Problems with 2005 Lexus ES 330 POWER TRAIN

1. headlights: before purchasing the vehicle, i noticed the blinking caution light on the dashboard. service manager said the automatic headlight adjustment was working fine and to ignore the blinking caution light. nothing could be done. i later researched and found there are lots of complaints about this. 2. transmission lags at low speeds. this is incredibly dangerous especially when driving through traffic circles and going through busy intersections. service manager said this is normal operating and to use a higher octane gas. i am returning vehicle to lexus. *tr

The automobile seems accellerate just a little bit.when you are stepping on the gas it, kind of jumps forward some, without putting more pressure to the pedal.in motion at any speed.

When i press the accelorator there is a hesitation in the car speeding up and while driving there is sometimes that same hesitation. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to accelerate from a complete stop and also while attempting to accelerate at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was also made aware of the failure, but could not diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 52,000. the vin was unavailable.

Lexus es330 transmission. surges. *tr

My 2005 lexus es330 has had transmission problems since we bought it on 9/22/2008 with 30,057 miles on it. the transmission will at times hesitate and/or seem to be unable to find the correct gear to be in for the situation.it shows up most of the time in the 30-45mph range but it also hesitates from a standing start. at times it "looks" for a gear to be in and hesitates then hard shifts in to a gear. i also own a 2000 camry and a 2008 corolla and their transmissions work just fine. the lexus transmission just will not shift correctly for the speed and throttle input. i see this has been quite a problem with this year, make and model of lexus cars. the lexus dealer says it is "normal". this can not be normal. since i get to drive two other toyota cars with auto transmissions and they work just fine i can tell quite easily there is a big problem with this transmission. it needs to be recognized by lexus before their is a fatality due to the extreme lag at start from stop conditions. i have had the gas pedal one quarter of the way depressed before the car even recognized i had applied the throttle. this could easily cause an accident either starting from a stop sign with traffic crossing your route or the vehicle "jumping" at a start because you have the pedal part way down before the engine/transmission gets the signal and you accelerate rapidly from a dead stop. corporate toyota needs to recognize this problem and come up with a fix. it may have to be a recall or perhaps just a service notice to all 2005 lexus es330's owners. whatever it takes it needs to be done soon. this is a safety related issue it can cause accidents. *tr

Lexus es330 2005 car shifts improperly when driven at 20-35 mph, unexpected up shifts that occur to early and down shifts while slowing down causing the driver to have to modulate the braking to avoid either coming up to cars in traffic ahead to quickly or traffic coming from behind so as to avoid an accident from behind as you slow to quickly. happens only about 20% of the time but forces the driver to be vigilant constantly to avoid problems. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the vehicle hesitates abnormally when the contact attempts to accelerate. prior to the failure, she did not notice any warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. she took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure and provide a remedy. the manufacturer did not assist. the failure mileage was 30,000 and current mileage was 57,000. updated 12/08/09. *lj updated 12/10/09.*jb

2005 lexus es330 transmission "hunting" for proper gear when slowing down then wanting to immediately speed up before coming to a complete stop. *tr

Leased lexus 2005 model es330, there is a problem with the transmission where therewas a delay in shifting and the engine raced at 4000 rpm s before the transmission downshifted very hard. this acted like a major transmission slippage and a hard shift, the car hesitates as you are pulling into traffic and in a split second i have almost been hit from behind because the car did not respond normally. lexus admitted that they have this problem in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 models. dealer had a service rep look at it and state they cannot put anymore computer programs on the car and it's driving as it was designed. *ak

2005 lexus es330. hesitation & stumbling on acceleration. also transmission will not downshift. this is a well documented problem with the 2005 model year es330. there was one revision of transmission software/firmware provided but it did not fix this problem. after several complaints the lexus dealer stated "there's nothing more we can do." several internet postings suggest that this "delay" or hesitation is designed in. also, if while entering a highway, for example, the gas pedal is depressed, released and depressed again there is a much longer 2-3 second delay until power is delivered and to get proper upshifts and downshifts i have to shift the automatic transmission manually. the lexus dealer was/is very familiar with this problem but has no fix beyond what was provided for back in 2005 by lexus. this should be further investigated along with the current crop of toyota/lexus throttle problems. thanks! *tr

2005 lexus es330 hesitates when shifting gears. upon inspection mechanic determined that the code in the tcm needed to be updated. *kb since the tcm has been updated the hesitation has become much worse. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and told that the manufacture is aware of the problem. *nm

I leased a 2005 es330 from lexus a year and a half ago. immediately after leaving the dealership i noticed that the car had a transmission problem. at low speeds, under 30 mph, the car would not transition through the gears properly and would jerk suddenly upon acceleration. i also noticed that there were times when the car would hesitate for a few seconds upon acceleration from a stop or low speeds. this jerking motion and hesitation of the transmission is a common problem with my type of vehicle and has been known by lexus to be a problem for the past 5 years, since 2002. this vehicle is a safety hazard in high traffic situations as it does not respond appropriately to the drivers needs, or commands. *nm

The automatic transmission in the consumer's 2005 lexus es330 would not respond at lower speeds. *nm the vehicle hesitated when accelerating which caused loss of control. the manufacturer acknowledged the problem and is trying to find a solution. *nm

My lexus es hesitates when i try to accelerate. started when i took ownership of the car. *tr

Lexus es 330 auto transmission hesitates when needed the most. the problem causes a significant safety issue. the driver is not in control of the car during critical times of normal operation. the transmission will not respond to the driver commands properly. dealer (lexus) has told me to learn how to drive with it. *nm

Since nov 2005 i noticed a problem with the vehicle's transmission-a hesitation during acceleration that occurs over 50% of the time. the vehicle has been repaired 3 times for this problem and the lexus representative on the phone just told me it is not fixable. i believe this is a safety issue as it could cause an accident.*jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330 sedan. while driving approximately 45 mph the vehicle down shifted intermittently into a lower gear and began to lunge forward. the contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle to his destination. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the failure could not be duplicated. the failure was diagnosed by the dealer five times. the contact stated that the failure had begun to occur more frequently. the contact called the manufacturer who stated that after speaking with the dealer they confirmed that they were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. the service manager advised him that other customers had experienced the identical failure; however, unless lexus advised him, there was nothing he could do. the approximate failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 59,496. updated 9/1/10 *cn updated 09/02/10*jb

Dt: 2005 lexis es 330. the car was not shifting properly or accelerate upon pressing the gas pedal and when it did accelerate it lurched forward. when slowing down and then trying to speed up was told by the dealership that the computer could not read fast enough to know what to do. this didn't happen every time, in an hour of driving i happened at least 8 times. this was a safety issue. in stop and go traffic and changing lanes, nothing happened. it took 3 seconds for the vehicle to react to the acceleration. this has happened multiple times. *ak

Consumer 2005 lexus es 330 transmission hesitates when coming to a stop at 3-4 mph. * ts the consumer noticed that when slowing to 3-4 mph or doing a roll stop, the transmission would hesitate on acceleration then lurch forward with enough force to jerk the occupant heads. the dealer claimed that the transmission was functioning as designed. *nm

Engine hesitation when accelerating from a complete stop or a rolling stop. this has been an ongoing issue with the lexus es's for 3-4 years. other lexus models do not perform like this. why does this model and why hasn't it been corrected after the numerous complaints around the country??

I had purchased a brand new 2005 lexus es330 in 2005. the car started exhibiting transmission hesitation problems almost immediately. i brought it to the lexus dealer in cerritos, ca many times, and asked them about this behavior as something they should look at and fix. i was told it is how the computers are in the car and they refuse to acknowledge this problem. the car hesitates to pick up speed while you ar on stop sign or more importantly when changing lanes on freeway or at times you need to accelerate the car suddenly. you will get a jolt and lack of power for a second and then quick speed. now with all of the problems coming out of this company, i think it is important for me to bring this issue and i am sure there are many people who have complained about it. i use this car but try to use sparingly as much as possible. *cn

We purchased our lexus 2005 es330 brand new. we noticed the hesitation and jerking when accelerating immed after buying the car. it was taken back to the lexus dealership for the complaint two or more times. when we recieved normal services, i would ask about the acceleration and i was told that there were not any bulletins issued for the issue in which i spoke of. we were told that the car would adjust to the driver over a period of time. presently the car shifts improperly when driven at 20-35 mph, unexpected up shifts that occur to early and down shifts while slowing down causing the driver to have to modulate the braking to avoid either coming up to cars in traffic ahead to quickly or traffic coming from behind so as to avoid an accident from behind as you slow to quickly. constantly scares me when i drive it because of the non responsive and quick acceleration. *cw

After decelerating to a range of 5-15 mph and upon trying to accelerate the car exhibits a significant lag before it accelerates. dealer states per a test drive that this behavior is per design specifications, and recommended the use of premium fuel (per lexus owner's manual, regular unleaded fuel is recommended). the problem is 100% reproducible at any time within the speed ranges and scenario described.*ak

There is a problem with hesitation with my 2005 lexus es 330. when the accelerator is depressed in certain situations there is a lag before the engine responds. this is a serious safety issue with this automobile. lexus said the vehicle checks out fine. i disagree and from what i read on the net this has been a problem in past years with lexus automobiles.*ak

Since obtaining the vehicle in october of 2004, there has been a problem when the car is traveling around 20 mph after slowing down. when i step on the gas, the car does not immediately accelerate. therefore, i have to press harder on the gas so that i am not in a dangerous situation. i have taken the vehicle in three times and to two different dealers. i was initially told there was nothing wrong. the second time and new dealer said they fixed the problem. the third time i was told lexus is working on the problem and there is nothing they can do. if i must accelerate to get out of a critical and potentially dangerous situation, the car does not respond and an accident may occur. i don't want to wait for lexus to find the source of the problem. can you help? *jb

We purchased a 2005 330 lexus, sept, 2004. we had trouble with the auto de-accelerating during left turns. the dealership said it was a problem built into the system and couldn't be fixed. my husband thought it wasn't safe so less than 8 months later we traded it in for a 2005 430 lexus which has given us no problem. there was something definitely wrong with the system. it almost stopped making turns. *tr