The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to look into a transmission hesitation problem in certain Lexus and Toyota models to determine whether to go forward with a full investigation.

		Previous coverage Hesitation issue goes beyond Toyota's luxury line (12/10/04) Hesitating Lexus unsettling for owners (12/8/04)

The decision comes on the heels of two stories in the Post-Gazette in December. The newspaper initially wrote about problems McMurray resident Timothy W. Farabaugh said he was having with his 2004 Lexus ES330, and followed that up with similar stories from other owners of five-speed Lexus and Toyota models.

There have been no reports of accidents because of the problem, but the high volume of e-mails and telephone calls prompted by the stories warrant referral of the matter to agency investigators, NHTSA spokeswoman Liz Neblett said yesterday. She cautioned such a move does not mean that the agency would launch a formal investigation.

The hesitation problems have been reported by owners of Lexus ES330 models made between 2002 and 2004 the Toyota Camry and Highlander and other Toyota and upscale Lexus brand models equipped with the same five-speed automatics.

A search of NHTSA records and interviews with Consumer Reports magazine also show owners of other car makes are suffering from the same hesitation problem, including BMW's 3 Series, Ford Explorers and Escapes, and Dodge Durango 4x4.

David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center in Connecticut, said the magazine's testers have encountered the same problems in the Audi A6 2.7T, the Audi Allroad, the Mazda6 equipped with the V-6 engine, and the Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T.

Spokespersons for those companies could not be reached for comment.

What makes the issue perplexing is that no two models of a given car brand may have the same problem. Some owners of the makes involved say they've noticed nothing, while others will say the problem is chronic.

One Lexus dealer, for instance, has said he was able to duplicate the problem only on a few of the cars on his lot, while many others didn't have the problem at all.

The problem involves the transmission gearbox electronic control unit and the engine management control unit, Champion said.

"It's the way in which the transmission gearbox electronic control unit talks to the engine management control unit. The integration of the two systems will allow the transmission to function in the right gear and the engine to provide the power instantaneously in a smooth fashion," he said.

"When you accelerate, the gearbox may change down a gear or find the right gear, and to make the transmission takeoff a smooth one, it retards the ignition to reduce engine power. Unfortunately, while the control unit works out what it's supposed to be doing, you're putting your foot on the accelerator. It can lose its way and doesn't energize the engine and transmission quickly enough," he said.

The best thing for people who are encountering problems to do is take the issue up with their dealership first, Champion said. "Have them reprogram your engine control unit and see if that fixes the problem to your satisfaction. If not, go back and complain again," he said.

But it may be that no fix will completely eliminate the problem. That's what apparently has happened with Toyota and Lexus cars so far, though company officials have said repeatedly that they are aware of the problem and are looking for permanent fixes.