Did not have a car accident, or experience any injuries or car damage, but this car, like numerous other cars of the same make, model, and year has some serious transmission/computer software issues at times. It hesitates and lurches often. I drove on the highway yesterday and the car acted up in the worst way ever.but it seems to me that with information on these same transmission issues plastered all over the internet, your organization would make toyota engineer a permanent fix for this problem, and recall and fix these cars.
Lexus ES330 hesitation problems
92 of the 380 owner complaints about the Lexus ES330 describe hesitation when accelerating, most of them for the 2004 model year.
- owner complaints
- 92
- worst model year
- 2004
- typical mileage
- 1,500
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
I did not have a car accident, or experience any injuries or car damage, but this car, like numerous other cars of the same make, model, and year has some serious transmission/computer software issues at times. It hesitates and lurches often, especially in d4. I drove on the highway yesterday in d4, and the car acted up in the worst way ever. I later tried driving in d, and the car did better in town and on the highway, but it seems to me that with information on these same transmission issues plastered all over the internet, your organization would make toyota engineer a permanent fix for this problem, and recall and fix these cars. By the way, this car had the lexus software update for its transmission issues last summer, and I only use the highest octane gasoline. The car actually belongs to my elderly mother, which makes me very concerned about the possibility of her having an accident, or complete transmission failure leaving her stranded somewhere.
When I press the accelorator there is a hesitation in the car speeding up and while driving there is sometimes that same hesitation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. The contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to accelerate from a complete stop and also while attempting to accelerate at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was also made aware of the failure, but could not diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 52,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lexus es330. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and attempting to shift from second to third, the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the electronic control system hesitated and as a result, the computer module would need to be updated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was operating up to their standards. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 70,000.
Transmission jerking and hesitation. Problem increasing steadily for the past year. We are experiencing hesitation when merging into traffic and just when driving at speeds of 35-40 MPH. Updated 09/16/11
In city traffic, acceleration with my 2006 es330 is not predictable and it hesitates rather than responding appropriately as the gas pedal is pressed. Has also happened as I am trying to accelerate to merge into traffic. Occurs sporadically and is very unpredictable. Can go weeks without it happening. No accidents due to this - yet. I have taken car back into lexus dealership and got a canned response of it adapting to the driver patterns and it is responding the way it is supposed to - basically telling me that my problem is not a problem. I will not buy another lexus and will probably get rid of this one much sooner than how I normally keep vehicles.
I have a 2004 lexus es330 with accelerator problems. My initial problem was as I come to a stop light and it turns green, before I have to stop I would accelerate and there would be a hesitation where the engine feels like it is stalling. It would then accelerate with a thump. I took it in to the lexus dealer in hawaii (oahu) and they recognized it as a computer program problem that tells the car when to accelerate. I was told that they can "try" to fix it by changing the computer chip and resetting the memory in the computer. However, they said that it would either fix the problem or create other accelerator problems. They know that this problem exists. It fixed my initial problem but has caused other problems such as car now jerks upon accelerating while traveling 5-15 MPH. From a stop, my car sometimes hesitates and then accelerates when I step on the gas pedal. I know other lexus owners have complained as well as camry owners that have a v6 engine and the same transmission as the lexus es330. You can google it.
My lexus es hesitates when I try to accelerate. Started when I took ownership of the car.
Lexus es 330, when accelerating, there is a hesitation. Dealer said it was related to octane of gasoline, that I should increase the octane to 92. This did not help. They lie at every angle...
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus ES330 hesitation
Which Lexus ES330 years have hesitation when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2004 (51 complaints), 2005 (36 complaints) and 2006 (5 complaints).
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