randomwalk

West side Lexus and Sterling MCcall sucks big time. All they're interested in is making money..I've taken the car into them 5 times (two at WS and 3 at Sterling) for this same issue...every time they kept the car for a few days then gave me the "normal" answer. I gave up.

Road Rage

Of course he is, so am I, as several others are in here. We offer FREE advice and help clear up misconceptions. Is that bad?

jmcraney

No disrespect here, sir. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.

caha14

What diagtime said is consistent with what I've experienced with my own car. My process also started with the reflash. If I've correctly understood everything I've read and discussed with the dealership, I believe that - by and large - only 2007s required cylinder heads, so perhaps that was a moot point for my 2008, but anyway, the reflash was the only thing the dealer agreed to do.

The updated calibration on my car made a world of difference, and as I've posted in a different thread, it seemed like it was the 4th or 5th version of calibration software since the release of the LS460, so clearly Lexus had been trying different things. My car had the 2nd or 3rd version from the factory (1+ year after LS460 production began).

What triggered the hesitation for me? A new battery followed by a day of driving by my wife. That was it. The car then became unbearable to drive.

I mentioned the updated calibration, and people at the dealership were trying to talk me out of it. It seemed like the less-than-successful experience with the ES330 and RX330 reflash back in the day turned people skeptical about the success of these updates. However, the shop foreman agreed to do it. He drove the car the night before and the night after and was blown away by the improvement. Needless to say, so was I.

diagtime

absolutely correct to be skeptical about reflashes. specifically the 02-03 ES has an available update that makes the shifting more firm and decisive. However, this is often the opposite of what people want. Some techs have a tendency to reflash any time it's available to correct any related complaint. this causes problems, especially since reflashes are not reversible. there have been many other problems with other models because cars were reflashed that shouldn't have been.
I don't recommend reflash until you're sure what you're getting into.

However, I have yet to see any side-effects of the available LS460 updates......and they also work.

CJITTY

Quote de diagtime: I can tell you I've been in many 460's that I've given only about 70% throttle accelerating to 65mph......and after just that one medium-hard acceleration run, you can see a cloud of smoke from the exhaust and you will have an awful sulfur smell coming from the car..

This is true. My Dad's 2001 Caddy DTS actually recommends periodically doing wide open throttle WOT up to a certain MPH as part of owner maintenance. I know when I was in the AF, our OJ style Broncos would idle all day, but every once in a while we would let them loose on the taxiway to clear things up lol..

PEK

This was exactly what happened to me yesterday after an oil change over the weekend, a bad hesitation that almost caused me an accident. I went to Lexus of Clear Lake and the first question the advisor asked was did I change motor oil recently? He said he's not sure why it happens but it does after the oil change. For me the the lube place has put 5W20 instead of 0W20, the dealer had to drain & filled with 0W20. It was driving like new after that. So if anything can everyone verify the weight of motor oil they used when the hesitation happened? It may be related to the weight of the oil used.

Road Rage

Just so you folks know, this forum does get checked by Lexus. And this issue was #4 or #5 (can't remember) on the conference call last week, specifically clublexus.com so it's not going unnoticed. Admittedly it makes no sense, changing a fluid should have zero effect of this nature. But people are reporting it. So it will be on the mind as we say. I did about 6 or 7 oil changes on 460's today and have yet to experience this issue, but I'll keep trying.

SBlexus

That's good to know,let me be the first to say thank you!!

Road Rage

Good idea. The 07-10 models were designed to use 0w-20 or 5w-20.

jmcraney

How is it that you "insiders" turn off that MAINT light?

caha14

This is interesting. When hot, aren't 0W20 and 5W20 supposed to flow exactly the same, though? In any case, I was running 0W20 when my hesitation issues took place (already over a year ago).

jmcraney

We have seen these complaints of “odd phantom engine behavior” over several years and Lexus and their dealerships have not been able to explain this – there is much frustration over this issue. We have seen several reports here that some of this correlates to routine oil change service and the reports have come from diverse sources. Some of the “insiders” have admonished us for mentioning this and tell us that it is not possible. Well, I think the old adage “Where there is smoke, there is fire” applies here, as it does in most everything. The correlation to the oil change is probably not just coincidental or imaginary. What’s probably happening here is that, during the oil change service, a connection to the ODB-II bus is made to facilitate the reset of the oil change reminder, or to capture the VIN, or the mileage or other information. For many cars today, the OBD-II connector is the single point access for communicating with the car’s many computers and Lexus is probably no exception. It’s this connector that is used to read data from the car’s electronics and it is this connector that is used to program, and reprogram, the car’s electronics.

Here is Wikipedia link to OBD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-board_diagnostics

The OBD-II electronic tools range from very simple handheld devices to large console devices from a very wide range of manufacturers. These tools frequently require electronic updates and are subject to programming errors and viruses and malware just like PCs and other electronic devices. And these devices are connected to your car nearly every time you have anything done, from reprograming the TPMS IDs at the tire store, to getting the oil changed, to getting your yearly State inspection.

Apparently something is going wrong during the oil change that changes some of the data that is stored in the car’s electronics. This may be due to a weakness in the programming in the car, or a weakness in the programming in the OBD tools, or malicious activity.

diagtime

turn trip to trip A. turn car off. hold down reset button for trip meter. while holding reset button, take your foot OFF THE BRAKE and press the start button twice. ignition will turn on and a reset MAINT
counter thing will start on the combo meter display. keep holding reset button until it says COMPLETE.

on cars with no "reset:" button, you just hold down the odo/trip button.
IS and GS should not be on trip A, just regular ODO displayed.

diagtime

YES, mostly. Ow-20 and 5w-20are in the same viscosity RANGE at 100 degrees celcius. the 20 refers to a range of viscosities, not all "20" oils have the exact same viscosity at 100 degrees celcius. the 0w or 5w numbers refer to how cold the oil can be and still flow (around -30 to-40 degrees celcius) Even at 0 degrees celcius, 5w and 0w oils generally have about the same viscosity. Also, keep in mind that we have no idea which BRAND of oil your dealerships are using. 0w-20 oil is usually the full synthetic oil, while 5w-20 is usually either conventional or synthetic blend.

I'm still not on board with this oil theory, I have yet to see it. Just giving some information on oil.