I've posted about my transmission issue before on my ES330 that I've only owned for 5months now. Within the last month I did a trans drain and fill using Type T-Iv fluid. I also found the small evap leak I had being a cracked hose that I taped closed. The check engine light went off by itself shortly after. The car was finally driving fine till the check engine light came on again a week later (P0442) in which the transmission started shifting and clanking on the way home. Now looking back the same thing happened when the check engine light came on a week after buying the car (I assume the seller cleared CE before selling). I have another issue as well but will make another post about that.

It made some hard downshifts and the same 3rd gear slap it does from time to time. I noticed a piece of the tape had unwrapped from the cracked hose, so I closed it back up and cleared the check engine light. Car is driving smooth again for the most part. I had bought a bottle of Lubegard Red but didnt use it simply because it feels like a computer shifting issue, as the trans shifts smooth when it runs fine. I also tried flooring the gas pedal twice to feel the power only for to it hesitate or choke up. Been driving the car like a granny due to fear of causing more damage. I just dont know what else to do at this point. Everytime I drive it now I have massive anxiety when it shifts to 3rd gear. I have no idea what to do at this point. I've spent hours researching to find many posts saying the U151E 5-speed is known for issues for 2nd to 3rd gear issues. It always has to rev high in 2nd to get to 3rd around 3200rpm.

There are several signs that should tell you about some problems with your Lexus automatic transmission.

Here are the symptoms:

• problems with shifting from second to third gear and back;
• significant punching when shifting to the first gear and to the reverse;
• grinding or whining noises from under the hood;
• limited speed or possibility to only go in one gear (usually the third gear);
• the car shifts at different revs every time, there is no logic on how it shifts gears;
• you may see the check engine light and some error messages connected with the transmission.

Each of these symptoms can also mean something else. So, you can’t easily locate the problem just by registering these symptoms. But if your Lexus is doing something like this, you can at least suspect the transmission.

 

How many miles? Did you drop the transmission pan and change the filter as suggested to you in another thread? If you are convinced the problem is electronic pop the cover off the ECU and inspect for leaking capacitors and other damage.

 

Thank you for the reply. Has 110k and I did not remove the pan to replace the filter. I dont have the proper tools to get those pesky hard to reach bolts off. Just now I stumbled upon this thread with post after post of the same issues Im experiencing in my 04. Seems these transmissions are well known for various issues and Lexus refused to offer a fix. Ive only stumbled upon one thread of a master toyota mech saying you have to reset the ECU and upload the updated transmission file to the ECU as resetting just the ECU wont fix the issue. From what he's seen personally that fixes the issue "in most cases". Where as tons of people were told my lexus thats normal for the 330 trans. I will try looking into the ECU.

 

Need to replace the filter to rule it out as a potential cause. Software update helps with lazy throttle response and odd shifting it won't fix the level of problem you are having.