Issue with transmission
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: CA
Issue with transmission
i have a 2007 lexus es 350 that i have bought from a private seller a little more than a year ago. after a few months, my transmission started slipping. it slips the hardest in the morning when the engine is cold. it has done this for almost a year. ive taken it to mechanics but they all have said that i need a rebuilt after trying to flush the transmission. it only happens on a specific gear... i believe 2-3 or 3-4 one of them. every other gear is perfectly fine. it's pretty annoying because it happens throughout the drive. do i just keep driving this til it dies? it shows no signs of dying. appreciate the help. below is a link with a video of the issue
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
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From: CA
do i take it to a dealer to do that? how much would it cost? im a college student so im trying to save as much money as i can. ive already spent a few hundred on a flush that didnt help at all even though the mechanic recommended it.
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 4,957
Likes: 1,614
From: MI
Call and ask the dealer. I would say it will cost you around $100.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: CA
Call and ask the dealer. I would say it will cost you around $100.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: CA
Call and ask the dealer. I would say it will cost you around $100.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
90% of those cars had/have this problem. Some of them had been fixed with an ECU flash so give it a try.
Now, if you want to see if there’s a software glitch try this:
start the engine and wait 10-15 seconds, shift the lever to D and then to S. You will see number 4 on the screen. Manually shift it to 6 (4-5-6), than to 1 (6-5-4-3-2-1), than again to 6, then D and try to drive it.
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Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 4,957
Likes: 1,614
From: MI
Reflashing the ECU it’s not the same as resetting it. When you unplug the battery you can only reset the memory that holds driving type/adaptation.
When they reflash the transmission computer they do the calibration and I know for sure that in 2008 Lexus came with software update that tried to fix this issue. For some people it was able to fix the issue. For some people they had to replace the valve body, and for
some - the whole tranny which again did the same thing.
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 4,957
Likes: 1,614
From: MI
OK, try one more thing, turn on the engine, shift the lever from P>R>N>D>S4>3>2>1>2>3>4>5>6>D or R and drive it normaly. It should not flare.
but yours flares too much, I never seen anything like it before.
but yours flares too much, I never seen anything like it before.
Last edited by ESh; Nov 3, 2018 at 01:43 PM.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
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From: CA
I have tried that just now and the flare is still happening. I just wanted to say that the flare doesn’t only happen once on cold starts like many others were experiencing. Mine happens throughout the drive until l drive for like 10-15 mins
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 104
Likes: 41
From: Wisconsin
For what it is worth:
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: CA
For what it is worth:
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 4,957
Likes: 1,614
From: MI
For what it is worth:
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
I experienced the "shift-flare" issue after purchasing my 2007 ES350 in March of 2016. Had it in to the Lexus dealer a couple times, they did the software/ECU reflash (as the records show it had never been done). Nothing really seemed to change until after I had the transmission fluid flushed/changed. For some reason the combination of the fluid change and reflash seemed to help it - most of the time. Now I only experience the flare for the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and ONLY when the temps fall below freezing here in Wisconsin; the rest of the time is is fine.
Might be worth it to spend the money on the ECU flash and tranny fluid flush/change.
I know exactly why it worked after the fluid change. I did the same 10 days ago, I used Valvoline MaxLife WS and I bought new filter from Lexus. They replaced the design of the filter completely. Even the manufacturer is no longer Denso, but Roki (japanese company). This filter goes only on 6ES from 2013.
Now it works like a charm. No flare even after a cold start. I am very happy with it now.
This was the old part number:
35330-33050
this is the new one:
35330-48020
Last edited by ESh; Nov 26, 2018 at 01:50 PM.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 1
From: CA
I know exactly why it worked after the fluid change. I did the same 10 days ago, I used Valvoline MaxLife WS and I bought new filter from Lexus. They replaced the design of the filter completely. Even the manufacturer is no longer Denso, but Roki (japanese company). This filter goes only on 6ES from 2013.
Now it works like a charm. No flare even after a cold start. I am very happy with it now.
Now it works like a charm. No flare even after a cold start. I am very happy with it now.