munozj

Hi all,

I have question for any/all of you 2014, IS350 F-Sport owners. Do any of you notice the steering become resistive at higher speeds?

When I drive at freeway speeds (70-80mph) for, say, >10 minutes, I get a very large increase in the resistance in the steering. This is combined with a complete lack of caster response, resulting in very difficult control.

This occurs in all modes, and once it happens I have to come to a complete stop before the steering once again feels normal and the caster response returns.

I've had it in the service dept. since day 4 of owning the car, but no "error code = nothing wrong". They're now trying to convince me that it's supposed to work this way because of VGRS, but I'm calling B.S. on that. The car's handling and performance are decreased at higher speeds; definitely NOT what an F-Sport car is designed to do...

Please let me know if anyone else is experiencing this same issue, or even better, NOT experiencing it!

Thanks!

enoren

Mine's a 250 AWD F-Sport. I've had it on the highway up to 85 MPH and have not experienced anything like what you describe.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

i thought all electric steering is suppose to do this, it boosts the assist for low speed maneuvering but lowers the assist during higher speeds. I feel something this even on my 2IS

munozj

Yeah, 4TehNguyn, that's how I read the description for the VGRs as well.

This feels more like the power steering is going out at higher speeds and the caster response drops to zero. Makes just changing lanes an "interesting" maneuver!

I even went back and made them let me drive another F-Sport with the VGRS. It didn't do this and yet they're still trying to convince me it's normal!

r0shiro

iTrader: (1)

I may be reading your post wrong so im sorry if I'm just re-wording your issue.

At higher speeds for me at least it seems that the degree of the wheel gets "stuck" or rather it holds its position. so if its a small degree bank, left or right, I can let go of the wheel and my steering maintains the degree of turn. Is this what you're talking about?

I guess what I'm saying is, if the wheel is not turned much, the car doesn't straighten itself out like I'm used to.

gocubs08

Yea something is def wrong.. I was just noticing today how firm and sporty the steering becomes in Sport + mode and when you are on the highway even the slightest nudge changes lanes. I really love the way the steering feels in this car..

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

well youre moving at a faster speed so any small change in steering generates a bigger change than low speeds

munozj

Yes, that's exactly it! Thanks for the feedback.

Does yours do this in ALL modes, or just Sport+? It is occurring in all modes for me, and it doesn't go away, at least not until I slow to < 20mph.

Lexus techs are saying this is a more "direct feel". However, I think it feels unsafe at high speeds, too much force to turn the wheel and no caster response creates a recipe for overcorrection. I can't simply set the cruise to 80mph and relax, have to stay on top of the car the whole time.

munozj

So you only notice the change in Sport+?

Does it immediately return to a more normal feel once you switch back to Normal mode?

Thanks.

r0shiro

iTrader: (1)

Oh good! i thought i was going crazy. I haven't brought the car in cause i suspected this is the way VGRS is intended to respond. It does it in all modes. I don't think VGRS is dependent entirely on speed but more so driving conditions. There's this onramp that I LOVE going 57north to the 60 west. I've been taking that bank at 80-85MPH for at least 12 years now. On this ramp the other day i decided to test the stiffness of the degree of the wheel and at that speed it tried to correct itself so i think it depends how aggressive your driving is.

I pride myself at how straight i can keep my vehicle in my lane. I use a comfortable 7oclock position with my left hand with no right hand. roads are never exactly straight so you constantly need to correct the vehicle. with this VGRS, at high speeds, it tries to keep it as straight as possible (or takes more wheel rotation to shift the vehicle left or right as VGRS description states) and i find myself needing more effort to keep the car actually straight when I'm cruising at high speeds on the freeway.

I'm looking into seeing if the VGRS can be shut off.

munozj

Yeah, they offered to turn VGRS off, but after trying for 30 minutes they said the couldn't do it.

All of the VGRS info I've read says it should work opposite of what we're both seeing. Higher speeds should require more steering wheel angle to turn the wheels.

At the very least, the effect should only show up with Sport+ enabled...

r0shiro

iTrader: (1)

Sorry...it seems that I read yours wrong (that's my bad) and you're reading my issue differently as well.

My car reacts the way VGRS is explained. It does take a higher (not much) degree of wheel rotation to shift the car left or right at higher speeds.

What IM saying is my wheel will "lock" at a certain degree on a bank. I can let go of the wheel at times and the car will not straighten out but keep turning at whatever angle. I think we're talking about two different things.

munozj

No, you're explaining yourself well. And we're talking about the same thing.

I also get the steering "lock" at higher speeds. This is what I'm describing as a lack of caster response; the car doesn't naturally correct itself back towards center. The steering wheel will remained at a turning angle until you manually correct it back to center.

Mine does this while simply driving straight (not banking) and is combined with a very noticeable increase in resistance.

I just want to determine if this is the way Lexus has designed the VGRS to work. If it is, I'm going to have them remove mine..

r0shiro

iTrader: (1)

Gotcha. then good! haha...

I would assume this is their attempt to add stability, which it does, but it needs to proper caster (thanks for the added vocab) too.

• keep me straight when i want to keep straight (this one I'm ok with but it comes at the cost of the next two)
• dont fight me when i want to veer left or right
• when i do veer left or right, straighten out when im done.

Let me know what the dealership tells you about the possible removal. Everyday I'm more convinced that this VGRS means less control of the vehicle in my hands and more of it in the "hands" of the IS.

munozj

Update...

Just spent an hour driving the Lexus tech up I280. He had his "Flight Recorder" hooked up to the car and was noting the steering issues when I was experiencing them.

We found there was really no repeatable way to get the steering to "lock", but it happened multiple times between 80 -90 mph in Normal Mode. Slowing below 70 mph appears to reduce the effect. Switching to Sport+ immediately "locks" the steering response, but switching back to Normal Mode doesn't guarantee the steering will loosen back up.

Lexus is going to have their engineers examine the data and try to determine why the response is so erratic, and what's triggering it.

I'll update once they let me know.