2005 Lexus ES: jerking or lurching

Filed Jul 14, 2013 · Acceleration, Body · 63,000 miles · CA · crash

While driving in heavy traffic and traveling at a low speed, the car lurched forward and hit the car that was 6 feet in front of me. The sound of the engine was that of a spontaneous acceleration just like the incident we had on april 30, 2013. There was little or no damage to the car in front of me but the lexus sustained over $10,000. Worth of damage and has subsequently been considered a total loss. The incident on april 30 consisted of our crawling forward into a parking spot, suddenly the car spontaneously accelerated, went over the cement parking barrier and hit a car approximately 5 feet away. Lexus looked at the black box after the 4/30 accident and determined that the car was safe to drive.

Filed Feb 13, 2012 · Transmission · WI

Transmission hesitates and jerks at all times putting the driver in unsafe situations. There appears to be a endless list of complaints regarding this and lexus not taking any action to correct it on their own. I just received a recall notice for a pulley problem that may cause a belt to come off but their is no recall issued for a dangerous transmission issue, seriously?? I hope someone forces them to take action soon since they don't appear to be concerned with customer safety or loyalty.

Filed Aug 17, 2006 · Transmission · 1 miles · MA

I purchased the 2005 lexus es 330 in august of 2005. Since the time of purchase I have experience a noticeable hesitation and lurching of the transmission when accelerating from slow speeds. The hesitation and subsequent lurching is very noticeable when accelerating from 24 MPH. Since the purchase I have researched the problem through the internet and learned that there are literally thousands of complaints about the transmission in this model going back to 2002. Several web forums, such as edmonds.com and lexus owners club show over two thousand postings on the problem. Even the federal safety agency has complaints. Lexus refuses to acknowledge the problem. I have sent numerous e-mails and letters to both lexus and my local dealership. They have feigned surprise at the problem, and then have told me that there is no problem to be found. They have recommended premium fuel, rebooting the transmission computer and waiting for the transmission to "self adjust". Nothing has helped. Lexus will not, or cannot, fix this problem. The hesitation and lurching is noticeable when entering a highway or doing a "rolling stop". It is hazardous. Lexus has known about the problem since it first existed in 2002. This is not only an uncomfortable problem in this so-called luxury car, but it is a danger.

Filed Jul 4, 2006 · Transmission · TX

The car will hesitate and then lurch forward when you are going at a slow speed and then push the accelerator pedal. It is extremely annoying and could present a safety hazard under the right circumstances. It has been doing this since I purchased the car. I have been to two dealers and always get the same "company story". It's a new drive by wire and it has to learn how you drive. Well, I have had my software changed numerous times and it never is fixed. I have had 4 lexus autos, will never buy another. They know this is a problem and have corporate coverup program in place to hide it, just because no one died yet. They don't want to have to fix it and spend the money and negative publicity.

Filed Jan 22, 2006 · Transmission · 50 miles · NY

My 2005 lexus es330 has transmission hesitation when after slowing to about 5 MPH, I accelerate. It takes 1 to 2 seconds for the transmission to downshift and then the car lurches dangerously forward. The dealership installed a softward fix to the transmission, but this did not solve the problem.

Filed Jan 21, 2006 · Transmission · CA · crash · 1 injury

My new 2005 lexus es330 has a major transmission problem. It hesitates when needing to accelerate. First it delays upon acceleration and then it jerks ahead quickly causing whiplash and I even crashed into my garage because it jerked ahead without me being able to control it. The dealer said to just use better gas and complain to customer service at lexus because there are a lot of complaints. Basically, I was told the computer controls the transmission and there is a problem with it but no recall as of yet. Well this is an outrage. I have a new lexus that drives worse than an old car and they will not do anything about it. I have read hundreds of similar complaints online.

Filed Oct 15, 2005 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 8,875 miles · CA

Depressing the accelerator pedal causes the vehicle to hesitate for one-half to one full second and then lurch forward, suddenly. This is a safety risk when changing lanes or accelerating to avoid a collision. The dealer's mechanic indicated (twice) that they have had problems with this model's "electronic accelerator," and that an internal computer is supposed to "learn from the drivers' habits and adjust the acceleration accordingly." an accident can easily occur when expected power is denied upon depressing the accelerator.

Filed Sep 20, 2005 · Transmission · 1,000 miles · CA

2005 lexus es330 was purchased in december 2004. Sometime before taking it in for the 5000 mile service I noticed that the car would lurch when accelerated from a speed around 10 miles per hour. This is very disconcerting in stop and go traffic because the sudden, unexpected acceleration could cause an accident. I explained this at the 5000 mile service, but was told they could not replicate it. At the 10,000 mile service I explained that the same problem existed. Again, when I talked to the service consultant before picking up the car, he said the technician could not replicate it on the 2 mile test drive. But he said that this was the driver's fault. Then he did let me know that this was the way the transmissions on the es330 were designed and that others had complained of the same thing. There were no adjustments that could be made, this was the way they are supposed to react.

Filed Sep 1, 2005 · Acceleration, Transmission · GA

I purchased a 2005 lexus es330 and have had consistent problems with the vehicle's acceleration and deceleration. The vehicle hesitates during acceleration and suddenly lurches forward. Also, during deceleration the vehicle suddenly slows down upon releasing the gas pedal. This has become a serious issue in heavy traffic and I''m concerned it may lead to an accident. I have reported the issue to the dealer on two occasions but have received a standard response that there is nothing wrong with the car. I''m hoping the dot will initiate a recall and have the manufacturer fix the problem. I'm deeply concerned and shocked at the number of similar reports filed with the dot.

Filed Aug 6, 2005 · Transmission · 1 miles · FL

My 2005 es330 has a lurching problem with the transmission. Lexus just replaced the program in the computer but never told me they were aware of the problem. It is too soon to tell if the fix will work. They just told me to buy premium gas. I have read from many other lexus consumers that the "fix" and better gas do not work.

Filed Jul 1, 2005 · Transmission · FL

Dt: the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. The vehicle accelerates and jerks back.

Filed Jun 3, 2005 · Transmission · MD

I purchased my 2005 lexus es330 at lexus of annapolis in mid-march 2005 with only 63 miles on it. By april 9th, I began to notice jerking upon acceleration. I called the lexus dealership about this and scheduled and appointment to have it evaluated. I took it in, a technician rode in the car with me and explained that I needed to use premium gas. I told him that I have never heard of a brand new car requiring premium gas, but I agreed to give this a try to see if it alleviates the problem. It did not! He also stated that if this didn't work then they would need to go into the car's computerized electronic transimission software and reset it. He said he would recommend this as a last resort because it cannot be undone. Well?! After reading that so many of these vehicles are having the same problem, it seems that lexus will repair this problem. This problem can be dangerous. This also taints the name (lexus) brand of this car. I have driven mostly toyotas in the past, each lasting over 180k miles and I never thought once to get rid of those cars. I kept them to the dying end. However, this lexus, I am already thinking of getting rid of it, if this problem cannot be repaired. I certainly hope that lexus is not waiting for an injury, death or other tragedy to happen before taking this problem seriously.