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You are "asking" it to stay in a gear you specify, or any gear below it... If you push the car, it will shift up regardless of what you have it set to, and if you "ask" it to shift lower than it should at the current speed, it will politely greet you with a beeping sound telling you "NOT YET BUDDY."
I have gotten the wheels to chirp, shifting into 1st gear (from second gear) when coming to a stop at a red light, the traction control light actually flashes when you do it, even if TC is turned off...
-Joe
Thanks Jamo. Nice to know I can not break it if I get a little crazy.
Thanks Jamo. Nice to know I can not break it if I get a little crazy.
Tex
Just be conscientious when driving in manual, even though there are systems to protect your car, they can be fussy at times. I was once in manual mode, in first gear at a LONG stop light, driving away and forgetting about being in manual mode I was stuck in first gear but didn't know it as I was listening to music very loud. After a few seconds of wondering why my car wouldn't go any faster I realized that I had been bouncing off the rev limiter and quickly slid the shifter from sport back to normal so the car could shift up. Usually it will shift up automatically (even when in manual), but for some odd reason, the one time I can't hear it/not paying attention to it, the car didn't up-shift for me. I know I didn't cause any severe damage (that is the point of the rev limiter) but at any rate, its not particularly "good" for the car either.
When you are driving in manual mode, and lets say you are in 3rd gear, if you push and hold the shifter in the "+" position (up) the screen that shows what gear you have chosen will jump to (in your case) 8 which is the highest gear from 3 (the gear you had just been in). It may be different on your GS as it isn't US spec, but I will post a video later today to show you what I am talking about just to clarify.
-Joe
You are absolutely correct, I tried it again and it worked! Thanks
Usually it will shift up automatically (even when in manual), but for some odd reason, the one time I can't hear it/not paying attention to it, the car didn't up-shift for me.
Yes that's right, I realized that the it bounces off the rev limiter when traction control is off! That's the only time it didn't shift for me and kept bouncing off.
However, another case may be when you accelerate hard and the traction kicks in ( when it''s on ), it won't shift on it's own!
Yes that's right, I realized that the it bounces off the rev limiter when traction control is off! That's the only time it didn't shift for me and kept bouncing off.
However, another case may be when you accelerate hard and the traction kicks in ( when it''s on ), it won't shift on it's own!
Now that I think about it, you may just be dead on! That's probably what it was! I hate when our cars don't shift because traction control engaged moments before.
Once I was on the freeway shifting gears on my 07 gs350. I then downshifted to go faster while letting go of the gas pedal thinking it had a clutch and I heard a bang on the transmission like someone hit it with a sledge gammer. Can any expert tell me why this happens? Also when driving on normal mode while approaching red light and the car downshifts automatically to about second gear, it shakes a tad bit. Is that normal? Thanks.
Last edited by MagnumGuy; 03-05-15 at 10:19 AM.
Reason: want to add picture
If you put your manual shifter in your highest gear it is the same as putting it in drive. The advantage is you are ready to downshift manually.
If you downshift when going to a stop and use engine braking you increase your gas mileage. Look at you instant mpg you can see it going way up when using engine braking because
when your engine is above certain rpm and your feet is off the gas the fuel injectors shut off.
Yes that's right, I realized that the it bounces off the rev limiter when traction control is off! That's the only time it didn't shift for me and kept bouncing off.
However, another case may be when you accelerate hard and the traction kicks in ( when it''s on ), it won't shift on it's own!
have you tried this while turning VSC and all traction controls off?
I am waiting until they day I go get new wheels and tires to see what she does with all systems off....
GS 350 2007 chiming in here.... as far as my experience with the manual mode its decent and slow... in 1st Gear if I rev to red line it sometimes bounces and shifts too late... I've done this twice and now i avoid red line and shift at 6000rpm. The banging is not normal for a transmission either everything shud be smooth! Holding my shifter on + doesn't glide me to highest gear it just stays on the next gear. I figured that shifting to 1st gear you is really hard... sometimes i rev match (what?!?) so when i shift to 2nd i blip the throttle depending on how fast i'm going. usually just a tap is enough to make it smoother.
"Manual" shifting of an automatic transmission is the dumbest most useless thing the marketing people have ever dreamed up... I guess it makes people that can't drive standard feel better but it's just an elaborate illusion and I have never been in a situation where I felt that using it made sense.
"Manual" shifting of an automatic transmission is the dumbest most useless thing the marketing people have ever dreamed up... I guess it makes people that can't drive standard feel better but it's just an elaborate illusion and I have never been in a situation where I felt that using it made sense.
I tend to agree. Although I've only had my 09' for a couple of months...I've not really used this mode, nor do I really plan on it. It would seem to me the only need for it is IF you're racing or hot-rodding your car...which I don't do. As I've gotten a bit older and learned from past experiences...I tend to believe that often pushing a vehicles' limits usually results in expensive repairs. No thanks. A little "spirited driving" is one thing...but I haven't WOT'd this thing yet and doubt I ever will.
It is humorous to read this thread, I really don't understand where the notion that "S" stands for sport or anything to do with spirited driving, etc... I looked over the manual many times and it is never referred to as anything other than "S" mode. I like how people imagine the S stands for the coolest thing they can think of.
S does not let you shift anything, it allows you to knock out higher gears selectively to limit the shift range. Driving in S mode at 6 is the same as driving in D (on the GS35). Cars have had this ability since the day auto boxes were invented, my parents' old Pontiac 6000 had OD, D, 2, and 1 that let you range between all 4 mighty ratios of that car. The whole point of such selectors is to allow the driver to knock out taller gears in cases where the car is heavily loaded or towing something so that you don't blow the torque converter or damage the transmission, this is equally applicable on seep inclines, if you rely on the transmission detecting the excessive load and downshifting, you may end up with gear hunting and will in generally have a lot more load on the above components.
The difference is that in the old cars, there were not as sophisticated transmission control systems (ie computers) were dumb, so you had to pre-set your range while parked and there was a lock button on the selector in most cases. The new cars have a computer that will happily ignore you if you do something stupid like put it in 2 gear range when the car needs 4th for HWY speed.
In addition, in light of 6, and 8 speed auto boxes, the selector console would look pretty stupid if they added a position for each range, so you go into an M or S position and range through them via +/-.
If you want manual transmission get a proper car. I know people use this feature (being able to change the shift range while driving) to use engine brake force to slow down the car. I know I am guilty of doing so, but it is actually somewhat silly as well. Imagine this, you have a choice on which part of the car you want to stress and wear: the transmission or the brakes.... and you choose the transmission, seems like brakes are easier to maintain, but hey we all like to have fun.
I think it's pretty obvious that the "S Mode" is intended for sporty, fast, aggressive, etc driving. It is true that staying in a lower gear is better for inclines, towing, heavy loads, etc...but I don't think people are going to go drop $50k on a luxury sports sedan...and then go tow heavy loads with it. In fact....I can honestly say I've NEVER seen a GS "towing" anything, period. I agree that if you want to "shift" your car...go buy a standard transmission....but make no mistake, this mode is intended to be used to enhance performance.
I think it's pretty obvious that the "S Mode" is intended for sporty, fast, aggressive, etc driving. ....but make no mistake, this mode is intended to be used to enhance performance.
Says who and on what premise, please refer me to the Lexus/Toyota documentation that describes the "S" mode as anything related to sport/aggressive.
Even if it were, how would it achieve any performance enhancement by having you meddle with it's shift range, it *DOES NOT* actually shift when you push up or down, so it is not like the you actually influence the shifting decision of the transmission or make shifts any faster/more precise, etc... you are just pushing a button and feel great about your experience all the while the car mostly ignores you. At best if you manage to actually interfere with its shift decisions you will impede performance of the car by accelerating slower (albeit nosier so if you have a fart muffler then maybe you think you are sporty)
It is simply the mechanism to take the overdrive ratio gears out of the shift range, show me where it states otherwise.
BTW I have a hitch receiver on my GS... for bike rack and in case I need to tow something like a camper, this car has no trunk space whatsoever
If you actually want "Spirited driving" the transmission should be set to "ECT PWR" that holds higher rev higher and shifts down more aggressively on fast declaration to give you more acceleration through turns and after slowing down. It is clearly documented as so and does not need you screwing with the available gear range to do the downshifts.
01-22-13, 10:35 AM
