I'm am trying to figure out a problem with my mother's 98 ES300. She noticed it had started shifting a little strange. I drove it and noticed it was hesitating to shift. The trans fluid looks fine. The check engine light was not on when I first drove it, but it finally came on when I was coming back home. The Toyota dealership has no "authorized Lexus techs", so they won't touch it
I went to Auto Zone and they hooked up a scanner that came up with the "pedal position sensor" code. They cleared the code with the scanner and the car drove like it was fixed. But it came back the next day.

So I'm guessing the sensor is bad. Or are there any other options? Like faulty wiring maybe?

1st of all, can anyone explain where this sensor is or provide a pic?

2nd, is there any way for me to test the sensor, wiring, etc to make sure exactly what the problem is?

3rd, where can I get this sensor if I need it? I haven't found any place local that has it, but I haven't been back to the Toyota dealership to see if they can get the part.

Thanks for the help!

 

The 1998 ES300 has a TPS which may read as a pedal position sensor on some aftermarket scan tools. The TPS is easy to locate. It is screwd onto the throttle body with two phillip heads. The TPS is a common condition for the ES300's shifting concerns.

 

By the way, Toyota has the same obd scan tool that lexus has so they will be able to pull the correct codes from the vehicle and tell you exactly what the TPS is reading. They also should have the parts in stock

 

Thanks a lot for the info

I figured the Toyota dealer could help, but wouldn't. Oh well. I'll go there anyway just to see if they can get me the sensor