Lexus owners commiserate on Autoblog

Little did we know back in December when we ran the story about the Lexus ES 330 and a potential transmission hesitation problem we would have owners gathering and sharing their stories. Owners of ES 330s and Camrys fitted with a "drive by wire" system are reporting a hesitation problem when the gas is applied. Toyota states that this is a condition of the electronic throttle and owners will get used it. Apparently from the responses we received on the post and the multiple complaints at the NHTSA website (search for ES 330 auto transmission problems) owners are not satisfied with Lexus and Toyota's answer which was to reprogram the shifting patterns. We have contacted Toyota for a follow up, but have not received any news that other fixes are in the works to satisfy owners. We will continue to investigate and report any new findings in the situation.