Hair Trigger Throttle Response

[wstr75]

Our 2010 FWD RX 350 is beautiful in all respects except for a hair trigger throttle response when accelerating from rest. Of all the cars we have owned over the past nearly 40 years, this is the hardest accelerator pedal to manage from a stopped position. Too many times we lurch somewhat abruptly into motion.

I am assuming the throttle is "fly by wire" and not a direct cable arrangement (my 2006 RL is fly by wire). Does anyone know if there is a setting or adjustment Lexus can make to dampen the accelerator action a bit?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.
wstr75

[Stormforge]

i'm surprised you feel that the throttle response is too sensitive. when i test drove the 350, i thought was a little sluggish. have you tried asking your lexus dealer about making it less sensitive?

[Cruiter]

Originally Posted by wstr75

Our 2010 FWD RX 350 is beautiful in all respects except for a hair trigger throttle response when accelerating from rest. Of all the cars we have owned over the past nearly 40 years, this is the hardest accelerator pedal to manage from a stopped position. Too many times we lurch somewhat abruptly into motion.

I am assuming the throttle is "fly by wire" and not a direct cable arrangement (my 2006 RL is fly by wire). Does anyone know if there is a setting or adjustment Lexus can make to dampen the accelerator action a bit?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.
wstr75

Does the 350 have an off/on for the ECO (economy) system as the 450h does? If so, that's the issue. In the ECO mode the throttle response is electronically limited and when it's off the throttle advance is more pronounced.

[jay_man2]

Originally Posted by Cruiter

Does the 350 have an off/on for the ECO (economy) system as the 450h does? If so, that's the issue. In the ECO mode the throttle response is electronically limited and when it's off the throttle advance is more pronounced.

No it doesn't. Moving from the vehicle I traded in for the RX 350, I thought the accelerator was on the touchy side too. It took me a couple of days to get used to it, and not jack-rabbit the starts.

[The G Man]

Its the throttle mapping, there is no way to adjust it. One usually find this problem in a less refined car like the RAV4 V6, but I was a bit surprise at how touchy the throttle was when I test drove the 2010 RX.

[eaeolian]

Yeah, I'd definitely say it's touchy. I'm mostly used to it, but I still lurch occasionally.

[NemeGuero]

Just take it easy, lead foot! haha

[The G Man]

Originally Posted by NemeGuero

Just take it easy, lead foot! haha

Thats not the point, the LS460 with 100 more HP than the RX feels less touchy. A vehicle that is refined should not take that much effort to accelarate smoothly.

[MikeP]

I've noticed a slight "lurch" when my car is cold. It seems to accelerate more smoothly after the engine & transmission warm up.

[tonyhui]

Originally Posted by wstr75

Our 2010 FWD RX 350 is beautiful in all respects except for a hair trigger throttle response when accelerating from rest. Of all the cars we have owned over the past nearly 40 years, this is the hardest accelerator pedal to manage from a stopped position. Too many times we lurch somewhat abruptly into motion.

I am assuming the throttle is "fly by wire" and not a direct cable arrangement (my 2006 RL is fly by wire). Does anyone know if there is a setting or adjustment Lexus can make to dampen the accelerator action a bit?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this subject.
wstr75

The 2010 RX350 throttle response is definitely more touchy than the hybrid version. Everytime the dealer gave me a loaner I always find it harder to start smoothly than my old RX400h or my current RX450h. However, it is not excessive and I can get used to it very quickly.

Just the other day I took my old 1997 RL in to Acura for service and was given a 2009 TSX loaner. It was raining at the time and I almost spun out the moment I touched the accelerator. Now that was what I would called a touchy accelorator!

[jskennedy]

another vote for too sensitive, even after 3months

[wstr75]

Guys, thanks for the responses. I will be taking it in for service in the next month and will ask the factory trained Lexus wizards if anything can done.

wstr75

[Elex]

I had an '10 RX loaner, while my ES350 was in for service and I noticed the transmission issue right away. My '07 ES350 has the same "problem" after the transmission recalibration that was performed a few weeks ago. IMHO its not just the touchy pedal, its also this heavy engine breaking, gear hunting etc. The transmission is now very busy, downshifting on light accelerating, etc.

Interestingly enough, when I got my ES350 back, the transmission didn't do this right away.... it went several days in what I would describe "normal" mode before switching back to what I would characterize as "sport shift mode". I affectionately refer to this transmission update as "vista nascar edition" as I do not understand why Lexus would want there drivetrains to perform this way. I'm certainly not impressed and did not buy the car for a sporty busy transmission feel.

[DaRacerz]

Originally Posted by Elex

I had an '10 RX loaner, while my ES350 was in for service and I noticed the transmission issue right away. My '07 ES350 has the same "problem" after the transmission recalibration that was performed a few weeks ago. IMHO its not just the touchy pedal, its also this heavy engine breaking, gear hunting etc. The transmission is now very busy, downshifting on light accelerating, etc.

Interestingly enough, when I got my ES350 back, the transmission didn't do this right away.... it went several days in what I would describe "normal" mode before switching back to what I would characterize as "sport shift mode". I affectionately refer to this transmission update as "vista nascar edition" as I do not understand why Lexus would want there drivetrains to perform this way. I'm certainly not impressed and did not buy the car for a sporty busy transmission feel.

Not that I am an expert in this field, but what are experiencing is normal today. Most likely what was done to your car at the dealer was nothing more than a memory reset. This would bring the Tranny back into Factory mode and Factory shift pattern. From there, the Transmission learns your driving style each mile you drive. And for whatever reason, what the transmission learned and implemented is resulting in what you are feeling. This is the transmission adapting to your driving style (learning).

The best way to fix this, is simply to change your driving style. I'm not sure what, but whether thats to be more aggressive off the line or be more gentle, the car will fix itself and get that jerk out of its system. I use to notice that on my IS after driving it hard off the line a lot, but it doesn't do that anymore now that I've significantly backed off.

[data2009]

Originally Posted by DaRacerz

Not that I am an expert in this field, but what are experiencing is normal today. Most likely what was done to your car at the dealer was nothing more than a memory reset. This would bring the Tranny back into Factory mode and Factory shift pattern. From there, the Transmission learns your driving style each mile you drive. And for whatever reason, what the transmission learned and implemented is resulting in what you are feeling. This is the transmission adapting to your driving style (learning).

I was going to say the same thing. I remember the first few weeks of driving RX back in April, I felt sudden surges when starting from the stop. 7 months later, the tranny is silky smooth. I do have the tendency to 'gun it', so it definitely learned the 'heavy foot' routine. Except from driving for the first 10-20 minutes from the cold start, I feel the throttle response is more than adequate most of the time, although there is often a slight hesitation when going from 50 to 70, with high revs. Still learning, I guess...