jdanielsIS

Hi all. Need some help. In September I bought a Lexus-certified 2006 IS250 6-speed manual with only 17K miles on it. I've had it for 4 months now, and put about 1500 miles on the car. I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you all can help me with.

I'm finding the car not as much fun to drive as I expected. One problem is what I'll call "rev hang". Between shifts, the revs do not drop immediately. The revs hang at wherever they were when I starting the shift, with the engine making a kind of annoying "wooo" sound. Eventually they come down, but the revs hanging like that make it difficult to shift smoothly and quickly, and actually makes it unpleasant for passengers as the howling engine between shifts is annoying. Is this common among all IS2's with manual transmissions?

Also, I seem to get a lot transmission noise into the cockpit. Sounds almost like I can hear the throwout bearing making some noise as I engage the clutch with launching slowly (like in stop and go traffic).

Hate to say it, but the more I drive the car, the less I like it given these annoyances. Oh, and please don't flame me and tell me to learn how to drive. I've been driving manuals for 30 years, have owned a dozen or so manual trans cars, driven many many more. Just need help knowing if what I'm experiencing is normal for the IS, of if mine is misbehaving. Thanks in advance for your help!!!

jdanielsIS

Ok, I did some different searches and found some stuff on IS250 manual transmission problems. Man, I wish I'd done some reading here before buying the car. I almost can't believe that Toyota could botch the design of the clutch/flywheel this bad.

I have a bumper-to-bumper Lexus warranty on the car. Do you think its even worth me trying to get it "fixed", or will I just get the same crappy parts acting the same crappy way?

fasteddy91

iTrader: (5)

The "rev hang" you are describing is due to the super heavy flywheel. I agree the design is a bad one. I have been driving manual cars for 25 years and the tranny is just as bad or worse than the 1st gen DSM eclipses/talons

Pnuge88

iTrader: (1)

hmm maybe you can solve the issues by buying the f sport quick shifter and i think theres a lightweight flywheel out for the mannys..

BTLS250

iTrader: (1)

Fidanza does make a lightweight aftermarket flywheel that would probably fix the problems if you're willing. I believe that some members have already installed it if anyone wants to shed some more light on this

jdanielsIS

Thanks for the feedback guys. Man I hate to have to tear into the drivetrain already. I'm an idiot for not giving it a more thorough and lengthy test drive. I guess its something that you think you'll get used to over time ... but over time it just gets more annoying. I also think it's especially annoying to me because my other car is 95 Miata, that has a very snappy little engine, one of the best little gearboxes ever designed, and even the stock flywheel is pretty light. Shame, because I like everything else about the IS250, just the entire manual tranny experience in the car is such a let down.

Will be interested to hear from anyone who's had the F-sport flywheel and clutch installed in an otherwise stock IS250. Maybe I can get the dealer to cut me a break at least on the labor ... yeah right.

<<UPDATE: Duh, I don't there is an F-sport flywheel. There is an F-sport clutch, but I think the heavy flywheel is the main issue with the rev-hang. Anybody done the Fidanza flywheel?>>

shui3000

Just suck it up. The transmission is still better than a lot of manuals.

Does it pop out of gear? Does the clutch slip? No.

It makes noise. I didn't like it at first, but it's a lot better than having a bmw brake down you every week.

You'll get used to it. It's still the best car in its class.

btw, make sure you push the clutch all the way down to the floor, otherwise you'll wear out the transmission in this car. My guess is that's the most common cause of problems.

I am interested if the fidanza flywheel is any better though. Anybody?

jdanielsIS

With all respect, I expect a LOT more of a low-milage Lexus than just a transmission that stays in gear and doesn't slip. Agree that it is better than a lot of manuals, and its worse than a lot of manuals, and a lot worse than some. I'm sure I'll learn to live with it, but still, it's something Lexus needs to do much better if they seriously want this car to compete with BMW.

shui3000

the overall package still beats other competitors which is why you chose the car.

if you don't feel that way, trade it in for something else.

it really isn't that noisy. drive a civic, mustang, etc. and it'll put things into perspective

Infra

iTrader: (1)

The manual transmission is definately not "sporty". It doesn't like to be rushed at all. It's kind of what you would expect from a Lexus, but not really what you would expect from the IS.

The f-sport cluth and the lighter fidanza flywheel will probably give it more of a feel of what you were expecting.

DEMIK

iTrader: (18)

civic is a honda . mustang is a ford. a 250 is a LEXUS. i love my 6spd. but i didnt pay alot of money for a noisey manual car. ive had 3 transmissions a few flywheel and clutchs.. the noise to me is watever. but when it starts grinding gears and lexus tells u that u need a new transmission thats when i get worried. could u imagine payin 4k for a tranny after warrenty??? im at 66k had my last tranny at 63k and i have a grind when its cold and wierd noises all the time. . the tranny is crap one of the worst products lexus/toyota has ever designed. but i wouldnt trade it for a bmw or anything in the world at all.. other than the tranny the 250 is one of the best lexus car i have owned.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Ever thought about bolting up a Getrag 233? It does say Toyota on the bell housing, but it's truly bulletproof.

shui3000

do you push the clutch all the way down to the floor when shifting?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It makes no difference. This particular gearbox is a junk design. I've already covered this in one of the earlier threads about the RA-62.

shui3000

sure it does. if you don't push it down all the way you're going to ruin your transmission.

no wonder why you guys complain of bad transmissions.