08 ES Vehicle Hesitation
 

once in a while when accelerating (getting onto highway)(trying to pass another vehicle) the rpm gauge drops to around 1000-1500 rpm's
i don't have any power even when giving gas, car becomes sluggish can't accelerate. a few second later rps's picks up and all is ok. This does not happen all the time.

I can't say that I notice a drop in RPMs but sometimes when I hit the gas to pass someone there is about a 1.5-2 second delay. It seems like it takes some time for the signal to travel from the gas pedal to the throttle. Does anyone else notice this?

I think it is drive by wire system.

Could be alot of things. How many miles? Mas could be dirty, tb dirty, need plugs, o2 sensor,ect

There is a very slight delay when you floor it at highway speeds from 6th gear. I noticed this on all the different ES350's that I test drove. It is slight, some people will not even notice it. But if you came from performance cars or manual transmissions, you may notice it.
If I can anticipate the need, I just drop mine into the manual shift mode, and even downshift again from there so the rpms are 3000 or over.Then, when you floor it, there is no hesitation. Works for me.

Me too. I've read reports about a slight delay with this type of system. It was more noticeable in my '07 than in my '10.

IIRC, for the 2010 MY, they revised the transmission to be able to jump down 2 gears (e.g., 6th to 4th) instead of going sequentially through each gear (6th to 5th to 4th) when downshifting, which would make the acceleration response feel better.

I hadn't heard that. I'll have to check it out.

I have noticed several subtle non-advertised updates and improvements with my '10 vs. my '07.

My '08 ES350 exhibits none of the problems the OP presents, floor it and go at any speed - no hesitation.

Someone told me a slight hesitation will occur when using lower octane gas.

I have an 07 and I noticed a second delay flooring from 40-60mph if i need to pass other cars on the freeway. The car seems to be confused which gear it should select for maximum power. It kind of make the situation dangerous if i have to do a sudden lane change to pass.

When i floor my car while in motion (30-50mph), occasionaly there will be a hard jerk when the car down shifts to a lower gear. I wonder if there is something wrong with my transmission. \

Does anyone have this issue?

My ES350 has a very slight lag upon asking for brutal acceleration. My '07 Impala SS answers the call immediately.

I use premium and I still have the slight hesitation.

:D

This car is capable of such...it just takes a click or two to figure out that is what you want. I have gotten used to it over the years.

And figured out that if you depress the pedal in a firm but slightly slower manner, all the way to the floor, it will respond quicker than if you jamb it to the floor.

hmm. I think. I have been doing this... putting low octane. I will ONLY use premium. henceforth and observe..