A Question To 08 Es Owners

[AZ08LexusES]

Now that the new ES is in it's second year, it is expected that a lot of the issues with the first year of production be corrected. So, I am curious, has any 08 ES owner experienced any of the transmisison issues experienced by the 07 owners?

[AZ08LexusES]

So, I don't know if the lack of response is that we don't have many 08 owners yet, or that we do not have any 08 owners with transmission problems.

How about if I rephrase the question: "If you have an 08, do you have any transmission issues? If you do not let us know that you do not. If you do, what problems are you having?"

I have an 08 and I do not have transmission issues. How about you?

[Rickanns]

We got our first Lexus before Thanksgiving. We have about 2500 miles on it and have had no problems. we are extremely pleased with the ride and quietness. The mileage is not up to par yet, but it is still early. Our only idiosyncracy is in the Nav system, which we believe does not always know the cars correct position. There is a thread on this forum about the situation and we are still working on it.

Rick

[8888LexusES]

bought my 08 in november 07 and like the car very much....no tranny issues, not thrilled with the brakes they seem to need a lot of effort , gas mileage so far has been 25.6 for 1400 miles, also the car has a creaking noise near the a-pillar on passenger side i will have looked at when it goes in for 5000 mile checkup, anyone else have that sort of noise???.....Rudy

[Monchie]

I bought my ES 350 last Christmas and I don't have any tranny issue. I've got 800 miles on it and very happy with its performance.

[geotron]

Hi,

I bought my ES350 in about 3 weeks ago. I agree the brakes need some pressure to it. I also, notice a creaking noise, once in a while, usually when the car is been in the sun and I turn the AC on, might be due to hot/cold expansion/contraction.....something like that. my transmission is not as smooth as i would like it. from stop to go, it seems to have a slow reaction, and also when it reach 20miles about, where it shifts gear the shifting isn't that smooth. But after driving it a while, it gets smoother.

I hope that answers your question. I would like to know about the re-release of the all-weather floor mats, did it get release yet?

i think thats about it. bye.

[skbreb]

O8 BOUGHT 11/5/07 NOW WITH 4200 MILES- NO TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AT ALL- MILEAGE GOES UP TO NEAR 30 ON THE ROAD AT 65-70 MILES PER HOUR- CREAKING WAS FIXED WITH A HEAD LINER REPAIR/ RELATED TO THE SUNROOF- THINK THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT IT. BRAKES SQUEAL LOUD IN COLD WEATHER (MI) WHEN BACKING UP OUT OF GARAGE FIRST THING IN THE AM FOR EXAMPLE- STOPS AFTER THAT- SERVICE BULLETIN REPAIR FOLLOWED BUT STILL MAKES NOISE, BUT NOT AS MUCH-WANTING WARMER WEATHER TO HELP- GREAT IN SNOW-LOVE THE CAR OTHER THAN THE BRAKES BUT A CAMRY WE HAD IN 2003 DID THE SAME THING INITIALLY. VERY PLEASED WE MADE THE PUCHASE/

[JGTNewLexusOwner]

All, I just wanted to add my comments to this post thread. I bought my 2008 ES350 in December 2007.

Regarding the transmission; at about 20 mph and during deceleration, it seems to "speed up" briefly before it slows down. It is slight but I feel it. It sometimes does is at 40 mph. Acceleration is no problem at all (in fact it is great).

Regarding the "creaking", I thought is was me but it has happened only 2 times in the 1300 miles I have driven the car. Each time, the weather outside was very cold. But it has only happened twice (and it has been cold more than twice). Thanks for the posts since I am due for my 1000 mile checkup and I am going to mention both items.

By the way, on the highway mileage, I could not be happier. My last trip this weekend was 200 miles (with about 20 miles in towns, the rest on highways/interstates) and I go 33 MPG!!!! Not bad for a 272hp V6 car like my Ultra Luxury ES350.

I hope the above minor issues get resolved (I could live with the slight transmission issues) but the creaking will have me extremely upset if it continues or gets more frequent.

Again, thanks for the posts!

[longash]

Like JGT, I bought my 08 ES350 in December and have the same minor surging when slowing down. I have had no issues with the transmission. We love the car but do not care for the Cashmere colored floor mats. They get excessively dirty way too quickly.

[SW03ES]

That minor surge is present in my ES300 also.

I have an '08 ES350 loaner with 1800 miles on it right now (mine is in for an oil change and a complete rear brake system rebuild...but thats another story. I think it rides and drives great! Seems more solid and the drivetrain seems smoother than the '07s I've driven. I much prefer the new mirrors too, they look more integrated.

In fact I had the internet sales manager quote me a price on an '08 UL, $4500 off sticker seem good?

I'm not going to pull the trigger yet...but the total brake system rebuild has me thinking.

[JGTNewLexusOwner]

The $4500 off sticker (depending on the sticker) seems good. That is about what I got (wasn't close though to what Edmunds.com said was the invoice). The dealer I went to offerred free pickup, loaner service, etc. so I may have paid a little more but I was willing to for this service.

Brake system....gee! I hope that wasn't an inherent design issue...if it was, maybe that is why Lexus reliability numbers are going down in Consumer Reports (in fact that is why I bought the ES over the GS...the GS ratings are awful for 08!).

Good luck with the brake system!

Thanks for the reply!

John

That minor surge is present in my ES300 also.

I have an '08 ES350 loaner with 1800 miles on it right now (mine is in for an oil change and a complete rear brake system rebuild...but thats another story. I think it rides and drives great! Seems more solid and the drivetrain seems smoother than the '07s I've driven. I much prefer the new mirrors too, they look more integrated.

In fact I had the internet sales manager quote me a price on an '08 UL, $4500 off sticker seem good?

I'm not going to pull the trigger yet...but the total brake system rebuild has me thinking.

[SW03ES]

Luckily its still under warranty...for another 3k miles lol

[macho]

I have my ES350 08 since November 2007 and I am very please with the car. The transmission sometimes downshifst hard. My only complain is that when the car is cold you can hear the valves making a ping noise which stop after it gets warm.

[AZ08LexusES]

I have my ES350 08 since November 2007 and I am very please with the car. The transmission sometimes downshifst hard. My only complain is that when the car is cold you can hear the valves making a ping noise which stop after it gets warm.

The pinging has been talked before. They say it is "piston slap" and as long as it goes away as the engine warms up, then it should be ok. I would not expect the engine block to sound the same at 30 degrees as it would at the regular operating teperature of the engine.

[tn161]

Now that the new ES is in it's second year, it is expected that a lot of the issues with the first year of production be corrected. So, I am curious, has any 08 ES owner experienced any of the transmisison issues experienced by the 07 owners?

I bought my Lexus350 in November and immediately noticed a problem with hesitation upon trying to rapidly accelerate from a slow speed such as when entering an interstate lane. There is a 1-2 sec delay before acceleration. Have approached the dealership on several occations.. the latest being the 5000 mile service. I am being told that this is because of Toyota using a computer instead of the old "cable" system and I need to learn to live with it. I find this a serious safety issue. Otherwise, I love my Lexus. Has anyone found a way to fix this hesitation?

[AZ08LexusES]

Now that the new ES is in it's second year, it is expected that a lot of the issues with the first year of production be corrected. So, I am curious, has any 08 ES owner experienced any of the transmisison issues experienced by the 07 owners?

I bought my Lexus350 in November and immediately noticed a problem with hesitation upon trying to rapidly accelerate from a slow speed such as when entering an interstate lane. There is a 1-2 sec delay before acceleration. Have approached the dealership on several occations.. the latest being the 5000 mile service. I am being told that this is because of Toyota using a computer instead of the old "cable" system and I need to learn to live with it. I find this a serious safety issue. Otherwise, I love my Lexus. Has anyone found a way to fix this hesitation?

I read a whole bunch of stuff about the transmission programming itself to your driving style, and to change that you would have to disconnect the battery and have it reprogram itself. But, I have also read posts here about the transmission always reprogramming itself every 2 minutes or so. This is because you may be driving around your neighborhood slowly and carefully. But when you get to the highway, you need it to accelerate more quickly. When you first get to the highway, the transmission is still in slow mode. Once you have been through that first rapid acceleration the tranny learns the new behavior, it should not do it again while you are on the highway, I guess. Can anyone attest to this?

[JGTNewLexusOwner]

Sorry tn161, I don't have that issue on my 08. However, if it is that noticeable I would MAKE the dealer drive it and make them fix it. Do they want a Lexus owner for life or not! Good luck!

[Turbobill]

I have over 6,500 miles on a 2008 ES 350 and have no complaints at all. At one point in the first few hundred miles, in heavy stop-and-go traffic there was a bit of searching for gears, but that seems to have cured itself with time. There are no squeaks from the dashboard, the carefully measured overall gas mileage is 26.3 miles per U.S. gallon (averaging 20.7 in urban driving and 32.6 on Interstate) and it is a great highway cruiser.