jthbe

Am I the only one disappointed over the sport transmission?

I've finally had a chance to really test out my IS350 and frankly, the only thing I am greatly disappointed in is the shifting of the automatic transmission in sport mode.

I can get past the less than ideal speed of the actual shift in either mode, but why has Lexus designed the manual sport shift to be a secondary priority to the logic of the automatic transmission.

So there are 2 things wrong with this:

1. When accelerating hard, your manual input for shifting to a higher gear, is dependant on the torque converter. So shifting will actually take much longer if you are flooring the car and try to make a shift at say 4K RPMs...Since the torque converter says you need more RPM before shifting to a higher gear, the car will rev to the redline before actually shifting. This gives the driver a sense that the shift is taking an unusual amount of time to occur.

2. The automatic transmission will force an up shift on heavy acceleration and won’t hold the gear chosen in sport mode. This causes a delay in power as the transmission shifts to a lower gear and again removes the driver from ultimate control over RPM and shifting.

We own a TSX as well and I have to say they got it right. One of the reasons I decided to move from my BMW manual transmission to the Lexus automatic was that I had hoped the shifting in sport mode was going to be as much fun as it is in the TSX. I was wrong.

The TSX holds the gear, either up or down. You feel as if you own the driving experience without the inconvenience of a manual in traffic.

I'm hoping that this may turn into a MOD for the IS. I will be the first to signup if someone can get the car to HOLD THE GEAR!

kevp913

I agree with you 100%. It is a VERY messed up implementation. I had an 01 Acura CL and the only thing it wouldn't let me control was 1->2,2->1 shifts. Everything else was driver controlled.

For some reason they decided to mess up the IS's manual. Feels like the IS has more of a D6,D5,D4,3,2,1 than manual shifting mode. In other words, you can limit the gear in upshifts and can force downshifts, but cannot force an upshift to occur.

I would love a mod for this as well. sign me up!

jlin101

I have never been much of fan for these "manumatic" or "paddle-shift" transmissions; they are more gimmicky than of real use. How about just leaving it in auto with ECT in PWR? Is this transmission smart enough to know when to down shift?

erock901

I knew before I bought the IS350 that the sport transmission wasn't going to be like BMW's SMG or Audi's DSG. So, I guess I wasn't that dissapointed when I started playing around with the paddle shifters. That being said, I do wish Lexus would have made the sport transmission a little more "manual". I love everything else about the car but, a better sport transmission would have been nice. Sign me up for the mod too!