denn77

I've actually already removed and cleaned the MAF sensor. It did help with rough acceleration problems which are gone now. The only thing left is this sluggish acceleration problem and it's intermittent. It almost feels like the timing is off.

Yes, my es300 does have the vvti engine. Are you certain it doesn't have an EGR valve? I thought it did but you may be right since I couldn't really find it. How can I clean the throttle plate? Is that inside the throttle body and do you think that would cause the car to be sluggish intermintently? I have noticed that my car is peppy usually 10 min after startup and becomes intermittently sluggish after it is fully warmed up. Also fuel mileage is not that great. Your help is much appreciated.

I want to try cleaning my egr valve to solve a sluggish acceleration problem on my 99 es300. First off, can somebody tell me where this thing is? I found something directly underneath the throttle body that resembles the egr valve but I'm not sure. Also, is there a way I can test if the egr valve is the problem or not? thanks, Denn77

Well I finally took my car to the local Lexus dealer to get an engine diagnostic to find out why my car hesitates on acceleration sometimes. Of course, they found nothing and sent me on my way. They didn't charge me for the diag which is cool but I'm still left with this problem. I want to try cleaning the egr valve to begin with. Can I get some help on doing this? I can't seem to find the egr valve either. thanks, denn77

I had the same problem on my 99 es300, the front brakes were squeeling a lot and it wasn't due to being worn down. My rotors were in good condition too. All I did was buy the factory pads from Lexus for $43 bucks and replaced them myself. It took about 1 hour and I must say that these pads are extremely quiet. Not one peep! Pretty easy job too.

What is involved in cleaning the EGR valve on a 99 es300? Where is the EGR valve located to begin with?

I think I have another clue to my problem. It sounds weird but usually after I fill up the gas tank, the car runs faster. I always use Shell or Chevron 87 octane. I've had many cars and never have I seen something like this. I made an appt with my local lexus dealer for an engine diagnostic for this Wednesday and then over this last weekend I filled up the tank. Now the car runs great, no hesitation. When I do have the hesitation problems, one of the symptoms is surging I think its called. I would accelerate and as the rpms climb to around 3k I'd feel this sudden burst of power, which is not right. Thats all I have for now.

You guys have been a lot of help. As I make changes to my car, I'll report any improvements. Thanks! :) javascript:emoticon(':)') smilie

Cleaning the MAF was really easy. I just pulled it out of the air intake tube and sprayed electrical component cleaner on the red sensor needle. One side of the needle was clearly dirty. Afterwards I remounted it and thats it. This did make the acceleration smoother. I'm still having the sluggish acceleration problems though. Will the motorvac clean out the injectors too? Are there any side effects to worry about with the motorvac procedure?

Actually, I've tried disconnecting the battery for several hours to try to get things reset already and it didn't help. :(

Hi people, I recently got a 99 es300 and I have problems with it:( Fuel mileage was really bad when I first got it, around 15 mpg and now after a couple of techron bottles, new ngk iridium plugs, cleaned MAF sensor and change pcv valve, I'm up to 18 mpg. This is 60% city driving. The car has 87k miles. Oh, the maf sensor cleaning made a significant improvement with acceleration. But it is sluggish in the morning. It gets better after it warms up, but still even after it's warm its sometimes sluggish. After reading several posts, I was thinking of changing out both o2 sensors. I test drove several other es300 all 1998 models and they were all quicker than the one I have. What else can I do?