hi, i have a VR statesman too and i was having the same peoblems as you've described plus when i put my foot down it would jump in and out of gear and have trouble picking which gear it wanted to select... i hope for your sake yours doesn't have the same problem as mine cause about 3 months after i started to notice it my transmission went completely... i just had to replace it and i had a hard time getting a transmission for it too we had to sit down and ring place after place to find a secondhand transmission for as they want $2000 for a reco and my stato already owes me TOO MUCH... i picked up a secondhand box with a 6month warantee for $650... goodluck with it!!