djr

I remember a few months back someone posted that one possible fix being tested was to add some extra transmission fluid. I am wondering if anyone else with the problem has tried this or asked the dealer to try this. It seems that the cars with the problems happen mostly when the transmission is cold, and looking at the transmission fluid dip-stick, there is a level marker to check the level when "hot", as it seems that the fluid level increases when hot.

Just a thought...

Jonathann

If the “PsychDoc” is literal and not some sort of imaginary fairytale internet persona, I feel extremely bad for his patients. “Stop complaining about the depression! It’s not real. You’re imagining it. There’s no need for medication. Get over it!”
Someone’s license needs to be pulled.

It’s a shame this guy has such low expectations of his $40,000 car. Either that or he drives like my 88 year old grandmother and doesn’t realize what’s occurring as that transmission smashes into 4th gear.

When the transmission slips between 3rd and 4th gear after driving for over 10 minutes, it is a definite problem. When the car does not respond for 5+ seconds and you hear the engine revving like it’s in neutral, there is a problem. When you have been driving the car for over an hour are almost in an accident because of the car not accelerating for 5+ seconds when getting on the highway, there is a problem.

If there wasn’t a real problem, Toyota would not have replaced a single transmission. By doing so, they admitted to it. Someone’s practice is slipping and the denial caused an internet explosion.

osokuko

Oh Pleeease, it's like someone rang the dinner bell. Lol

jjbodean

respectfully disagree. this issue is an extremely small one effecting an amazingly low number of vocal owners and sales will continue to skyrocket as the overwhelming majority of consumers purchase perfectly normal es350s day after day.

gpension

My issue with this whole situation isn't really the flare, it's what they've done to my car over the past 10 months. When I brought it in the first time, my only instructions were do not make it worse. If they left it as a single issue that occurred once a day, I would be annoyed but I could have lived with it.

Instead, they replaced the valve body, then the transmission. Now, it still happens, and I'm fighting with them on next steps. I can go the lemon law route, but by the time I'm done with usage and attys fees, I might as well trade it in, and frankly, I don't have the time or energy to devote to this anymore. (MA doesn't really have a favorable Lemon Law for passing attys fees back).

This is my first Toyota/Lexus, and they have lost me for life. I understand that every car has problems, but they really screwed me in how they dealt with it.

For those of you who love your cars, I'm happy for you. If you had to go through what I'm going through, you'd understand why some of us are so angry.

PsychDoc

Looks like someone has a need to whine.

I know of a good cheese to go with that whine.

You want perfection, get a $350k Bentley.

For $40k this is one hell of a lot of car.

Get a life and get over it.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

PsychDoc, you have to understand that there IS a problem, and it is understandable to let people not only vent about their problem, but to also find a resolution to the problem.

Please don't aggravate other members by being ignorant and unsympathetic to the problem. ClubLexus looks for solutions to problems, not ignore it.

We're not whining. We are expressing our concerns with our vehicles.

We're not asking for perfection. We're asking to get our money's worth.

We do have a life, and we hope that you also participate in our common interests, such as enjoying our cars to the fullest.

I thank you for your understanding, and if you would prefer not to hear some unfortunate inconveniences with our cars (such as the tranny flare situation), I suggest you don't participate in our discussions.

Peace.

ESDragon

From what PsychDoc said in his first post, he only experience ONE flare a day during the cold start. If everyone only have one flare there will be less people complaining about the issue. Just imagine yourself having flares constantly during your commute to work everyday unless you drive like a elderly under 60 mph. This tranny topic has been beaten to death, but obviously Lexus is not addressing this issue. And to PsychDoc's statement above "You want perfection, get a $350k Bentley.", you must be ****ing retarded. My 13 year old Honda Accord doesn't even flare once with its transmission. Since you don't know what people are going through everyday with their frustration, I would advise you to keep your useless comments to yourself.

PsychDoc

Interesting question, that.

What exactly is "our money's worth?"

You can spend upwards of $55-60k for a M-B E class, and Audi A6 or a BMW 5 series and have significantly more [legitimate] complaints than folks have leveled at the ES.

So just what contitutes a reasonable "money's worth?"

I propose that every car has defects. The putative "tranny flair" in the ES is something that appears to be (at least partly) indiginous to this car. Buy another brand, you get a different laundry list of defects/complaints. As defects go, I maintain that this one is so minor of an annoyance as to be functionally irrelevant.

Indeed, if the metric we are to apply is "money's worth" then I maintain that the ES is a steal...WITH it's tranny flair.

There's not a car made which doesn't lend itself to complaining about something.

This is the one indiginous to the ES.

Big deal!

So perhaps you [and others] are "asking for perfection."

Peace

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Money's worth is different between one person to the next.

For example, one person may buy an ES350 and say it's worth every penny, and one person may buy an ES350 and find that it's not worth the price.

I'm glad to hear that you find your ES350 to be worth every penny. Other people are trying to justify if such issues are worth the price...



Personally, I have a story to tell:

I just bought an '04 Ducati recently. Got a great deal on it. However, the gas guage is extremely inaccurate, sidestand is very unstable, and the engine dies once in a while while downshifting from 4th to 3rd gear.

And I'm fine with that.

However, I can fully understand another person's frustrations if the same exact thing (or worse) happens to them.

It would be wrong of me to say that their problems (if the same or worse than mine) is nothing big. It would be wrong of me to tell them they are "whining." It would be wrong of me to tell them to "get over it." It would be wrong of me to tell them to "get a life."

We must address these issues, small or not, to make them better. Status quo may be nice, but it may not be best...

meadoel

PsychDoc is funny. Given that the commonly accepted definition of putative is "supposed" he might believe that Lexus is replacing transmissions and buying back cars for no reason at all.

Since he surely knows that putative also can mean acknowledged...I'm going to assume that's what he means. Yes, it's unique to this car. In the software world the trans. slip is a bug. It's not a design feature it's a bug.

I'm done reading his posts, and replying to them. He's just looking for attention and gets energy from each time we reply.

MD350

No need for a Bentley. My wife has a Honda Pilot. ZERO defects and is $15K less than the ES 350. Not one warranty claim to date. My Father's 05 Accord...not one warranty claim to date.

Doc, there are more issues than just the tranny. My dash has been torn apart, roof liner removed, right door panel removed, etc. The car has been put together poorly at the factory and the poor folks in the service departments are picking up the pieces. Geez, my Mother-in-law drives a Pontiac Grand Am piece of **** and she has not had these kind of issues.

Everyone has their opinion, but I did expect more from Lexus after owning 6 Honda/Acura products. Back to Honda/Acura I will go after this ES. (and maybe someday a Bentley!!)

I am glad you love the ES, your expectations are lower than mine.

ES350Bob

I am certain I could be "forced" to tolerate a rattle here and there if someone were to give me a Bentley

onsknht

HAHA!

$350 or $40,000 or $400,000 what is the difference? I'd say a heckuvalot of money, but whatever, some can just light $20 bills in their livingroom fireplace and be happy.

At any rate, the $350 is important because that's all my very first car cost me... It never once slipped the transmission.

If it did, I would have been concerned, but it didn't.

Now someone is suggesting that a $40,000 car is "normal" to have a slipping transmission????

SOrRy... I'm not drinking the Kool Aid.

Jonathann

Was I just told to get a life by someone who is spewing whine and cheese insults like a 12 year old? If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is.
I'm not whining. I am laughing. Laughing at a pathetic soul having a temper tantrum over the internet. Not to mention the idiocy of being unable to comprehend what is clearly a problem Lexus has failed to rectify. There's no need to take out the frustrations of your personal life on others who are trying to find resolutions to a common problem. As many others have noted, if you don't have anything other than nonsensical worthless gibberish to impart, go find a political forum to post on.