Revs But No Power

[Rx330driver]

This isnt really something that can be fixed, but i just wanted to point it out. I started by rx330 and i live right next to a hill. So im driving half way and this car starts backing out of a driveway but sees me. So i gas a little more just so i can quickly get out of his way. While im gassing, the car revs its egine, but it doesnt speed up. It acts like its in neutral. I know the laggy-ness comes from a not warmed up engine, but i dont think its ever been that bad.

[SKperformance]

year mileage?

[Rx330driver]

2004 41K? or near that. Btw this went on for like 5 seconds

[OKEH1]

This isnt really something that can be fixed, but i just wanted to point it out. I started by rx330 and i live right next to a hill. So im driving half way and this car starts backing out of a driveway but sees me. So i gas a little more just so i can quickly get out of his way. While im gassing, the car revs its egine, but it doesnt speed up. It acts like its in neutral. I know the laggy-ness comes from a not warmed up engine, but i dont think its ever been that bad.

I read with interest your comments on losing power when engine cold, I have a 2004 330 with 39000 on it, and I have noticed recently the engine has a severe loss of power for around 5 - 10 seconds when driving away from cold, infact this isd accompanied by a strange noise like pinging but continuous. I am going to get it checked at the 40000 service, I notice it worse when I have 2 - 3 passengers there just isnt enough power to drive safe so I have to drive slowly till the noise subsides then the power kicks in and its fine.

I am sure there must be other owners experiencing similar problems.

[lenore]

thats Lexus new safety feature, when cold and you step on it, the other drivers can plow into you when you don't move. I noticed that on the loaners that we had when my RX300 was getting its second and third transmission. My wife said no way in h ll would she own a RX330.

[Grumpa72]

While I am new to the Lexus world, I will say that if this were any other car, I would tell you that your transmission is slipping badly. A transmission that "acts like its in neutral", especially when cold is very symptomatic of a failing trans. Two things: does it do this when the car has been driven for a number of miles? Is the transmission fluid level normal and been recently changed?

[lenore]

If the fluid is not a issue I would communicate this problem to Lexus and the NHTSB as a saftey issue. the fly by wire ecu transmission need to be safe.

[RX in NC]

You are describing the very same symptoms that my wife described to me in October 2003 with her 2000 RX300 at about 48,000 miles. The only difference is that her vehicle did not have to be cold - this "transmission brain freeze" could happen intermittently at any time, but it most often occured at speed on the highway when she would attempt to pull out into the left lane to pass a slower-moving vehicle. Scared the hell out of her, made her lose all trust and confidence in her RX, and led me into a one-month battle with Lexus to replace her transmission under warranty. They finally gave in to my pounding on them and replaced her transmission in mid-November 2003 and while we've never been happy with the rough shift points (on both the original and replacement transmissions, by the way), the vehicle is now approaching 102,000 miles, I change the Type T-IV fluid every 30,000 miles and check the fluid levels and condition every weekend, and all is relatively well from a transmission point of view with this vehicle. But she'll never completely trust her vehicle again and as a result it is our first and last RX....

[Rx330driver]

hmm, at first i thought this was a no biggie because i know that this can happen on a cold startup. Im really not sure when my trans. fluid has been changed, if its part of the lexus service on or before 40K, then it has been changed, i never do these things by myself. Second, it does not happen after the car warms up, well maybe once in a while but for like a second and usually during in town driving. I never liked the transmissions on the lexus cars

[SKperformance]

This sounds like 2 different issues.

The reving is more like a cold engine which is automatic , if you put the car into gear and do not wait for it to engage properly and rev the engine it will lock you out until the rpm's lower until it can safely engage the clutches.

Try it your self on any newer Lexus. rev the engine while shifting gears and it will not go anywhere until it gets lower.

BTW do it somewhere safe and clear of obstacles just in case i am wrong.

The low amount of power when cold is normal in regards to the timing curve made to heat the engine and run its rich gas mixture.

[Rx330driver]

This sounds like 2 different issues.

The reving is more like a cold engine which is automatic , if you put the car into gear and do not wait for it to engage properly and rev the engine it will lock you out until the rpm's lower until it can safely engage the clutches.

Try it your self on any newer Lexus. rev the engine while shifting gears and it will not go anywhere until it gets lower.

BTW do it somewhere safe and clear of obstacles just in case i am wrong.

The low amount of power when cold is normal in regards to the timing curve made to heat the engine and run its rich gas mixture.

the problem is that i wasnt just changing the gears and then gassing, I was half way up the hill.

Process: gas lightly up hill, release gas, gas harder--> no power