Automatic Transmission Problems of Lexus ES330 - part 1

Lexus Es330 transmission. Surges.

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The contact owns a 2004 Lexus Es330. While driving at various speeds ranging from 0-10 miles per hour, the contact noticed that the transmission jerked, causing the vehicle to hesitate. The contact had not called the local dealer and the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 42,000.

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Acceleration problem with Lexus ES 330 (year 2005). Having been experiencing this problem for some time (have taken my car to dealer ship numerous times and filed law suit through the lemon law) and Lexus continually advising that car is working properly. I was almost in a very serious accident last night as a result of the acceleration hesitation problem.

My 2004 Lexus ES 330 sedan has a transmission shifting problem that I have described to the dealer as "slipping". When the transmission is under load (going up a hill) and you accelerate or decelerate you feel and hear a definite abrupt shift in the vehicle. I have had this car to two separate dealers over the past 12 months and have been told that this behavior is "typical".

I purchased my 2005 Lexus Es330 as a certified pre-own in September 2007. After driving it for a month or two. I experience a consistent hesitation issue. I took it to the local dealership and they said they would reset something in the computer to adjust to my driving style. It did not appear to help. So I've taken it back 2 times since and they say it's the normal function of the drive by wire and nothing they can do. The problem is the transmission in my Lexus Es330 appears not to shift down normally unless the vehicle is brought to a full stop. When slowing down for traffic then accelerating and/or slowing down to make turns at intersections or corners results in gear hesitation and lurching forward. At intersections when making left hand turns it appears to slip [no power for a brief moment). I feel the car is now unsafe to make left turns because the car may not have acceleration when needed. I have already had the car repaired for this type of issue when the Lexus Es330 lost all power. And since the repairs I am still having the hesitation issues and brief loss of power. I have been told by the hendrix Lexus service department that this "hesitation" issue is a normal function of the drive by wire system. I cannot agree with that conclusion. There is a definite problem with the Es330 and a possible safety issue. If I was to bring my car in for this issue, it would be the 3rd or 4th time at that shop for the same issue. This is a daily occurrence for my Lexus es300. Please let me know what you recommend or if there is a solution at this time. Again, let me stress, I feel that the car is unsafe in making left hand turns with oncoming traffic. Thank you for helping with the safety issue.

I own a 2006 Lexus Es330. I purchased the car last year and about a month or two later I noticed while driving there seems to be a jerk or shift around 30 mph. It shifts hard when I try to accelerate to keep up with other drivers or it seems the car wants to accelerate on it's own. I have taken this car in to the Toyota dealership and was told nothing was wrong with the car on both occasions. Also, I have contacted the Lexus dealership inquiring about other Lexus owners with the same problem. I have talked to other Lexus owners with the same model and there car does this as well. They also have taken the car in to the dealership to be told nothing was wrong. I was even told my a mechanic since I just bought the car maybe the car had to adjust to my driving. I have owned many cars and none have had to adjust to my driving. This is the first car I have had to have this problem. This is a major concern and I feel it should be looked into. I have googled this problem and noticed many more Lexus Es330 vehicle owners are having the same problem.

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My 2005 Lexus Es330 has had transmission problems since we bought it on 9/22/2008 with 30,057 miles on it. The transmission will at times hesitate and/or seem to be unable to find the correct gear to be in for the situation. It shows up most of the time in the 30-45mph range but it also hesitates from a standing start. At times it "looks" for a gear to be in and hesitates then hard shifts in to a gear. I also own a 2000 camry and a 2008 corolla and their transmissions work just fine. The Lexus transmission just will not shift correctly for the speed and throttle input. I see this has been quite a problem with this year, make and model of Lexus cars. The Lexus dealer says it is "normal". This can not be normal. Since I get to drive two other Toyota cars with auto transmissions and they work just fine I can tell quite easily there is a big problem with this transmission. It needs to be recognized by Lexus before their is a fatality due to the extreme lag at start from stop conditions. I have had the gas pedal one quarter of the way depressed before the car even recognized I had applied the throttle. This could easily cause an accident either starting from a stop sign with traffic crossing your route or the vehicle "jumping" at a start because you have the pedal part way down before the engine/transmission gets the signal and you accelerate rapidly from a dead stop. Corporate Toyota needs to recognize this problem and come up with a fix. It may have to be a recall or perhaps just a service notice to all 2005 Lexus Es330's owners. Whatever it takes it needs to be done soon. This is a safety related issue it can cause accidents.

I acquired an 06 Lexus Es330. I noticed the transmission hesitates under certain conditions, notably when slowing down and commencing acceleration while still moving. I have had a couple of close calls when it was necessary for me to accelerate quickly from a slow speed. The dealer tells me Lexus is aware of the problem but won't do anything about it, claiming that's how it was designed. There are hundreds if not thousands of complaints posted on the net about this exact problem. I don't know if anybody has been in an accident, but it certainly seems like an accident risk to me. The date inserted below is the date I purchased the car. There was no "incident. " for the mileage, I put in 000001 because this is a design and engineering defect that was present in the transmission when it was manufactured. Thank you.

Lexus Es330 2005 car shifts improperly when driven at 20-35 mph, unexpected up shifts that occur to early and down shifts while slowing down causing the driver to have to modulate the braking to avoid either coming up to cars in traffic ahead to quickly or traffic coming from behind so as to avoid an accident from behind as you slow to quickly. Happens only about 20% of the time but forces the driver to be vigilant constantly to avoid problems.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) our 2006 Lexus Es330 hesitates and stutters when accelerating after a slow-down, stop or during a turn. I have read various things which suggest it could be throttle control, computer controlled accelerator, or mass air flow maf sensor or air intake sensor ais, etc. Etc. But something is definitely wrong. Dealer is no help. We took the car for this trouble to Lexus of valencia and saw assistant service manager [xxx] . He told us that this the way the car was built. I then tried my best to handle this car but it caused the same problem again and again. We took the car to the dealer a 2nd time -- valencia Lexus and the manager told us nothing is wrong with this car. I have been having this problem since I bought the car in 1/14/2009. It hesitates when I take turns, or when I stop at traffic lights and stop signs. Many times the accelerator goes idle during these events and car does not move and than I put more pressure on the accelerator but then it goes fast and I almost end up hitting the car in front of me.

The contact owns a 2005 Lexus Es330. The vehicle hesitates abnormally when the contact attempts to accelerate. Prior to the failure, she did not notice any warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. She took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure and provide a remedy. The manufacturer did not assist. The failure mileage was 30,000 and current mileage was 57,000. Updated 12/08/09. Updated 12/10/09.

Due to a Lexus admitted transmission defect, at times you press the gas and the car simply doesn't go. It almost caused me to get crunched when pulling out into traffic. There's no doubt this will eventually cost someone their life.

Almost collision. While pulling into traffic, car hesitates, creating hazard. Transmission does not shift properly.

Transmission issues and hesitation in acceleration. Have been back to the dealer 4 times since oct 2006. Dealer "reprograms" the transmission but it does nothing.

My transmission feels confused in my 2004 Lexus ES 330. When slowing down to turn in the city or pull out of your driveway my car will hesitate and pause for about a second before accelerating. This seems to be very dangerous as I am afraid that someone will hit me in the back before I can get the car up to the desired speed. I find myself always double checking sometime triple checking beofre I pull out. I have looked online at many different websites and I have found about 1900+ people who have complained about this problem.

Transmission shifting lurch between 30 and 40 mph still re-occurring after two software program updates.

2005 Lexus Es330 transmission "hunting" for proper gear when slowing down then wanting to immediately speed up before coming to a complete stop.

The 2004 Lexus model ES 330 has a safety defect in the its transmission that the company refuses to fix. When the driver takes his foot off the gas and slows down, then steps back on the gas, there is a hesitation and at times a jerking in the transmission. Numerous complaints to Lexus have only brought the response that this is a known defect, but Lexus will not correct the problem. After spending 35,000 dollars for a car, this is not the response one expects to hear! as one's level of frustration with the problem increases, the temptation is to slam your foot on the gas to try to correct the problem, which could obviously lead to more serious issues. The service manager at the local Lexus dealership states he has had numerous complaints about the issue, but Lexus refuses to address the issue. The date referenced below is only one of continuous dates the problem has occurred; again Lexus has been non responsive and blatantly callous to requests to address the problem.

2005 Lexus Es330. Hesitation & stumbling on acceleration. Also transmission will not downshift. This is a well documented problem with the 2005 model year Es330. There was one revision of transmission software/firmware provided but it did not fix this problem. After several complaints the Lexus dealer stated "there's nothing more we can do. " several internet postings suggest that this "delay" or hesitation is designed in. Also, if while entering a highway, for example, the gas pedal is depressed, released and depressed again there is a much longer 2-3 second delay until power is delivered and to get proper upshifts and downshifts I have to shift the automatic transmission manually. The Lexus dealer was/is very familiar with this problem but has no fix beyond what was provided for back in 2005 by Lexus. This should be further investigated along with the current crop of Toyota/Lexus throttle problems. Thanks!.

I leased a 2005 Es330 from Lexus a year and a half ago. Immediately after leaving the dealership I noticed that the car had a transmission problem. At low speeds, under 30 mph, the car would not transition through the gears properly and would jerk suddenly upon acceleration. I also noticed that there were times when the car would hesitate for a few seconds upon acceleration from a stop or low speeds. This jerking motion and hesitation of the transmission is a common problem with my type of vehicle and has been known by Lexus to be a problem for the past 5 years, since 2002. This vehicle is a safety hazard in high traffic situations as it does not respond appropriately to the drivers needs, or commands.

Transmission shifts very rough, up-shift and down-shift since vehicle was new. Documented/reported problem at every service check. Was told software had been 'adjusted/reset' and that this is normal for the car. As the car is aging problem is becoming more pronounced and rough/hard shifting is escalating.

Our 2004 Lexus e330 has exhibited many life threatening problems involving its automatic transmission performance. Of greatest concerns are life threatening instances over the two years. Hesitations occur when pressing the gas during critical entry attempts onto interstate hwys, etc. Where we have experienced near deadly transmission hesitations of needed power getting into oncoming traffic. My wife was almost killed by an 18 wheeler when she otherwise would have had adequate time to safely merge had the transmission not hesitated. She was fortunate to have survived. Just one of many close calls. Another ES 330 automatic transmission problem is the untenable, untimely, rough down and up shifting between the first and second gears that Lexus has advised has been corrected in the 2007 models which of course will not help with this vehicle I am stuck with. Such admittance support my argument that they are quite aware of this very un- Lexus type performance in the 2004. What a shame that Lexus would let the great Lexus name be so degraded by their failure to support their faithful customers in such justified complaints; this is our third Lexus!.

The automatic transmission in the consumer's 2005 Lexus Es330 would not respond at lower speeds. The vehicle hesitated when accelerating which caused loss of control. The manufacturer acknowledged the problem and is trying to find a solution.

Severe hesitation when accelerating. This is an ongoing problem through out the camry and Lexus ES v6 engine line.

2004 Lexus 330 since the auto was purchased and driven off the lot, there has been a noticeable delay from stop or slow speed acceleration from the time the pedal is depressed until the engine actually starts to deliver the power. If you stomp the pedal for a jack-rabbit start, the delay is not as noticeable. The dealer j and m, has been giving me the run-around since purchase with the "normal" party line.

Transmission lags dangerously from a stop and hesitates for a few seconds upon acceleration, which is especially dangerous at intersections, when passing, and anytime prompt response from accelerator is needed. Also experiencing from the transmission what I would call a sling-shot effect, where the gears either wind out excessively and seem to catch up with itself at normal acceleration or a feeling of not downshifting normally when slowing down, especially at highway speeds.

My Lexus ES hesitates when I try to accelerate. Started when I took ownership of the car.

Lexus ES 330 auto transmission hesitates when needed the most. The problem causes a significant safety issue. The driver is not in control of the car during critical times of normal operation. The transmission will not respond to the driver commands properly. Dealer (Lexus) has told me to learn how to drive with it.

Since Nov 2005 I noticed a problem with the vehicle's transmission-a hesitation during acceleration that occurs over 50% of the time. The vehicle has been repaired 3 times for this problem and the Lexus representative on the phone just told me it is not fixable. I believe this is a safety issue as it could cause an accident.

The contact owns a 2005 Lexus Es330 sedan. While driving approximately 45 mph the vehicle down shifted intermittently into a lower gear and began to lunge forward. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle to his destination. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the failure could not be duplicated. The failure was diagnosed by the dealer five times. The contact stated that the failure had begun to occur more frequently. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that after speaking with the dealer they confirmed that they were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The service manager advised him that other customers had experienced the identical failure; however, unless Lexus advised him, there was nothing he could do. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 59,496. Updated 9/1/10 updated 09/02/jb.

2004 ES 330 exhibiting transmission problems even after "dealer fix". There is sever gear hunting at every speed sometimes results in a lag of acceleration or acceleration lurches that result in close call accidents. Note that this problem did not start occurring until after 2,000 miles of driving after the car was purchased as brand new.

2005 lexis ES 330. The car was not shifting properly or accelerate upon pressing the gas pedal and when it did accelerate it lurched forward. When slowing down and then trying to speed up was told by the dealership that the computer could not read fast enough to know what to do. This didn't happen every time, in an hour of driving I happened at least 8 times. This was a safety issue. In stop and go traffic and changing lanes, nothing happened. It took 3 seconds for the vehicle to react to the acceleration. This has happened multiple times.

Engine hesitation when accelerating from a complete stop or a rolling stop. This has been an ongoing issue with the Lexus ES's for 3-4 years. Other Lexus models do not perform like this. Why does this model and why hasn't it been corrected after the numerous complaints around the country??.

I had purchased a brand new 2005 Lexus Es330 in 2005. The car started exhibiting transmission hesitation problems almost immediately. I brought it to the Lexus dealer in cerritos, CA many times, and asked them about this behavior as something they should look at and fix. I was told it is how the computers are in the car and they refuse to acknowledge this problem. The car hesitates to pick up speed while you ar on stop sign or more importantly when changing lanes on freeway or at times you need to accelerate the car suddenly. You will get a jolt and lack of power for a second and then quick speed. Now with all of the problems coming out of this company, I think it is important for me to bring this issue and I am sure there are many people who have complained about it. I use this car but try to use sparingly as much as possible.

At low speed about 20-25 mph letting go of the gas pedal and press on again causes the transmission to hesitate for at least 1-2 second like it is searching for the right gear. This could cause an accident.