Transmission "reflashing"

[tatmiko]

I am experiencing some shifting problems with my '04 RX330. At low speeds (~20 mph) if I let the car coast down to that speed and accelerate the car sometimes hesitates before shifting to the lower gear. It seems to not know what gear to shift into. To make a long story short...took the car into my delear and was asked if I ever had the transmission "reflashed". Appears this is a procedure where they re-program the shift points of the transmission to match different driving styles. Never heard of programming a transmission before. I am so out of touch technically. Luckily this service can be provided under the current drive train warranty so it should not cost me anything. Has anyone else had this service performed on their Lexus? Curious to understand what is involved. Thanks.

[RX in NC]

Yes, we had the latest firmware flashed into my wife's 2004 RX330 AWD at no charge shortly after she purchased it in late January 2007. It did help smooth down the shift points to some degree.

Be aware that the transmissions in these RX models leave much to be desired. Spend some time sifting through all the transmission failure posts on this board and you'll soon understand that.

Prior to the RX330 she had a 2000 RX300 AWD. It snorted and bucked through its shift points even after warming up and didn't get much better even after a transmission replacement at about 48,000 miles on our local Lexus dealership's dime.

Her current RX330 shifts better than her old RX300 did, but neither RX ever shifted better or smoother than my 1999 Dodge Ram 5.9-litre V8 pickup does. Sad but true....