My car just started jolting when I push down on the brake all the way. I took it to 2 different shops who told me it looks more like the ECU unit and not the transmission. Because this is a common occurrence these units are hard to find (because this is so common) so they advised me to take it to a Lexus dealer. I took it to a Lexus dealer and the service representative told me it was the transmission and quoted me very high prices. I said are you sure because both mechanic shops agreed what it was and told me it was NOT the transmission. Has anyone had this problem and knows what needs to be fixed?
RepairPal Certified shops can diagnose and repair your 2006 Lexus GS300. They provide transparent pricing with a minimum 12-month or 12,000-mile warranty on repairs and services.
If you have harsh shift from 2nd to 1st gear when down shift possible you need a new computer . Lexus has TSB for that problem .
computer from lexus dealer a round 1400$ list price no return when installed .
but you can also try to repair your old computer about only 180 $ with life time warannty .
Good luck .
ANyone know how to repair those ECU please share . thanks
Mine (2006 GS300 RWD) had exactly the same problem. Had to rebuild the transmission and put a new engine computer(Toyota part #89661-30W70). The 1st and 2nd gear began to have a jolting problem when accelerating and decelerating for about a year and finally had the harsh down shift from 2nd to 1 gear when stopping the vehicle everytime, but no problem at highway speed, no warning lights. Had inspected the transmission at local transmission shop and there were lots of sparking metal parts in the transmission oil when the transmission pan was opened. They recommended rebuilding the transmission. Had no choice. After rebuilding they had a problem with re-programming the computer. The new computer cost about additional $1350 to the rebuilding cost and the problem was fixed.
SIA Electronics (siaelec.com) fixes them. You send yours, they fix it and send it back in week (which ends up about 10 days in my experience after a few uses on different cars). Saves enough money that if you can wait, it's worth it.
I have a friend who has had the same problem with the 06 GS300. Both of us are in the electronics service business so we thought we would have a look at the ECU and see if we could determine the fault. The processor on the ECU was ruled out as the fault, as the unit still shifted, just harsh on the 2 to 1 downshift. We ordered some replacement Electrolytic capacitors and replaced them ( heat can effect these components ). This didn't fix the problem, so some more research and we found a similar problem reported with the Toyota RAV4. This turned our attention to the surface mount resistors on the ECU. After touching up all of the resistors with a soldering iron ( take ESD precautions ) the unit came good. It seems the surface mount resistors are prone to the heating and cooling cycles in the engine bay causing dry joins. If you are, or know someone who is handy with a soldering iron this would be worth a try ( you need to be able to identify surface mount resistors and be able to minimize electro-static discharge or risk doing more damage ). Search for RAV4 ECU repair to see what others have done. Attempt at your own risk and good luck.
