storms71

About 6 months ago I bought a '08 GS 350 CPO. Love the car but after a month or two of ownership, on light acceleration 3rd and 4th gears will shudder. The whole car will buck and shake, but if I give it more gas it will smooth out. Doesn't seem to be the engine, I suspect more the transmission. Of course I took it in and they "could not reproduce the problem"... Anyone else experience this problem? Or is this just a normal characteristic of the car?

bklynchris

I just went to the dealer TODAY for this problem. Problem started on my '09 GS350 AWD after I brought it in for a 100k tranny drain & fill. After i got it back I noticed the same symptoms. Brought it back to the same Lex dealer I had the tranny serviced (Motor World, Wilkes Barre PA). They couldnt reproduce the problem and asked to keep it for longer to see if they could get it to repeat the problem. I need my car so I had to get it back the same day.
If anyone can shed some light on this please feel free to jump in.

storms71

I'm wondering if it's low tranny fluid. But as far as I know you can't check the tranny fluid level. Can someone verify that there's no transmission dipstick for the third gen GS 350's?

burny

there is no dipstick. Changing the fluid is a pain in the rump too. they have to get operating temp in the correct range before topping off

Trocks797

YES! Mine is doing this as well! It happens all the time. First the dealership told me it has to do with the AWD system, but that wouldn't make sense considering it happens when driving straight as well (so it isn't hopping). I was suspecting more engine but transmission also makes perfect sense. When I took it in for my 75k, they couldn't reproduce it. I am going to have a master tech take it for a few days. It happens far too often for them not to notice. Heck, passengers in my car often say "dude, what was THAT?!". So now I anticipate it and accelerate harder. I'd really like to know what's going on!

Dyslexus

Same issue here too. 2006 gs300 awd. Had dealer check it out and said it was normal. That I just might not be use to the electronic throttle. I still think there bs'ing me. Would love to know exactly what the dileo is!

bklynchris

i could see the tranny fluid being the problem if it were too low or too high. But I had the tech put it on the lift and check the level; it was spot-on perfect, right where it should be.
I've noticed it happens more on a cold morning if the car has been sitting overnight. I can also feel it more clearly when on an incline or going uphill.
It feels almost like the car is a manual and the clutch is trying to catch before the car stalls. It's definitely not as harsh a knock as that, but it's there and it makes you go whatthehell?
The crazy thing is the tranny upshifts it goes right back to being super smooth, which makes you think you imagined it all.

storms71

Ok, I took my car in again and this time they finally reproduced the transmission shudder problem! Thank god... Turns out to be the tranny fluid. They drained and filled the tranny 3 times with world standard fluid, cleared the ECU memory and now the shudder is mostly gone. Not completely... but A LOT better. It was covered by my CPO warranty, cost was about $450 at Classic Lexus in the Cleveland area.

BinaryJay

I'm not sure if I'd settle for mostly gone when it's under warranty. I had Toyota replace the transmission fluid shortly after I bought the car they charged me like $60 and I haven't had problems since and it's been years. I had no idea that it was something that could be botched up so badly considering Toyota did it for next to nothing...

The only transmission issue I've had and it's been the same and not changed since I bought the car is that when starting from a stop or going very slow if I accelerate only very slightly it seems to catch and jump slightly when it can't seem to decide whether to use first or second gear - I just kind of shrug it off as a quirk.

MCCR

i noticed this as well when coming to a stop, but then accelarting. haven't driven the car in a few weeks but will watch for it as soon as i get my car back from the body shop.

illini19

iTrader: (1)

2008 GS 350 AWD - same exact problem. Started happening around 90k (have 107k on it now). Took it to the dealer twice. Said they didn't see anything wrong and during their test drive ran perfect. Said they didn't even hear about anything like this. Of course it still happens. Drives me crazy. Has to be a reason and a fix and not just a "it's a little better fix" after changing the tranny fluid. Ughhh

storms71

Just to Clarify, when I say the shudder is "mostly gone" I mean a few days will go by with NO issues. Just every few days do I get a slight shudder. If I took it back to the dealer they would surely tell me they can't reproduce it. I have 21,000 more miles left on my warranty, figure I will wait until the warranty is just about up and if it's still an issue have them look at it. Right now I forget about the problem because it rarely happens anymore.

LexToy3

iTrader: (2)

Have had two Lexus Service reps and a tech all say that it is a "normal" thing for the AWD... mine seems to do it on occasion but doesnt seem to be consistant.

Kashill

Any update on this issue? I'm having the same problem with my 2008 AWD w/ 131,xxx miles. Driving me nuts...

Steve2424

I too have noticed this when slowly accelerating from about 20-30mph. However when going a little harder on the pedal it doesn't happen at all. Could this be cause for a bad axle/ cv joint, or maybe tranny mount? The shifting otherwise is smooth and responsive, and this only occurs when lightly pressing the gas. I figure it to be an AWD quirk as well, but have not really noticed this since first buying my car.