samgyeop

Hello community, I am a new driver that knows nothing about cars and came here to seek some answers. I just got my drivers license and got a Lexus ES350 2009 w/ built in navigation and bluetooth as a hand me down. Anyways aside from that I noticed something weird with my gear gauges (dont know if its called that) but its the speed reader on the left that has the numbers 1-8. When I reach to a stop my arrow or line doesnt point to 0, but it points between 0-1. Then when I go 0-40 mph, the gear jumps up to 3-4. It doesnt go up smoothly but just jumps and its not me flooring the gas when I'm gently pressing the gas.

Also this car has been dormant in my garage for a month meaning it hasnt been turned on or driven for a month. Now that I got my license I'm able to drive it but the gauges act crazy.

I'm also wondering if this is related to a battery problem.

jcat_350

First, I recommend reading around here and any other place on the internet that provides a basic, ground level education on cars, how they work, and driving. Your knowledge is dangerously low to own and operate a car safely and reliably.

The 'gear gauges' you're talking about are your car's gauges. The 'speed reader' on the left is not a speed reader, it's your tachometer which measures the engines rotations in revolutions per minute (revs).

The tach should not read zero when you come to a stop, as the engine is still running. Typical idle speed at operating temperature is about 600-750rpms.

Hitting 3-4000 RPMs when going to 40mph is excessive. Make sure you didn't pull the shifter over into manual mode which would lock the car into 1st or 2nd gear, causing you to rev too high past the normal shift point. The shifter should be all the way down to the bottom, and all the way over to the right to get into drive.

If you're not in manual mode and the car is still doing this, it's not normal. You should take it to a mechanic and have it looked at. Without knowing the mileage, it's hard to say what could be wrong. It could be as simple as a fluid change or as complicated as a speed sensor or shift solenoid.

If the car is starting and running fine and lights are not dimming, the battery is fine, as is the charging system. You should never let a car go more than 2 consecutive weeks without at least starting it up and letting it get to operating temperature. After driving it for a while, the car's alternator will recharge the battery back to where it should be. If you have doubts, find an autozone or other autoparts store that will usually test your battery for you for free.

samgyeop

My car knowledge is very poor and is also one of the reasons why I came to his forum to learn. I forgot to mention the mikes driven. It has around 90,000 miles. Also what do you mean by if its switched to manual? I will see if that is the case.

jcat_350

I explained it pretty clearly:

You should see the + and - signs and will allow you to shift the transmission manually.


At 90k miles, the car should have had a transmission fluid service, water pump just to name a few in terms of powertrain servicing. I also would look into the timing chain tensioner and guides, as it can't hurt to inspect it. The only thing that would contribute to your shift issue is the transmission.

SW17LS

I agree with jcat, you really need to spend some time learning what all the readouts and things mean. Do you have a parent that taught you to drive? I can't imagine getting a license and being given a vehicle from my parents without even a rudimentary education of what the gauges tell you...sheesh.

Its a question of safety, nobody should be allowed to operate a vehicle on the road without understanding what the readouts mean, and being able to put it in the proper gear.

One thing that my Dad made me do when I first started driving, which I think was incredibly valuable was sign me up for a defensive driving course. Much more advanced than the state required training which was a joke (this was 17 years ago but I can't imagine its much better now), this course included classroom time learning the vehicle's functions, the physics behind driving and why cars act the way they do in different situations, plus road course time in the vehicle I'd be driving and in a specially outfitted skid car.

Incredible course, made me a much better driver, and made me really interested in becoming as good a driver as I could be, from there I took other advanced driving and track courses etc.

This is the sort of class I'm talking about: http://www.bondurant.com/courses/teen-driving-program

Robert_J

I was thrown out in the middle of a field with a Chevy Luv picked with 4 on the floor and told "learn to drive". The next day I was driving a 24 foot flatbed truck with 3 on the tree and a creeper gear. I was too small to throw hay on the back so I got to drive the truck around.

But even then I knew the concept of RPMs and other necessary read-outs to drive a car. I had already been driving a tractor most of the summer and I had to convert RPM plus the gear into miles per hour to get the proper spray coverage. Actually it was feet per minute instead of MPH. But you get the idea.

Isn't Grand Theft Auto supposed to teach you how to drive now?

SW17LS

Yeah, I mean even when I was that age we had video games and things that taught you what the basic readouts were...nowadays I can see someone getting into a car and already knowing how to drive theoretically from playing video games.

jcat_350

that was me at about age 12 (only hindering factor before then was height to reach the pedals)...I'm now 23

SW17LS

Yeah I always loved cars and driving, so I knew all about driving by the time I was 9 or 10 probably...maybe even younger. My Dad used to let me sit on his lap and steer when I was little, which nowadays would have landed me in a foster home I'm sure LOL.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

Not to be critical here, but may I ask who taught you how to drive? Your car knowledge is indeed very poor, bordering on unacceptable. Is there a driving school or adult education driving classes that you can take to properly familiarize yourself with the operation of your vehicle and the function of it's systems and gauges? I'm sure this would really help you.

Lou

Paul3637

Same here ...... and I was changing the oil my my parents cars before I had a driver's license because I was tired of the embarrassment of the blue smoke they emitted due to my father's neglect !!!!! My kids were born in 1975 and 1978. Kansas allowed learners permits at age 14 and both kids could drive a stick shift (Toyota 4x4) by then. Although neither my son nor daughter had any inclination to do car maintenance themselves ... I taught them about the importance of car maintenance before they got their license.

Wow ..... not sure what's going on with what parents and schools teach their kids about cars but:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/...ivers-ed_N.htm

"High school driver's ed was nearly universal 30 years ago. Today it is offered in only a fraction of schools in standard curriculum. About 15% of eligible students take high school driver's ed compared with 95% in the 1970s"

Looks like not onlly does the USA produce some of the worst math and science students in the world ..... we probably also produce the some of the world's worst drivers as well !!!!!

RANT RANT .

hypervish

Do you have a manual? Read it.

If not, you can read one online https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...manual-search#. And, you can request Lexus to send you one, free of charge.

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

RPM's will jump depending on the dear you are in, it is not always a "smooth" transition. If you are in 4th gear, and hit the gas hard, it may drop to 2nd gear and the RPM's will jump. I don't think this indicates a problem, just a lack of understanding of the RPM gauge from OP.

jcat_350

he was saying that he's not giving it a ton of gas but reaching 4000 rpms accelerating from 0-40. That is excessive. I think it's more likely that the OP is accidentally pulling the stick into tiptronic.

glepera

young man do the world a favor.. get a video game and learn to use gauges acellerator shifter safely off the road and away from other motorists.. the car you were given is a very nice one.. bad driving esoecially messing with the transmission is a very quick way to ruin it