Mantras

Hi guys,

I am looking for some help from owners of the 250h. I am intertested in buying a 2010 250h with only 32k in the next day or so. I took it on a test drive and liked the city driving but when I hit the highway, I felt like the transmission was pulsing or felt like a wave. It was noticeable to all the passengers in the car.

The dealer did not know much about the 250h and brought out a kid (aka a buyer) and admitted he googled what I was feeling and said this was normal. The buyer said this was the continous switching between the gas and battery engine.

Does any one else feel pulse/ wave feeling this with their 250h? If so is this only when excelerating or going uphill?

Thank you!

TonyHS

From what you are describing, I cant say I've ever felt that. The only real difference I notice driving a cvt for 7 years now is that the rpm does not necessarily equate to car speed linearly. Can you find another one to try? Or go to a Toyota dealer and try a prius. The thing I notice most is the lexus seems to often be at a lower rpm than my old prius was. Not sure if it's programing, or the engine being more powerful. The lower rpms make the lexus more quite. But if you cant find another hs the pruis will give you a feeling of what a cvt drives like.

Hollywood6

The drive mode affects the throttle response speed. PWR-a little throttle pedal equals a lot, normal is average and ECO... You get the idea. If you have it in PWR mode you will definitely notice this surging feeling in all driving, in normal mode I notice it a little bit at certain speeds and in ECO mode you don't notice it at all. Also, whatever mode you put it in, it will stay there when you restart the car.

JayGoldste

I have about 50,000 kms (31,000 mi) on my HS and have never experienced that "pulse/wave" phenomenon. Ditto for the Prius I traded in on the HS. At highway speeds the transition from gas engine only to gas + electric (and vice versa) is seamless. OTOH, when running on just the battery at low speed (<60 km/h) there is a very brief "pulse" when the gas engine cuts in.

It sounds like there may be a problem with the car you drove.

toomeypj

I wish that were true, but when you put the HS250h in Power Mode it returns to Normal Mode when you restart the car. The Eco Mode will retain this setting after shutting it off. I use Power Mode all of the time and haven't noticed any surging. FWIW I get about 34mpg in the winter and 38 mpg in the summer and haven't noticed surging even with the Cruise Control on.

minimize10

Right on,Explained to a tee.....Very normal

TheAirman

I know what you are talking about. I think they call it "surging", and it has been written about before. Especially when the car was first new on the market and the magazines were testing it. So I'm sure if you searched, you would find others talking about it.

I have felt it in mine, mostly at a steady speed, maybe around 60, on a smooth highway. I never felt the surging at any other times and it isn't all the time, thank heavens. My co pilot has felt it too.

It must be like you said, from the motor and engine switching. Or is it a cause of the CVT?

Other than that, the car is seamless and the only other "pulse" I've felt is when the engine cuts out in ECO Mode, foot off the throttle, and the car slows to 39 mph where you can glide on electric alone.