amf1932

Firstly, I spoke to the Service Manager and asked whether I could get a new ECU to bring it back to the original specs. He told me all the ECU's that would be shipped to him would have this updated software. SW03ES, As far as I'm concerned, all this fix did was change the shift points so the car seems to shift gears at a lower speed when accelerating normally. The transmission still hesitates and hunts for the proper gear to go into. If you're going at approximately 40mph and than mash the accelerator to pass somebody the engine will rev to redline, and than after an inordinate amount of time it'll finally engage the gear it chooses. This can create a very dangerous situation. I have driven many other manufacturers cars and I NEVER had this problem. Plain and simple......you tromp down on the gas....the car downshifts and off you go. That's the way it should act.......but it doesn't!!! Finally, My feelings are this latest transmission reincarnation is just a tradeoff that doesn't address the important problems.

Normal wear and tear. Following the proper maintenance schedule will prevent this from happening too soon.

There is an adjustment for the length of time that your lights stay on when in auto mode position. Generally this timing adjustment can be done by the dealer. If your lights stay on for an hour than the timing mechanism is defective.

If your car has a moonroof than I'd be extremely careful of putting a bike on the top! Excessive pressure can damage the mechanics of the roof mechanism. I would try to buy a roof rack and than tie down the bicycle(s) on top of that.

Steviej, I did ask Lexus Customer Service about replacing the the ECM and she said it couldn't be changed! At this point I realized that most people in the Customer Service Division are really not technically oriented. I will find out tomorrow from my dealers Service Manager whether this is possible. Actually I called Customer Service so they have this on record. I think it's almost impossible to get to a 2 level tech or Supervisor to discuss this upgrade and that *BLEEP*es me off no end.

Excessive backlash could conceivably lower your gas mileage very slightly since your valves are not opening as much as the factory specifications call for.

Pertaining to chrome valve stems caps. Snatch them up and some crook will in turn snatch them up. hehehe :D

I understand that there is long wait if you want the NAV system on a RX330. If you can get it from your dealer than I would grab it and sell the Street Pilot. It's much more convenient than using an aftermarket device. IMHO ;)

That is the name of the manufacturer. http://kandn.com/

The automatic transaxle and the differential are separate units! ;)

WARNING I called Lexus Customer Service and I found out that the latest transmission upgrade for the '02-'03 ES is not reversible!! Try to drive another car that has the upgrade and see if you like it before you have it done. My dealer never told me this and I was supposed to sign a release to have it upgraded. Lexus doesn't consider the poor shifting characteristics a defect, even thought there have been numerous complaints on this subject.

Are you still able to use the dashboard dimmer control with the neon tubes? I don't think so!! It's nice to be able to dim the dash lights at night otherwise they'll be too bright.;)

No, all model Lexus's don't have this type of protection. There is always a small drain on the battery due to all the electronic components that are always activated, such as the alarm system, door activation, etc. This drain will discharge the battery over a period of time. Yes, this happened when my battery was on it's last legs. It turned out that one of the cells was weak, so I replaced the battery. I than could start the car after it wasn't used for over 3 weeks. If you intend to not use the car for long periods of time you could buy an inexpensive trickle charger to keep the battery fully charged at all times.

Hey Stevie, I bow to the master.......you. hehehe ;)

When I got this '03 ES in March the dealer put on my old plates with a frame advertising the dealers name. When I brought the car in for service another customer warned me about the frame covering up parts of the plate and I could get a summons for that infraction of the law. He than told me the dealer had a newer type of frame that didn't cover the plate as much, so they gave me the newer type and I put them on. Hopefully the law accepts this new modifcation and if they don't my next post will be from the local prison. :D When I saw my new car before delivery to me it didn't have the holes drilled for a front license plate. The dealer put on a front bracket for the front plate. From the looks of things it was no big deal. ;)

Ever since I had Lexus put a spoiler on my 2003 ES I've had nothing but positive responses from young and old people alike. I did this for two reasons. 1- It makes it easier to find my car amongst similar models that might be in for service at my Lexus dealer or parking areas. 2- You can't see the back of the car when looking thru the rearview mirror without a spoiler. Now I can get an idea where the back of the car ends.

I spoke too soon!! After driving my car with the updated program and giving it enough time to learn my driving habits I find that this fix is totally unsatisfactory. The quote below was written by another dissatisfied Lexus owner that had his transmission updated with Lexus's newest software. It expresses my feelings exactly. This was posted on Edmunds website(post #115) "TSB-TC004-03 is not a fix. Lexus has failed miserably to remedy the problem many of us have experienced with transmission for so long now. The problem, that still exists and appears will never be fixed, is an utter lack of power when the gas pedal is pressed firmly at around 40mph and dangerously the RPMs shoot up as high as 5,000 RPM almost to red line. The gear then sticks and only when you take the foot off the gas pedal do the RPMs come down and the gear then "pops" into place. Scary stuff when you are trying to pass a big rig while merging onto the highway going 40-60mph. There's not much time to react going this fast and only time will tell when someone will get seriously hurt from this severe problem. The "fix" with this TSB, if you will, fixes only the cosmetic and more noticeable poor driving characteristics of the transmission so many of us unfortunate 2002-2003 ES300 owners have experienced over the last year and half. The shift points have changed, allowing for the vehicle to more appropriately adjust to our driving styles. The hesitation, shuddering, and fumbling for gears is not as pronounced as before. However, as I have said above, this is no fix for the more serious problem with our transmissions. Which is the considerable loss of power in acceleration with the RPMs going to dangerous levels while driving above 40mph. Signed- Very Irritated and Disappointed Lexus Customer"

I spoke too soon!! After driving my car with the updated program and giving it enough time to learn my driving habits I find that this fix is totally unsatisfactory. The quote below was written by another dissatisfied Lexus owner that had his transmission updated with Lexus's newest software. It expresses my feelings exactly. This was posted on Edmunds website(post #115) "TSB-TC004-03 is not a fix. Lexus has failed miserably to remedy the problem many of us have experienced with transmission for so long now. The problem, that still exists and appears will never be fixed, is an utter lack of power when the gas pedal is pressed firmly at around 40mph and dangerously the RPMs shoot up as high as 5,000 RPM almost to red line. The gear then sticks and only when you take the foot off the gas pedal do the RPMs come down and the gear then "pops" into place. Scary stuff when you are trying to pass a big rig while merging onto the highway going 40-60mph. There's not much time to react going this fast and only time will tell when someone will get seriously hurt from this severe problem. The "fix" with this TSB, if you will, fixes only the cosmetic and more noticeable poor driving characteristics of the transmission so many of us unfortunate 2002-2003 ES300 owners have experienced over the last year and half. The shift points have changed, allowing for the vehicle to more appropriately adjust to our driving styles. The hesitation, shuddering, and fumbling for gears is not as pronounced as before. However, as I have said above, this is no fix for the more serious problem with our transmissions. Which is the considerable loss of power in acceleration with the RPMs going to dangerous levels while driving above 40mph. Signed- Very Irritated and Disappointed Lexus Customer"

Hey JoeyD: That was a dead link for car reviews.......you spelled it wrong. Here's the corrected link: http://www.carreview.com

Better? ;)

Nice!

The rotors are the discs. Sometimes they call them discs and sometimes they're called rotors....same part! The brake shop can measure the "runout" with a micrometer to check the amount of warpage.

This is caused by warped rotors. If there is enough metal on the rotors they can be resurfaced otherwise they have to be replaced. Naturally when they do this type of job you should replace the pads also. ;)

Here's the story of the upgrade(TSB-TC004-03) that was done on my '03ES. 1- The original ECM is re-programmed NOT changed. 2- The new software is downloaded from the Lexus Corporation to the dealers computer. 3- Dealer transfers this new software to a scan tool and than plugs it into the socket which than uploads to the existing ECM. This upload takes about 1 hour. The scan tool tells the mechanic whether the update was successful or not. My first findings: I was told that the fuzzy logic will adapt to my driving habits after using it for awhile. Right from the start I noticed that acceleration, downshifts and upshifts were crisper. It seemed to know what gear to go into without the hesitation. I tried this at slow speeds(0-40mph) as well as road speeds(40-80mph). I never had the shudder that some owners complained of, so I can't tell whether that has been corrected, but from all indications it looks like it would be. Shifts were as smooth as before this upgrade. So far I'm very pleased with this transmission fix and I'll report back if I find anything to the contrary. Good job Lexus. :D

Here's the story of the upgrade(TSB-TC004-03) that was done on my '03ES. 1- The original ECM is re-programmed NOT changed. 2- The new software is downloaded from the Lexus Corporation to the dealers computer. 3- Dealer transfers this new software to a scan tool and than plugs it into the socket which than uploads to the existing ECM. This upload takes about 1 hour. The scan tool tells the mechanic whether the update was successful or not. My first findings: I was told that the fuzzy logic will adapt to my driving habits after using it for awhile. Right from the start I noticed that acceleration, downshifts and upshifts were crisper. It seemed to know what gear to go into without the hesitation. I tried this at slow speeds(0-40mph) as well as road speeds(40-80mph). I never had the shudder that some owners complained of, so I can't tell whether that has been corrected, but from all indications it looks like it would be. Shifts were as smooth as before this upgrade. So far I'm very pleased with this transmission fix and I'll report back if I find anything to the contrary. Good job Lexus. :D