I'm curious if anyone has a better understanding of the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) systems specifically within the Lexus vehicles. I drive a 2006 GS430 and my wife has a 2007 RX350. I know the ETC are present in pretty much all new cars and basically work the same way. However, I don't like the "hesitation" that I feel at times, especially when accerating quickly.

I recall speaking to one of the service advisors at the local Lexus dealership about 1 year ago and he mentioned to me he drove a 2007 GS that he had the mechanic do some tweaking on the ETC, that alleviated this problem and improved performance.

Would appreciate any feedback. If any lexus mechanics out there, please chime in as well. thanks

 

The lag is present pretty much on all vehicles with such system. It's not even that bad on Lexus compared to some other makes, and no vehicle has that instant responce and connected feel as the good old cable throttle.

 

That is the truth right there. At least Lexus has the sport/pwr button to help sharpen up throttle response, some of the other vehicles in our house don't have such an option.

 

My 2001 IS300 had a drive-by-wire throttle and it worked fine, except for a big lag/flat spot on rolling starts from 5-10 MPH or so. If you came to a complete stop, though, or got it slow enough for the transmission to hit first gear, and then took off, it was more or less normal. The actual problem was never explained by Lexus in complete detail (and computer relashes didn't help much), but, from what I was able to gather, it could have been the system going into winter/snow mode inadvertantly, cutting the engine torque way back to prevent wheelspin.

The ES330 (and some ES300 models) some similiar drive-by-wire problems, but I don't know them in as great a detail, since I didn't own one.

 

I agree. It could be close in terms of throttle response, if they wanted them to be. But emissions and fuel economy are a bigger priority.

 

Actually, the first gen. IS had a type of hybrid throttle control system. It was actually half cable and half servo controlled.

 

VDIM is much much better than the old VSC. However VSC was always defeatable with a switch and VDIM wasn't always defeatable.

Cars need a LSD