Extremly Slow Acceleration When Cold

[markmustangs]

Has anyone had a problem with their car not wanting to accelerate when the engine is cold? My 93 ES300 is extremely slow first thing in the morning. It doesnt want to accelerate, it just creeps along at about 5 mph. As the engine warms up it starts to get better. It accelerates fine when the engine is warm. It also does not upshift very smoothly. The 1-2 upshift is most noticeable. Does anyone know what could be causing this?? The slow acceleration is my main concern.

[NeiLtYmE]

very normal !

you car just hasnt warmed up yet...

keep it on a couple minutes.... then drive very easy for while, while you motor n tranny warm up...

also check out your tranny fluid.. make sure it was flushed recently.. or if it need it

[markmustangs]

This is definelty not normal. It is extremly dangerous and I almost got into an accident because of it. Even if I let it warm up for a good 3 or 4 minutes, it will still not accelerate . It wont accelerate at all no matter how far down I push the gas pedal.

[SpeedRacer959]

Sounds like you could have a vacuum line come off or something preventing cold start acceleration. I've heard of this happening on other cars, so it could be similar problem w/ the Lexus.

If you have the money, take it into the neares shop ASAP and let them know the symptoms. W/ my lexus you could be in frigid cold it'll still go like a bat-outta-hell. Something's off. <_<

Let us know what they find out...

-Jimi

[NeiLtYmE]

wow....

i didnt think it was that bad ...

yes ... then go to the shop !!!!

Now .... !!! :(

[bbsal]

could be a number of things.i would get it checked out though.could just need a good tune up or it could be a sensor somewere.

[SW03ES]

I'm going to say some sort of vacuum or compression problem too.

[bbsal]

only thing is if it was a vacumm problem it just wouldnt go away after its warm.it would allways have bad accelaration.hes saying after its warmed up its fine.thats whats making me think it could be a sensor somewere.but never can be certin!

[piggyncsu]

apparently it is a common problem for 92-94 es300 with over 110,000 miles...thats what my car is doing. just take it to the dealer and have them run it cold....they'll test it with some sort of "black box" kinda thing......same thing i said in the other thread (cold start sensor)

it shows up int he computer as a sensor problem..but it's a bad part that they have to do the above to in order to find out whats going on.

that damn thing is why i've had more money put into the car than ever expected.....

95-96 haven't been known to do it as much..... :chairshot: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

[SKperformance]

actually it is 94-96 don't have that problem

the 92-93 do as they are an old style engine with a cold start injector

try getting a motor vac fuel injection flush before the dealer

sometimes the parts just need a good carbon clean up and they are perfect

also do the rpms go up when the gas is pressed more

or does it stay the saem no matter how much you presson the pedal?

[piggyncsu]

if i understand correctly, and his issue is the same..IT DEPENDS...

sometimes they drop to 500 rpm and then shoot back up..some times they just freeze.....

usually drop and can't make em go up until the car JOLTS into gear and throws me around..... nothing like getting a hard buck in the morning to wake ya up ;)

[piggyncsu]

oh yeh, and YOU PUSH AND YOU PUSH ON THE PEDAL...doesn't respond..it's like its dead........

[blake918]

I know exactly what yall are talking about!!! I had a long post on my check engine light a while back...although I didn't mention this symptom my did just this...I also had a very rough idle. It's like the tranny has gone over the deep end for the first 5-10 minutes the car is on...I thought it just needed to warm-up too, and it did get better as the car warmed up. Like piggy says, "you push and you push on the pedal...doesn't respond..it's like its dead......." Mark is your check engine light on? When I had this problem, my check engine light was on, and I did what stevie told me...go to Autozone and let them read the codes. I found out that my egr valve was getting excessive flow. I changed numerous parts with no luck. Then, I changed this little piece called the vacuum switching valve(some stupid $120 part), and now needless to say my problems are over. The car is warm in a minute vs. almost 10 and the transmission shifts much, much smoother. I'm happy I finally got that fixed :D ...I hate staring at the little engine light ! I second the vacuum ideas.

[piggyncsu]

my check engine light came on when we bought the car..like the next day...they did something with the O2 sensor...and bam, no more light..but the damn car is still messing up...*sniffle* he's going to the shop today...im stuck with the 99 camry til i get my baby back....

[markmustangs]

My engine light has never come on. Blake, what vacuum switching valve did you have replaced? I looked at a repair manual, and they show 2 for my car. One is for the EGR system, and the other valve is for the EVAP system. Do you know what the part looks like? Also what year is your car, because 95 and up has a different system.

[blake918]

Mark, mine's a 1994. I don't really know how to describe what it looks like :( and to top it all off all 3 look the same . I changed the one that works with the EGR system. After I pulled up the pretty engine cover, I believe there are actually 3 of these little switching valves....I believe that they are all about $100. If you'd like I can post some pictures later this evening. Are you experiencing any rough idling or slightly rough shifts? After I changed the little valve, like I said before all of my problems were gone..well almost. I have a very very remote jitter in my idle, but I'm going to go get my injectors cleaned out this weekend; I think this should solve the problem. I have 108k pure city miles, so I've got to have serious carbon build up.

[markmustangs]

My car idles pretty smoothly but it does shift kind of rough. Your vacuum switches are under the engine cover?? My haynes manual shows the VSV's located on the lower intake manifold. They are right near the throttle body and I didnt need to take the engine cover off to access them. There are 2 of them right next to each other. It says the one on the right is for the EGR and the one on the left is for the EVAP. they are both pretty similiar, and they both have 2 vacuum ports on them. Is this what your part looks like?

[blake918]

Mark, here is a picture of my vsv's without the engine cover on. You're right; there are two of them right next to each other, and there is one on the other side too. If you want a more complete picture just let me know your email address...my old camera takes pictures that are too big for the site. You say you have a repair manual? You can pull all 3 out in about 2 minutes...each is held in with one philips screw and a conncetor plus some hoses. They give you the procedure to test each with a voltage meter. Let me know if you need more details.

[blake918]

Ahh, sucky pics huh? This time I circled the 3 vsv's.

[markmustangs]

Thanks for the pics blake. My car's setup is a little different then yours. It uses a thermostatic VSV instead of an electrical for the EGR. It is mounted on the lower intake and it screws directly into the coolant passage. My other two VSV's are similiar to yours. It checked my VSV for proper operation and it seems to be working correctly. The Vacuum port was closed when then engine was cold, and as it warmed up, the valve opened. I put a can of fuel injector cleaner in the tank and sprayed some carb cleaner directly into the intake to clean some of the carbon build up, and it accelerated a little better this morning. However, it is still very very slow and it still shifts kind of hard. I will check the other VSV's today for proper operation.

[blake918]

No prob Mark! I know how aggrivating it is to have a problem, and what makes it even worse is not knowing how to fix it. However, it seems like you're making some progress. You've mentioned hard shifts...makes me think vacuum problems more and more. I had a check engine light for 3 months, and when I finally got it fixed, I was the happiest person alive . Keep digging you'll find it eventually.

[sauran01]

Hey guys, I have a 93 GS300 and I'm experiencing the exact same issue as you guy have or had. If the problem is with the VSVs, what is the best way to take care of this issue??? Should I just take it to the dealer and have them look at the problem???

[SpeedRacer959]

Hey guys, I have a 93 GS300 ... what is the best way to take care of this issue???

Trade her in on an ES300

[markmustangs]

I just wanted to let you guys know that my car is finally FIXED. After several days of testing the VSV's, the vacuum system, and several other sensors, I decided to bring it to the local Toyota dealer. They quickly diagnosed the problem. The problem was that the timing belt was off a tooth. It only costed $140 for them to re-align the timing belt. It runs much better now, and it also shifts much smoother too.