I'm happy you're happy with your car and adjusted your driving habits to the transmission quirks, but I, for one didn't want to deal with this. I started this thread in the Spring of 2003 and finally decided in the Spring of 2006 to trade in this car for an '07 ES350....w/a new 6 speed transmission! I am now completely satisfied with the operation of this new car. You can't say I didn't try every conceivable method to be happy with the '03 ES300, but I did! I have spoken to 100's of owners of the '02 thru '06 ES's and the vast majority were definitely NOT happy with this transmission. Some have even tried to start a class action suit against Lexus, and some have even brought this to court as individuals, and some were successful in Lexus giving them buybacks.