droppedlexus Posted April 1, 2004 Posted April 1, 2004 I just brought a 1998 GS400 with 61,000 miles on it. What I have noticed is that when at a complete stop, if I floor my car there is a hesitation and then the tranny seems to kick in. But if I am driving at about say 20 mph and I floor it, it does fine. I contacted the lexus dealer and they advised me that it may needs it 60,000 mile tune up....for $975.00, they beleive it may be a fouled pug or something.....any idea's?
bbsal Posted April 2, 2004 Posted April 2, 2004 could be!i would allways try the tune up first and a good fuel cleaning as well and then see how it is.if its still like that then get the tranny flushed too.i think its probably a tune up that it needs.make sure you clean the throttlw body out as well as the fuel injectors.you can get the fuel cleaning done at most mechanic shops and some oil change places do it.good luck
S2KDDS Posted April 3, 2004 Posted April 3, 2004 Certainly the tune up might help. Do you have the VSC disabled? If you floor it with the VSC on it will not let the tires spin and will !Removed! the timing so there is less power. Also set the tranny for the power mode if you have it. I have no trouble smoking the tires when I floor the accelerator with the VSC off. Hope this helps. Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic and do not have any knowledge beyond that of a lay person. Any advice or comments are for discussion purposes only. Any damage to you or your car resulting from any statements made or implied are not my responsibility. :P
Neo Posted April 3, 2004 Posted April 3, 2004 Since you just bought this, I assume you do not know the driving manners of the previous owners. The cheap test would be to reset the ECU. Look in the engine compartment at the fusebox near the battery. It is labeled ECU-B. You can also unplug your battery (neg) too. Either way will work. Leave it out for a few minutes and put things back together. The ECU learns your driving habits. If the previous owner was gunshy with the throttle, the ECU will adapt to that and adjust shift points to maintain a smooth ride. So reset yours and drive how you want and see if it helps. Since most of us don't mash the pedal at every light, you may need to reset the ECU periodically if you want to regain the response. A warning, though, doing this will reset much of the electronics: radio settings, seat settings, ... Small price to pay though. ;) Another cheap mod that may help is to tighten the throttle cable a little. Lexus left some slack in it to "help" with the luxury smooth ride response. Be careful how much adjustment you do though. This cable also determines how your car slows down when you release your gas. You may need to brake more since it will not slow as quickly. Other than that, a full tranny flush does wonders.
arsmtts Posted April 3, 2004 Posted April 3, 2004 I promise you, I bet it's the throttle/pulley assembly. I had the same problem. I had to have it replaced. If that the issue, then I hope you have a warranty on it. If not, you're looking at around $1500.
jtanoyo1 Posted April 5, 2004 Posted April 5, 2004 My best guess is a loose throttle cable. I had mine tightened in 5 minutes today and there's no hesitation anymore. I think older cars tend to have its cable become loose overtime causing rough and low idling and engine hesitation.....
droppedlexus Posted April 7, 2004 Author Posted April 7, 2004 wow thanks for all the help, I will try the VCS thing, after reading the responses I do have to say that my car is running good, but when at a stop sign or red light "now I may just be looking for something" the car seems to idle a little low or rough almost like when a car needs a tune up, and too me since this is a lexus with 60,000 miles it should be smooth at all times......so I'm pushing for the throttle cable and hoping it's not the throttle/pulley assembly!
Neo Posted April 7, 2004 Posted April 7, 2004 when at a stop sign or red light "now I may just be looking for something" the car seems to idle a little low or rough almost like when a car needs a tune up, and too me since this is a lexus with 60,000 miles it should be smooth at all times......so I'm pushing for the throttle cable and hoping it's not the throttle/pulley assembly! The GS400s do tend to idle low. You are not the only person to experience this. Listen to jtanoyo1 and do the throttle cable mod. I know of may owners who are happy with this change. Just don't over do it or else you'll be always riding your brakes to slow down.
droppedlexus Posted April 12, 2004 Author Posted April 12, 2004 yesterday I took my gs4 out and turned the VSC off, floored it and the car did not hesitate at all, but the strange this is that I would have never even known it was on......only one problem how do I set it to off all the time?
BA_GS400 Posted April 12, 2004 Posted April 12, 2004 that sounds like a VSC thing to me....... :D B) :P Good Job BA, Good Job!!! :D :D
Neo Posted April 13, 2004 Posted April 13, 2004 yesterday I took my gs4 out and turned the VSC off, floored it and the car did not hesitate at all, but the strange this is that I would have never even known it was on......only one problem how do I set it to off all the time? Glad that the hesitation problem seems to be "fixed" for you. I'd be careful driving without Vehicle Skid Control on. I know of a few people who have gotten into trouble driving too aggressively without the benefits of VSC.
droppedlexus Posted April 13, 2004 Author Posted April 13, 2004 Oh Yeah I could see how someone could get in trouble without it, this is the best car ever!
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