission and such feels the same as my dad's gs. I've been able to keep my car to be as responsive as the gs, so maybe I don't feel the same glitches, or I don't feel it to be a glitch. But maybe if you did drive my car with me in it, you'd be able to point it out, and I'd be like ooooh!
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 A couple of months ago I flew out to Long Beach, CA and rented a Nissan Maxima. I was really impressed with the performance of that car, transmission, et al. Of course it wasn't as quiet or refined as my car but nevertheless it did what I wanted it to do properly when driving on the freeways. BTW: The newer GS series also has this transmission hesitation from what I have been told by Lexus mechanics.
chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 my dad's gs was a 98, did the 98 have the same transmission problem?
SW03ES Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Wow Chill, you have a really rare car. The AVS option and the pedals are both two of those "phantom" options that Lexus only ships at special request, be it from a dealership or a customer. Does your car have the wood/leather wheel, HID headlights, Nav system etc? Generally Lexus only ships ES's two ways. One way is with the premium package, leather, memory, HID, wood/leather wheel, auto wipers. This is what steviej has. Two is with the navigation/mark levinson package, the rear sunshade, the VSC this is what Alan and I have. I've seen a couple weird ones at the dealer, one without the wood/leather wheel and the HID etc. But never one with the AVS or the power pedals. Did you order the car or just find it on the lot? If you just found it, then odds are it was a cancelled order from someone else. Alan re: shift problem. I've never really noticed the shift problem unless I'm trying to make it hesitate. My guess is that certain driving styles are immune to the issue. I'm a pretty aggressive driver, but I tend to hold the throttle off from full for more control. I did however register it with Lexus as having the issue to speed up finding a fix. The more complaints, the faster they work.
chillaxin Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 wow, i feel special now that i know i have a rare car :D mine has the avs, pedals, plus the wood/leather wheel and shifter, rear sunshade, HIDs, navigation, mark levinson, and so on and so forth :) I didn't order the car specifically, but I didn't find it on the lot either. When I was buying the car, I told them that I wanted a fully loaded one, with all the options, in black and ivory. I don't know if the order was cancelled or whatevers, but I do know that the dealer that I bought the car from didn't have the one I specifically wanted, so they had to dealer trade for it. But the other dealer was a little far, so I ended up getting the car with about 100 miles on it, which I didn't mind because I got them to knock off another $50 off the price of the car. But as far as I know, I think the cars in so cal all have all the options if you buy it fully loaded, although I might be wrong :P
SW03ES Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Wow, a REALLy rare one LOL. I know of one other like that, on the cardomain site in the same color as mine. I would have pressed them, but I'm leery of adaptive suspensions, they're really expensive when they fail.
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 The benchmark for near-luxury comfort and absorbency, compromised only by mild pattering on broken pavement and mild float on big humpbacks. Optional Adaptive Variable Suspension too soft in Comfort mode, a bit hard in Sport, and feels like regular chassis on in-between settings, so why bother? SW03ES: This is why I didn't feel too bad about this option not included in my car. Also, since I'm the only driver I really didn't care about readjusting the pedal heights. Doesn't it sound like sour grapes since I didn't get them on my car?hehehe
SW03ES Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 I read that too Alan, but I read it after I already had the car, made me feel better LOL. "Phhht, I'm such a smart guy for not getting THAT crap!" ;)
lexdriver Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 While crusing at about 80 for a while... rpm is about 2500... ES is excelent... extreme quiet... My breaking period is over.... I have driven very conservative for the first 1500. Road was empty.... no exit in the next 8 miles... no cars in front of me for 1+ mile... behind also clear... so let's try... I pressed pedal down little hard...... no response.... rpm not change... It didn't pick up right away.... a little (hesitate) no respond for about half or almost a second... and . then zroom.... rpm was up at 3200+... (engine noise was clearly heard.. I think it shifted gear down....)... then the car moving forward.... Is it (little hesitate) same for you... ??... my old Daytona respond very quick... amf1932: "... averaged between 27.5 and 29.5 mpg at speeds between 65mph and 85mph....." - I use premium... my last weekend 300 miles trip... also most on turnpike... at 70-90 mph... is just 23 mpg... - Conservative drive at 60-70 mph... I also have not get more than 25mpg...
SW03ES Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Yep, thats it. You confused the shift computer. You push the gas, it says "what?". If you's been smoother with the gas in and held it about 3/4 instead of all the way down, it wouldn't have happened.
MrSypher Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 Wow I never heard of them before. Do you actually feel a difference from 91 octane to 94? I think you'll get mixed results whether or not if people really feel the difference.. To me it's the same and if when I sometimes do feel the difference I usually think it's just in my head..
amf1932 Posted July 21, 2003 Posted July 21, 2003 lexdriver, Yeah, you got that right.....it's as if the transmission developed a case of Alzheimers disease and doesn't know what gear to go into for about ½ to 1 second!! As far as my gas mileage: I got the 29.5mpg when I did ALL turnpike driving averaging about 70mph with either regular or premium fuel. The mpg would drop off a lot if I went thru city traffic or increased my top speed to over 75mph. I think if I drove your car the same as mine I would average the same mpg. I doubt whether there is anything wrong with your car.......just driver habits. I bet if you drove a constant 60mph you'd get about 40mpg. :) My odometer was also 1500 miles when I started this trip.
lexdriver Posted July 22, 2003 Posted July 22, 2003 Yeap.. agree... I pressed the pedal little too quick.... . Just tried again... slowly..... it... flawless... - When I accelerate slowly.. gear doesn't change.. only rpm.. gradually increase... (that's why it smooth) - When I did it quickly.... I think gear dropped... So (I think) probably it just the way of how Electronic Throttle Control System works… - With the traditional cable: You press pedal => vale open => gas come out => engine response => car move - With the Electronic Throttle: press gas pedal => signal send to computer... computer get the current information (how hard pedal press, current gear, current speed) and execute its if/else logical => after solving that equation then decide what the best (as programmed) to do You: suddenly press hard on gas pedal Computer: "... Everybody.. listen... the result of our Alzheimers program show that our boss want to speed up... So let do it quick ... Transmission: change to low gear... And you.. gas: the gas pedal has been pressed so hard... so pump more gas to engine... "... (That explain for the dealy) and as the result of lower gear and more gas…... => vzooom.... :) Happy driving everybody...
amf1932 Posted July 22, 2003 Posted July 22, 2003 lexdriver I was hysterical reading your post about how the transmission brain works. You should send it to the tech people in Japan.....maybe they could understand the problem better. hehehe
lexdriver Posted July 23, 2003 Posted July 23, 2003 Little thought about the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control With Electronic Throttle Control System... allows the computer.. easy to control the car.. by applying brake, power (or little gas)... to keep the car go straight... If computer has little hesitate with quickly acceleration.... the equation already complex... then if also applying the VSC control, Traction control.. if it also has hesitate then: a sudden acceleration... with (unknown when/which) some braking apply.... on (unknown when/which) tire.... =>.... roller coast experience may occur.. We all love our beauty ES.... so I don't think... you want to sudden change acceleration at sloppy curves...rite ??...... Hey... don't test it ... (unless you check financial report of Lexus and discuss it first with your lawyer :-) =========================================== From Lexus web site: "... Lexus Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) is an electronic system designed to help the driver maintain vehicle control under adverse conditions. It is not a substitute for safe driving practices. Factors including speed, road conditions and driver steering input can all affect whether VSC will be effective in preventing a loss of control..."
lexdriver Posted July 23, 2003 Posted July 23, 2003 About the mpg: Observing the mpg on the information driving status display... give me an idea.. (probably) can increase our mpg (*) It requires little interactive from us.. Hey... I don’t know whether it is harmful (for the car) or not Assume you want to travel a distance of 60 miles... let's say on highway.. Assume the slope of the road is minimal.. (you are driving on very smooth turnpike ) 1. Constant: If you hold your gas pedal steady...(like you using your cruse)... your car moving at 60mph ... the mpg will be for example 30mpg => it will take you 1 hour to complete.. and 2 gallons 2. UP/DOWN: (theory as the multi-information display on the odometer) UP : If you speed up to 65mph.. (gas: 20mpg).. DOWN: then release gas pedal...car gradually slow down (gas: 99.9mpg).. then when it slow to example 55 mph... repeat cycle a gain.. speed up to 65 mph => 1 minutes to reach 65 mph 20 mpg 1 minutes free drive 99.9 mpg your speed avg will be 60 mph... => you still complete your distance travel in 1 hour your gas consume avg ( 20 + 99.9 ) / 2 = 60 mpg Of course.. we don't want to drive like a hiccup 1 up/ 1 down... then up.. then down.. Unless you want to achieve 60mpg (as the theory) :-).. if the gas price go up $5 (and the theory is correct)... just imagine... on the turnpike... cars are all driving that same pattern... We will have a radio station... broadcasting the rhythm.. so everybody will drive in that harmony.... :) For our daily driving: if we can use the acceleration (UP).. for passing.. and do a lot of release pedal (DOWN) when cruising... according to the computer calculation.. => we can increase our mpg..
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