onsknht

OK... Forgive me if you have dial-up, I'm providing video to view the transmission flair / RPM spike that occurs with the Toyota/Lexus 2GR-FE engine & U660E transmission configuration.

The video is about 12MB... The quality is very good, but compressed from true DV. I have some space issues but will post a larger/clearer (still compressed but about 46MB) video when resolved or I will edit and post just the issue and not all the commentary.

My car is a 2007 Camry SE V6, I have just a bit over 2,000 miles on the car and have owned it 2 months, almost to the day. The symptoms shown in the video were first noticed at about 450 miles.

A couple of notes...

1. The flair / spike can be very light, I do not normally accellerate as I do in this video, if interested, I will take video of a "light" flair... I wanted to exaggerate the spike as much as possible today.

2. The car was started and the temperature in the garage was 46*, it was actually 34* outside. BTW - The shower was warm.

3. Note the flair / spike does not occur the second time the car is accellerated through 3rd and 4th gear, leading me to believe that whatever the cause, the car now has it sorted out.---->> Mechanically or Electronically?

Tranny/Flair/Spike - - - 2GR-FE-and-U660E.2006.11.12.LQ.wmv

wanderer99

YES!!!!!!!!!! That's awesome. The transmission spike is nicely documented there. For those of you that haven't seen it jump by more than 500rpm... well, you'll see it now. The RPM makes no real difference - it can do that spike just as much at 2000rpm as well. Well done.

Vandam

Thank you very much for posting this video. I've read a lot of posts explaining what the flare/spike was, but it makes it so much easier to spot once you've actually seen it.

Again, thanks again - greatly appreciated!

BTW, glad to hear the shower was warm...hopefully above 46 degrees.

MD350

You are the MAN!! Thank you for taking time to make that video. I am happy to say that this has never happened to my ES350 with 4600 miles and a 7/06 build. I do drive it similar to you, I am no Granny driver by any means.

Now I can understand why so many owners are unhappy. The transmission seems to be slipping. What does it feel like? Is there a pause in forward movement, like the car went into neutral for a moment? That sounded like a transmission slip to me.

Well documented!! Great job and Thanks again!!

ES350Bob

ons...for sure gets an attaboy, I'm not able to download it without interuption for some reason though they are working in the area, but a friend is going to for me but if Wanderer is as enthused over it actually demonstrating it that's good engough for me.

At least people can get a glimpse of it at heavier accel to also have an idea at granny or light accel. It is alarming when it happens pulling out into traffic but the gear always catches or I should say did up to point I traded the car at 1,360 miles. Who knows it could get worse to point it doesn't catch after many thousands of miles.

My newer car has behaved the last two days, so trying to hope it doesn't have this or the burning smell the other day was result of me somehow burning out the problem...LOL

ES350Bob

MD,

Yes it slips and how, as I have said over and over, an under hood recording done for engine, catching this as well, is VERY revealing, the trans sounds pitiful, really pitiful right at same time engine RPM is going skyward.

Most people will only experience the lower end of this unless they intentionally do what ons did.

ES350Bob

ons,

Give me a few days and either I will or my buddy Eric will come on here and post my under hood recordings of the sound the transmission makes when this is happening.

We can vote on it to see if it resembles the plaintive cries of a migrating Blue Whale, Humback or other...LOL


We aren't nitpickers, or enthusiasts or lame gripers finding a website. Our cars are acting strangely or worse when we post and have attempted to provide accurate descriptions.

onsknht

I PM'd an email address, you can send it and I can host it... Try selecting my video link, right click, select 'save target as,' and save to your desktop... There could be a buffering issue?

Thanks fellas for all the positive replies.

amf1932

onsknht-

As they say, "One picture is worth a thousand words"!

Great video documenting the transmission flair.

I have felt this happen occasionally when cold, but I will never do anything about it, since it really is no big deal........unless it becomes a steady thing.

Basically, this transmission is 100% better than the one in my '03 ES!!!

ES350Bob

ons.

It is a lack of skills on my part, a buddy says I am set up like Flintstones, so it may be a few days.

theredkid

Onsknht, Great documentation!
This happened once or twice on my 07/06 build ES350 too.. which has now 4100 miles.. I did not pay much attention to it though. It has not yet come back since last occurence at ~1000 miles. I wonder how many of you are seeing this flare every day?

twister

Excellent video documentary!!! This is exactly what I had with my original tranny, except my was jumping up by 2000 rpms. Also, since it was asked before, in my case I felt for a split second like car went into neutral and than back to normal. With a new tranny that I just got, I don't hear engine rev up and jump is only 500 rpms, but it happens exactly from 3rd-to-4th gear and in the same spot of the road where I had it before (my usual driving routine 2-3 minutes from a cold start). Another problem I have right now with a new tranny is sluggish acceleration, very different from how smooth it was with my original tranny.

ES350Bob

Whew, I was wondering why you seemed so casual about it before, others too for that matter. I even thought to myself maybe he hasn't experienced this before but simply thinks he did because he sure is casual about it...LOL..

Because it will get your attention and it is a WTF was that when it happens. It can be infrequent for a time and then for odd reason appear with slightly more frequency, on mine, former car that is, it would do that most often 2 to 3 and also 3 to 4.

Newer car has happened a few times but so far last 2 days has not happened, last time it did though it was around an 800 RPM spike and classic 3 to 4 with a heavy burning oil type smell when I parked.

theredkid

LOL... there are thousands of "casual" ES drivers like me on the road to enjoy the ride of ES. Unless this is a safety concern or the anormaly become obvious and consistant every day, it does not justify spending much of my time. If the car failed, I am sure my lexus dealer will take care of it.

onsknht

I can make it happen every day... I can also make it not happen.

IMO - - It all depends on how warm the car is, this is further evidenced by numerous instances of people saying it happens at the same spot. Humans are creatures of habit.

However confident I may be in my ability, I've not had the desire yet to get into a "no it doesn't, yes it does" conversation with my dealer about it.

Whatever the cause of this issue, replacement parts and or cars has not solved the problem, I clearly documented it being a "one time" occurance because the next shift sequence was flawless. FWIW - when the flare occurs and as can be heard in the video, the cold engine and transmission is a common noise to me.

I'm getting deeper into understanding the innards... I found reference to the programming issues I'm thinking exist. I've obtained a service manual and am beginning to get an understanding of the complexities, currently it's broken up and I'm trying to locate page SS-46 (shift schedule)

4th Gear Up-shift Prohibition Control
• Engine coolant temperature is 47°C (117°F)
or less and vehicle speed is 31 mph (49 km/
h) or less.
Lock-up Prohibition Control
• Brake pedal is depressed.
• Accelerator pedal is released.
• Engine coolant temperature is 60°C (140°F)
or less.