02-06 Transmission hesitation problems

[91LexusES250]

Someone please help me!! I have a 91 Lex es250, several things started going wrong with this car. First, the windshield wipers started going on (all by them selves) and not turning off. Second, locks wouldnt work (sometimes switching sides). Transmission works for a little bit then stops working, you turn off the car and then turn it back on and it will work agian, then cuts out agian. When I do have it running, if I have my foot off the gas pedal and let it idle, the engine cuts off. Could this be an ECU problem? Does the transmission filter need to be changed? I dont know..... Frustrated!!!!!!! I'm trying to sell it, but if its not running properly, I cant get much out of it. Someone please help!! You could reach me here, or you can e-mail me at: DjMeeko@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Mike

[wwest]

Someone please help me!! I have a 91 Lex es250, several things started going wrong with this car. First, the windshield wipers started going on (all by them selves) and not turning off. Second, locks wouldnt work (sometimes switching sides). Transmission works for a little bit then stops working, you turn off the car and then turn it back on and it will work agian, then cuts out agian. When I do have it running, if I have my foot off the gas pedal and let it idle, the engine cuts off. Could this be an ECU problem? Does the transmission filter need to be changed? I dont know..... Frustrated!!!!!!! I'm trying to sell it, but if its not running properly, I cant get much out of it. Someone please help!! You could reach me here, or you can e-mail me at: DjMeeko@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Mike

Either put in a new battery and/or clean and burnish the battery terminals and ALL related connections.

There are many ways of knowing it's springtime. Degraded battery terminal connections is one of the better ones.

[91LexusES250]

Someone please help me!! I have a 91 Lex es250, several things started going wrong with this car. First, the windshield wipers started going on (all by them selves) and not turning off. Second, locks wouldnt work (sometimes switching sides). Transmission works for a little bit then stops working, you turn off the car and then turn it back on and it will work agian, then cuts out agian. When I do have it running, if I have my foot off the gas pedal and let it idle, the engine cuts off. Could this be an ECU problem? Does the transmission filter need to be changed? I dont know..... Frustrated!!!!!!! I'm trying to sell it, but if its not running properly, I cant get much out of it. Someone please help!! You could reach me here, or you can e-mail me at: DjMeeko@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Mike

Either put in a new battery and/or clean and burnish the battery terminals and ALL related connections.

There are many ways of knowing it's springtime. Degraded battery terminal connections is one of the better ones.

As far as the transmission goes? What might be up with that?

[wwest]

No, it seems that battery post/connection corrosion raises it UGLY head in the springtime, MOSTLY.

[bostonsnowboarder]

Whats the final analysis for the 2003 ES 300. I went through some of the posts but their is around 45 pages now. I just bought the car last summer and realized their was a shifting issue, but figured it may just be age. However, it does occur around 40mph. Any help would be great. I'll have 110k on the car shortly. B)

Here is an update on my situation, as I now have about 2 months and 2500 miles on the 2005 ES330 that I bought. I test drove about 10 different 05's in my search, and I found considerable variability between models. I am not sure how much variability in the jerking and/or hesitation that occurs after a slowdown or with exceleration in general is due to differences in the car itself vs the learning that has occurred, but it could be some of both. There are two issues that seem to potentially occur: 1) if you slow down but then quickly try to re-accelerate before coming to a complete stop, there can be a noticable delay and then a jerk once the transmission decides what to do (this one I think is the most problematic) and 2) a general sluggishness on acceleration.

As far as #1, the car that I bought had essentially no noticeable problem with this when I bought it. THe dealer changed the battery for me prior to pickup, so when I got it, it had to go through the learning phase. It seemed to me that in the first few days there was some of this hesitation and jerk, but then it went away. I am not sure if my driving allowed it to learn a "smooth" shifting pattern, or if my right foot just learned and adapted to press the accelerator later and softer to avoid the jerk. BUt my theory is that it can "learn" to shift more smoothly. I will add that I am generally NOT an aggressive accelerator.

As far as #2, yes, the ES330 in general is a sluggish accelerating car. I think that this is a well known attribute of the car, described in most reviews and not a surprise. I dont think it is a big deal, and if people dont like it, they should'nt be driving the ES330! If you want a fast accelerating sporty car, go for a manual transmission BMW 3 or 5 series!!!! The ES330 accelerates slowly for 3 reasons in my mind: 1) V6 engine that is not that powerful 2) fairly heavy weight; and most important 3) gear shift pattern that is meant to focus on quietness rather than performance. So to me, it is not surprising that I can't do 0 to 60 very fast, and I am fine with that.

-I would be interested to hear what others think about the learning factor preventing the #1 issue. If the car "learns" from a smooth and slow accelerating driver, can the slow-down-then-step-on-the-gas hesitiation be minimized?

It may be that my car actually is still prone to the downshift hesitation thing but that I have unconsciously learned to drive so as not to trigger it. I know that this theory has been mentioned before in posts and may well be true.

[IamThFEAR]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

[wwest]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed.

On the other hand it might take many "drive cycles" maybe as much as 500 miles, for the engine/management ECU to learn all the tolerances of the various sensors, servos, etc. The car will probably not "settle" down and drive in a consistent manner until those initial drive cycles are completed

[bostonsnowboarder]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed.

On the other hand it might take many "drive cycles" maybe as much as 500 miles, for the engine/management ECU to learn all the tolerances of the various sensors, servos, etc. The car will probably not "settle" down and drive in a consistent manner until those initial drive cycles are completed

wwest:

do you have a reference to quote that states that the "learning" that occurs takes place only during a single driving trip and then resets when you turn your ignition off? Not to doubt you by any means, and what you say could well be true, but the theory that you state above (I have read you say this before), goes against most of what has been discussed throughout these posts - which is that "semi-permanent" learning occurs and the only way to reset it is an unplugging of the battery. You may well be correct, but it would be good to get this firmly established before there is any further discussion on the issue.

Boston Snowboarder

[bostonsnowboarder]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

If they are "just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style", then you should not pay them any money for it, because all this involves is (at most) unplugging your battery connections overnight (or perhaps, if wwest is correct below, just turning off your ignition!). However, if they are doing the Flash upgrade (as discussed earlier in this forum), then beware, because if you dont like how it turns out, it appears (by what numerous others have posted) to be irreversible.

[wwest]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed.

On the other hand it might take many "drive cycles" maybe as much as 500 miles, for the engine/management ECU to learn all the tolerances of the various sensors, servos, etc. The car will probably not "settle" down and drive in a consistent manner until those initial drive cycles are completed

wwest:

do you have a reference to quote that states that the "learning" that occurs takes place only during a single driving trip and then resets when you turn your ignition off? Not to doubt you by any means, and what you say could well be true, but the theory that you state above (I have read you say this before), goes against most of what has been discussed throughout these posts - which is that "semi-permanent" learning occurs and the only way to reset it is an unplugging of the battery. You may well be correct, but it would be good to get this firmly established before there is any further discussion on the issue.

Boston Snowboarder

Some years ago, 5 or 6 maybe, I ran across an engineering white paper that explained the then method of driver style/type learning.

And wouldn't cars in the rental fleets have to be somehow modified if the ECU didn't erase the "memory"?

The fallacy arose thus...

When you unplug the battery the ECU forgets many of the parameters it must learn to correctly run the engine and transaxle optimally. So of course drivers will "feel" as if their previously learned "style" has changed, but in reality it is just the engine management parameters being returned to the defaults, those approximate parameetrs "loaded" initially at the factory.

[bostonsnowboarder]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed.

On the other hand it might take many "drive cycles" maybe as much as 500 miles, for the engine/management ECU to learn all the tolerances of the various sensors, servos, etc. The car will probably not "settle" down and drive in a consistent manner until those initial drive cycles are completed

wwest:

do you have a reference to quote that states that the "learning" that occurs takes place only during a single driving trip and then resets when you turn your ignition off? Not to doubt you by any means, and what you say could well be true, but the theory that you state above (I have read you say this before), goes against most of what has been discussed throughout these posts - which is that "semi-permanent" learning occurs and the only way to reset it is an unplugging of the battery. You may well be correct, but it would be good to get this firmly established before there is any further discussion on the issue.

Boston Snowboarder

Some years ago, 5 or 6 maybe, I ran across an engineering white paper that explained the then method of driver style/type learning.

And wouldn't cars in the rental fleets have to be somehow modified if the ECU didn't erase the "memory"?

The fallacy arose thus...

When you unplug the battery the ECU forgets many of the parameters it must learn to correctly run the engine and transaxle optimally. So of course drivers will "feel" as if their previously learned "style" has changed, but in reality it is just the engine management parameters being returned to the defaults, those approximate parameetrs "loaded" initially at the factory.

Interesting. I saw your post sometime ago about this. I wonder why Lexus does'nt visibly explain the "learning" ECU concept? I have combed various years of lexus brochures and it is never explained in any detail, other than that the ECU "learns" driving style. So perhaps it is really just a marketing gimmick. Your last paragraph is quite provocative. Maybe the "learning" is really just the ECU optimizing parameters that have to be optimized. But how much does it really vary driver to driver? how much variance is there?

[IamThFEAR]

Since I'm new to the club I'm not going to make any opinions based on previous owned/makes and models. Having said that it does'nt seem feasble that it relearns the transmission shifts after every start up. I'm very experienced with resetting the ECU on vehicles, it !Removed! simple we all know. I'm the one who mentioned resetting my ECU not the dealer. It does appear from my paperwork that I got the flash update. Granted I have babied the heck out of it since I got it back it does seem that the 5-10MPH rolling jerk has diminished quite a bit. Well see, hopefully it's not worse in other places. Damn this is a great car though, wow. My 330 drove so much better than the 350 loaner IMO, anyway back on topic...

[bostonsnowboarder]

Since I'm new to he club I'm not going to make any opinions based on pervious owned/makes and models. Having said that it does'nt seem feasble that it relearns the transmission shifts after every start up. I'm very experienced with resetting the ECU on vehicles, it !Removed! simple we all know. I'm the one who mentioned resetting my ECU not the dealer. It does appear from my paperwork that I got the flash update. Granted I have babied the heck out of it since I got it back it does seem that the 5-10MPH rolling jerk has diminished quite a bit. Well see, hopefully it's not worse in other places. Damn this is a great car though, wow. My 330 drove so much better than the 350 loaner IMO, anyway back on topic...

Glad to hear that the 5-10MPH jerk seems to have improved for you. Keep us posted and let us know if you notice any irregularites at shifting at higher speeds/gears, as some others have noticed after getting the flash.

*** If anyone can post or post link to some technical material about what REALLY happens with this ECU "learning" stuff and technical details about how it really works, that would be very interesting for us to read. Although, I still think that, other than trying the flash, there (now and forever more) will be nothing we can do to further improve these issues on the 05's and earlier cars.

Also, I'm glad to hear you liked the 330 better than 350. I bought my 05 330 a couple months ago. I considered getting a new 350 but after reading about it and some of the problems it has (as well as the reduced blind spot visibility with the new design), I opted against it, did'nt even test drive one, and voted to save $10,000 and get a certified pre-owned 05. I am very happy. everyone who sees it thinks it is a brand new car (despite having 32,000 miles on it).

Boston Snowboarder

[wwest]

My 05' is at the dealership right now. They are going to perform the transmission "fix" on mine. Of course I think it's just resetting the ECU so it can learn my driving style. I'll advise if I notice anything different. If it makes the ES crowd here feel any better my 03' Altima basically did the same thing as the ES issue. I'm thinking it's just a side effect of the DBW system.

Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed.

On the other hand it might take many "drive cycles" maybe as much as 500 miles, for the engine/management ECU to learn all the tolerances of the various sensors, servos, etc. The car will probably not "settle" down and drive in a consistent manner until those initial drive cycles are completed

wwest:

do you have a reference to quote that states that the "learning" that occurs takes place only during a single driving trip and then resets when you turn your ignition off? Not to doubt you by any means, and what you say could well be true, but the theory that you state above (I have read you say this before), goes against most of what has been discussed throughout these posts - which is that "semi-permanent" learning occurs and the only way to reset it is an unplugging of the battery. You may well be correct, but it would be good to get this firmly established before there is any further discussion on the issue.

Boston Snowboarder

Some years ago, 5 or 6 maybe, I ran across an engineering white paper that explained the then method of driver style/type learning.

And wouldn't cars in the rental fleets have to be somehow modified if the ECU didn't erase the "memory"?

The fallacy arose thus...

When you unplug the battery the ECU forgets many of the parameters it must learn to correctly run the engine and transaxle optimally. So of course drivers will "feel" as if their previously learned "style" has changed, but in reality it is just the engine management parameters being returned to the defaults, those approximate parameetrs "loaded" initially at the factory.

Interesting. I saw your post sometime ago about this.

I wonder why Lexus does'nt visibly explain the "learning" ECU concept?

Basically you're asking, "why doesn't Lexus hire intelligent, or at least semi-intelligent, salespersons.."..??

Next time you encounter a Lexus salesperson try to explain to them ANY technical design of which you are certain sure.

Back when ABS was first becoming common I wasted FAR to much time trying to convince these salespersons that the benefit of ABS was NOT for shorter or quicker stopping distance but to allow for directional control during severe braking. So guess which opinion became general public "knowledge", TRUTH or....?? But I do notice that these days the manufacturers are putting correct statements about ABS functionality/use within the owners manual. But the salespersons are still....

WOT..!! (no, not Wide Open Throttle, but Waste of TIME.)

I have combed various years of lexus brochures and it is never explained in any detail, other than that the ECU "learns" driving style. So perhaps it is really just a marketing gimmick.

No, BA, brake Assist, for instance, in some implementations, "intuits" your intentions during panic braking by having learned some aspect of you driving pattern. If you QUICKLY release the gasw pedal and then QUICKLY apply the brakes these systems will automatically go into BA mode. In orde rto do that reliably it must "learn" your normal gas pedal "activity".

The same thing is true of the latest '08 NCF, New Car Feature, being tried as yet another fix for the infamous (ten years and running...)1-2 second transaxle downshift delay/hesitation. If the driver "quickly" releases the gas pedal the system "intuits" that the driver's most likely intent is to slow the vehicle whereas a comparibly slow gas pedal release "intuits" an intent to enter cruise mode. In this latter case an upshift might be deemed more appropreate.

In both of these instances it is clearly beneficial for the ECU to have "learned" the driver charactoristics.

Your last paragraph is quite provocative. Maybe the "learning" is really just the ECU optimizing parameters that have to be optimized. But how much does it really vary driver to driver?

My point was that buyers are "buying" into the fallacy of the ECU "learning" driver unique charactoristics because it clearly appears to do so if you drive the car the first few drive cycles have a system reset or battery disconnect. What's really, actually, happening is that the ECU is "re"-learning, OPTIMIZING, the engine and transaxle control parameters which were erased.

That's why, as some of you have no doubt discovered, the emissions test systems will not use the ECU "history" to pass the emissions test until enough drive cycles have elapsed after a system reset of battery disconnect.

How much variance is there???

With regard to the ECU learning individually unique driver style/type there is probably not enough variance from the time you first start the car in motion to the point that it is most finely resolved that the average driver would notice.

...

[wwest]

Since I'm new to he club I'm not going to make any opinions based on previous owned/makes and models. Having said that it does'nt seem feasble that it relearns the transmission shifts after every start up.

"relearns the transmission shifts after every start up."

If by "start up" you mean after every system reset or battery disconnect then yes, it will now operate using the factory default (best engineering guess) parameters while it "learns" the actual parameters according to optimization procedures.

On the other if by "start up" you mean after each engine ignition sequence then no, it doesn't relearn the transmission "shifts", parametric control of transaxle shifting. But it probably does learn something about your driving style that affects the way the transmisison is shifted.

Say you drive for a few minutes, patiently, non-agressively, in city stop and go traffic. Then traffic flow "frees up" and now you begin to use, appropreately, that engine's 300HP capability. Think about these scenarios with a manual transmission and then think about how you might like your automatic transmssion to "act".

As a "for instance" in the aforementioned circumstance I might skip a few gears as traffic begins moving, whereas inn the latter case I might desire the acceleration rate cogizant with the use of EVERY gear ratio.

I'm very experienced with resetting the ECU on vehicles, it !Removed! simple we all know. I'm the one who mentioned resetting my ECU not the dealer. It does appear from my paperwork that I got the flash update. Granted I have babied the heck out of it since I got it back it does seem that the 5-10MPH rolling jerk has diminished quite a bit. Well see, hopefully it's not worse in other places. Damn this is a great car though, wow. My 330 drove so much better than the 350 loaner IMO, anyway back on topic...

[IamThFEAR]

wwest, first you said,

"Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed."

Then you said,

"On the other if by "start up" you mean after each engine ignition sequence then no, it doesn't relearn the transmission "shifts", parametric control of transaxle shifting. But it probably does learn something about your driving style that affects the way the transmisison is shifted.

I perfectly understand when you reset the ECU it clears everything it might have "learned". I perfectly understand the MAF is constantly sampling air temperature to adjust air/fuel ratios.

But...

If it forgets the transmission shifts after you power it off and it does'nt relearn the shifts after a restart then ummm what does it do at all??? See where I lost ya?? :)

[wwest]

wwest, first you said,

"Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed."

Then you said,

"On the other if by "start up" you mean after each engine ignition sequence then no, it doesn't relearn the transmission "shifts", parametric control of transaxle shifting. But it probably does learn something about your driving style that affects the way the transmisison is shifted.

I perfectly understand when you reset the ECU it clears everything it might have "learned". I perfectly understand the MAF is constantly sampling air temperature to adjust air/fuel ratios.

But...

If it forgets the transmission shifts after you power it off and it does'nt relearn the shifts after a restart then ummm what does it do at all??? See where I lost ya?? :)

Shutting off the ignition results in erasing ONLY those parameters "learned" pertaining to driver "actions", "methods", etc.

What I was trying to say was that some of those driver style/type learned parameters, say a really aggressive driver, will affect the way the transmission shift pattern is "adjusted", modified. THOSE learned parameters will be erased but not the base operational parameters of the transmission.

[IamThFEAR]

wwest, first you said,

"Doesn't matter, the engine/transaxle ECU will still erase, FORGET, anything unique it "learned" about "your" driving style just as soon as you switch off the ignition. Otherwise the next driver (your better half..??) might get VERY PO'ed."

Then you said,

"On the other if by "start up" you mean after each engine ignition sequence then no, it doesn't relearn the transmission "shifts", parametric control of transaxle shifting. But it probably does learn something about your driving style that affects the way the transmisison is shifted.

I perfectly understand when you reset the ECU it clears everything it might have "learned". I perfectly understand the MAF is constantly sampling air temperature to adjust air/fuel ratios.

But...

If it forgets the transmission shifts after you power it off and it does'nt relearn the shifts after a restart then ummm what does it do at all??? See where I lost ya?? :)

Shutting off the ignition results in erasing ONLY those parameters "learned" pertaining to driver "actions", "methods", etc.

What I was trying to say was that some of those driver style/type learned parameters, say a really aggressive driver, will affect the way the transmission shift pattern is "adjusted", modified. THOSE learned parameters will be erased but not the base operational parameters of the transmission.

Gotcha, thanks.

[Lexus lover PA]

I have been reading all the info provided on here for about a week now and to say the least now I know that I am not crazy !!! I kept complaining about the way my 03 es300 drives and everyone told me it was how I was drving, but i knew this was not the case since I had an 97. can someone tell me what to do? should I go to the dealer first to get it checked out or should I just call lexus and make a complaint? heeeelp!!! you guys are the only ones who feel my pain because like i said before everyone else just thinks that I am CRAZY!!!

[steviej]

I have been reading all the info provided on here for about a week now and to say the least now I know that I am not crazy !!! I kept complaining about the way my 03 es300 drives and everyone told me it was how I was drving, but i knew this was not the case since I had an 97. can someone tell me what to do? should I go to the dealer first to get it checked out or should I just call lexus and make a complaint? heeeelp!!! you guys are the only ones who feel my pain because like i said before everyone else just thinks that I am CRAZY!!!

get the ECU relash that came out in April of 05. That is the only thing they offer. I personally found the reprogramming on my 02 ES was better than the original programming but still has some quirks. They are not going to offer you much more than that. Now if your ECU has already been reflashed make sure it was with most current verison. If memory serves correctly I think the TSB was number TC003-04R. The R stands for revised. The original TSB that come out in 2003/4 was not good at all. The revised programming was a major improvement, but not a total solution.

steviej

[Lexus lover PA]

I have been reading all the info provided on here for about a week now and to say the least now I know that I am not crazy !!! I kept complaining about the way my 03 es300 drives and everyone told me it was how I was drving, but i knew this was not the case since I had an 97. can someone tell me what to do? should I go to the dealer first to get it checked out or should I just call lexus and make a complaint? heeeelp!!! you guys are the only ones who feel my pain because like i said before everyone else just thinks that I am CRAZY!!!

get the ECU relash that came out in April of 05. That is the only thing they offer. I personally found the reprogramming on my 02 ES was better than the original programming but still has some quirks. They are not going to offer you much more than that. Now if your ECU has already been reflashed make sure it was with most current verison. If memory serves correctly I think the TSB was number TC003-04R. The R stands for revised. The original TSB that come out in 2003/4 was not good at all. The revised programming was a major improvement, but not a total solution.

i

steviej

Thanks! but I was reading alot of info on here and it seems like some people say that it made it worse?!?!?! is that just a chance that I am just going to have to take???

[wwest]

I have been reading all the info provided on here for about a week now and to say the least now I know that I am not crazy !!! I kept complaining about the way my 03 es300 drives and everyone told me it was how I was drving, but i knew this was not the case since I had an 97. can someone tell me what to do? should I go to the dealer first to get it checked out or should I just call lexus and make a complaint? heeeelp!!! you guys are the only ones who feel my pain because like i said before everyone else just thinks that I am CRAZY!!!

get the ECU relash that came out in April of 05. That is the only thing they offer. I personally found the reprogramming on my 02 ES was better than the original programming but still has some quirks. They are not going to offer you much more than that. Now if your ECU has already been reflashed make sure it was with most current verison. If memory serves correctly I think the TSB was number TC003-04R. The R stands for revised. The original TSB that come out in 2003/4 was not good at all. The revised programming was a major improvement, but not a total solution.

i

steviej

Thanks! but I was reading alot of info on here and it seems like some people say that it made it worse?!?!?! is that just a chance that I am just going to have to take???

For the '08 MY Toyota/Lexus have come up with yet another solution, "FIX" for the transaxle design flaw. Search/Google for:

wwest NCF hestation

[stokka]

New here - just found this forum. Thank you guys for tones of useful info.

I have ES 330 2005. Just wanted to sat that I do not have any transmission hesitation problem with it. Not sure why, but I do not.

Cheers.

Stokka.

[steviej]

I have ES 330 2005. Just wanted to sat that I do not have any transmission hesitation problem with it. Not sure why, but I do not.

Stokka.

because the 2005/06 ES came with the most recent tranny reflash as standard programming. However, there are other "quirks" that remain with this tranny.

steviej

on a side note, the 6 speed tranny in my GS is like night and day compared to my previous 02 ES (even with the reflash).

[kashi125]

Does anyone have a 2002 ES that they got reflashed? How do you like it after the reflash? Mine drives very smoothly other than "jerks" in stop-and-go traffic, or when going very slow in a parking lot for example. There is no "hesitation" when merging on a freeway etc. But these jerks are very, very annoying.

I am wondering if someone's ES exhibited the same problems and if they went away after the reflash? Also, how much does the reflash cost? I have 78K miles so it's out of warranty.