s4iscool

Funny you post this...Ive been on 91 oct for the last 3 tanks and it's been much better. I too have been thinking its in my head, but it really does feel smoother at both light and heavy acceleration. Doesnt matter if im in eco, normal, sport.

toyotaman7

Do you see any difference in fuel economy when you use premium fuel? You would think that all the vibration would cause the engine timing to adjust to reduce the vibration and hence burn more fuel?? ⛽⛽⛽

s4iscool

I dont have vibration issues, and fuel economy hasnt noticeably changed between 87 - 91, then again its only been a few tanks.

Kajnbabe

I have only had my RX 350 about 5 weeks now and I notice there is hesitation when I take off from a stop sign or light. I started monitoring it in ECO setting vs Normal setting about 3 days ago and it's seems better in the normal setting.

Lexus1998

It really isn't in my head try prem fuel and you will see it will be at least 95% better if not perfect, this is now my 5 fill up and it running perfect.
If you doubt it just try it you got nothing lose but about $7 extra and your see the hesitation isn't there at all.

integroid

My RX only has about 3500 miles on it and I have used Premium since I pulled it off the dealer lot except for one time. In that one time I noticed the hesitation issues everyone is talking about....Plus the fuel economy sucked so I went back to 93 octane and havent had issues since. I do tend to get the bucking from a rolling start but that is more in the Transmission programming I would think.

Lexus1998

Reason I tried prem was it reminded me of when I had my GS and I tried regular fuel during the Hurricane and it gave me that same feeling, so then I said let me try it and sure enough now after 5 tanks and about 1600 miles it really isn't in my head and it really drives without that lag. On occasion if I go from 50 to 10 I will feel downswift, but that is it which I think may be normal with 8 speed and me hitting brakes hard.

I really think regular fuel is the main cause of this issue, I am sure it doesn't ruin anything so Lexus firgured we can market a Luxury SUV that uses regular gas. Being that I drive about 20k miles a year that was selling point to me but the reality is it really needs prem for it to drive without that hesitation. Maybe that why the manual says reduced performance may occur.

I am just happy there is fix, not happy about the extra cost but at same time it is Lexus.

I think they should make it requirement to avoid this backlash of compliants.

clwu

Same for me. It dosen't make it 100% better, but its much much better on high octane. Switching to Sport mode further improves the drive to literally no hesitation.

EMSLEXUSRX

Or you could keep it in sport mode with the tradeoff being less gas mileage

lulu6948

we purchased our 2016 RX in July and took it to the dealer in early August . At that time a tech when with me for a drive and confirmed that we had hesitation problem he stated that they had just heard about the issue from Lexus and that a fix was in the works.. In early September we were told that the fix was being tested and needed to have government approval b4 being released. Most likely the fix would be ready in November.....we are still being told the same thing today two months after November .. can't get anyone interested in resolving the issue.... maybe a software patch is what is needed ....I don't know but I do know that with all the hype about customer satisfaction pitched by Lexus.........it feels a whole lot more like customer abuse .....to me.

Darith

UPDATE: HEY GUYS! So far so good. I took my 16' 4RX in for the 5K service last weekend (told them about the transmission hesitation problem), and ever since I received the vehicle back, I haven't experienced the hesitation anymore in Normal driving mode (I'm in the Texas Southern Region and still using Regular 87 fuel). The engine acceleration feels much more responsive & predictable and driving is a lot more fun now. I feel like I can finally drive with confidence when crossing the street.

Gribble

what did they do to it? Did they give you a work order?

Gribble

I recently bought the Apexi Smart controller, it has done wonders for the hesitation lag. I keep the car in sport mode and use the light blue eco mode on the Apexi controller and now the car shifts so much better at lower speeds. Install is plug and play and takes about 5 mins or so

615tpc

does it stiffen up the steering in sport mode in the rx350? I prefer the tour mode steering feel with sport mode transmission shifting.

615tpc

ok I searched and found the apexi website. How did you spec it out for the rx350? Did you install it yourself...please share details and thanks in advance.