The ES330 speaks to me in many ways, plus I need something smooth and comfortable for a medical issue I have (gluten ataxia and cerebellum damage - which makes excess motions, sudden bumps, and road texture / rumble hellish for my brain).

I found a bonified garage queen 2004 ES330 with only 50K miles on it and I'm very interested. The dash isn't even lifting up near the air bag. But it's at least a 2.5 hour drive, one way, for me in a town I'm not familiar with.

The ONLY reason why I'm hesitating is because of the controversial harsh shifting when getting on/off/on the throttle. I've done a lot of reading on it and I'm worried it will send my brain over the edge. I plugged the car into the lexus website and I don't see any invoices where the transmission logic was updated. My understanding is that I'd have to pay a pretty penny for this service now that the car is out of warranty.

I test drove a 2004 ES330 a couple years ago and the only issue I noticed was a lazy throttle and delayed kick-down - but those were not big deals to me. In fact, I was driving a 2016 BMW at the time, which are known for a delayed throttle response and turbo lag, so I felt right at home, in that respect. I didn't notice any harsh shifting but maybe I didn't test drive it long enough or drive it "properly" to reproduce the problem. And I don't know if that car had the transmission flashed or not though. How frequent can I expect this issue to happen? Once a day, or every time I get off and back on the throttle again, or what?

Thanks.

 

Lazy throttle is part of the transmission tuning in fact that's the core of the problem I can't tell you if this would aggravate your condition it's possible. Just because you found a cherry example doesn't change the how this particular model drives.

I personally would not buy a 4ES because the throttle response and transmission shifts don't always do what you expect. Oddly the ~2004 Highlander does not have this issue. So should you buy? I'd say no, you risk getting a beautiful condition car you can't live with. FYI the ECU tuning is somewhat random, there can be a delayed reaction at low speed you press the throttle and it might take a beat before the engine responds and/or the transmission can't decide what gear to be in.

 

With that ultra low mileage, is a good chance the car doesn't have a problem we describe. You'll know immediately when you test drive it.

if it doesn't have the problem now, then it's simply a roll of the dice. All ES 330s of that era don't develop the problem, but a significant number due. From what I understand it's an easy but extremely expensive rape the customer type fix provided by Lexus.

and you have very little chance of diagnosing defects besides the programming issue that might be causing the problem. Not surprising for a company where simply having a simply having a oldercatalytic converter will turn off traction control, and turn on a check engine light.

It's all about the money.

 

I have an '04 and, yes, they are known issues. The lag happens perhaps daily. The jerking (shifting) happens when accelerating briskly and let off the gas then get back on it; a time or two here and there- or not - daily. In regards to the shifting, you'll know how to mitigate it because it can be largely avoided if you pay attention to where the "sour spot" (pedal position) is and you'll never really think about it after a while. Bottom line, these are old cars so who cares about perfection. Definitely not a deal breaker. Ride quality is not golden smooth, nothing special so you may want to look elsewhere for a silky riding car. An example I have experience with is a 1997 Camry from years ago belonging to my employer was the best riding car ever (4 cyl model if that make a difference).

 

Thanks for the info. I'm all about older cars - except too old I start worrying about the basics of safety cage structure and getting in an accident with a newer 5000lb SUV. Hence, I don't know if I'd want to go back to the 90s for a car, but it's something I'll keep in mind.

I like the ride of the ES330 and I think it would suit my cerebellum issue nicely. My mom also has an 05 Camry and the ride works for me as well. But with my cerebellum damaged excess road noise drives me nuts - so I think the ES330 would suit me better, as it would be quieter than the Camry equivalent.

 

I wonder if the pedal commander would solve these issues?

 

Others on this forum have claimed yes it does.