why would you want a 350. That engine is horrible on gas. I had the 2013. How does 14-16 mpg summer time around town driving sound. That’s on a good traffic day. Winter mpg 11-12 constant. Just horrid. Had dealer check several times to no avail. Three friends had 350’s same thing. I dumped that car in 2015. Bought the 450 hybrid. Best car I ever owned. Mpg was summer driving at 20-22. Winter was 18-20. Not great but better than my 2013. Now the good news—- I bought a new 2019 last spring. Fantastic in all respects. Mpg summer (constantly) 29.5. Winter — Buffalo weather— 26.4. Very cold for early cold weather. I’m not lite of foot. I like get to where I’m going.
my advice get the hybrid. No trans to worry about and the car is fantastic. One word of wisdom— don’t get black. My 15?was and never again. I now have pearl white. Car always looks clean.

 

I sampled one in my latest test-drive of the Corolla XSE (It is only available on the top-line XSE Corollas, a marketing error IMO). Doesn't really drive much different from a conventional automatic...the conventional first-gear-launch feature helps prevent a lot of the traditional CVT flare/droning upon low-speed acceleration.

 

Buys an SUV. Complains about MPG. Jesus..

 

If that was the mileage you got in an RX350 something was dramatically wrong with it lol. The 2020 I just drove was getting solid in the 20s.

 

Actually, thanks to multi-speed transmissions with very tall cruise-gears, smaller engines, fuel-management in the engine-cylinders, less-boxy aero-styling, less use today of SUVs in their classical off-road functions (which uses a lot of fuel), more lightweight construction, and a number of other factors, many SUVs today are significantly more efficient than they were just a few years ago. That is one reason (among several) for their constantly increasing sales.

And Jesus has nothing to do with this.

 

Anyhow, back on topic, the OP asked for information on any LX/Highlander transmission lawsuits. Here is a more recent article than the one earlier mentioned....from a law firm that is doing an investigation.

https://kohnswift.com/2019/07/19/toy...ission-issues/

Transmission Issues

July 19, 2019- Kohn, Swift, & Graf is investigating Toyota brand and Lexus brand models for transmission problems and failures. Consumers are reporting numerous, yet similar issues on specific models.

TOYOTA AND LEXUS VEHICLES AFFECTED ARE DANGEROUS AND COSTLY FOR CONSUMERS

Consumers owning or leasing specific Toyota or Lexus vehicles have reported numerous transmission issues, including rough, delayed, or sudden shifting; failure to start; delayed or harsh acceleration/deceleration; hesitation, bucking, jerking, sudden loss of power; premature transmission wear; and transmission failure. This presents a potential danger while operating the vehicles, and also an expensive repair for the consumer.

The models currently affected are 2018-2020 Toyota Highlander, Sienna, and Avalon and 2018-2020 Lexus ES 250, ES350, RX 350, GS 350.

CONTACT US

If you are currently leasing or have purchased one of these Toyota or Lexus models, and experienced transmission problems, contact us. All consultations are free of charge. You may be eligible to be included in a Class Action Lawsuit.

Kohn, Swift & Graf is a national leader in class actions, including complex consumer litigation. With experienced consumer class action attorneys and a competent support staff, our firm strives to provide the highest quality of service to our clients. We treat each cause with careful attention to ensure that consumers get the justice they deserve. KS&G is centrally located in Philadelphia, PA. We handle cases nationwide.info@kohnswift.com?subject=Public%20...of%20Customers

 

Totally forget the highlander issue. The highlander for the refresh went from a 6 to an 8 speed....and the forums lit up with issues and either transmission replacements, and eventual TSBs

 

If you are spending that much money on a vehicle, why is gas mileage an issue? Also, why get an SUV? Do you work in a job that requires to be out in level 3s?
Also, is Toyota still charging extra for hybrid models? That is one thing Lincoln stopped doing and it was a great idea. If you pay more for a hybrid, how long before your gas savings covers the added cost?

That is strange that the GS350 and Highlander are having the same issues as the FWD(awd) cars. (Or is the Highlander a front biased transverse engine/tranny?)

 

And how much extra did you pay for the 450h to get better mileage? If it was a few thousand dollars then it was wasted because it is going to take a very long time just to break even unless you put a ton of miles on your car every year. If you have any issue with the hybrid system/battery, that will eat up even more money/gas savings. Dumping cars that don't get great mileage for hybrids/electrics pretty much never works out financially, you end up spending more money unless you get a much older car that cost less or about the same as what you got for the car you dumped.

My GS350 gets around or sometimes over 30mpg highway, I get 15-19mpg in more stop and go, not great, but not a gas guzzler either and no worries about a battery going out. Mid size to largish SUV's don't get good fuel economy in the first place.

 

First off it’s a lease. Without getting to deep into the weeds here the lease payment —-with the roll in of 18 months remaining— is $36.00 more a month. Going from 36 to 48 months. The longer lease is what we wanted in the first place. This included all fee’s and NYS tax’s. Being retired the trade in had low mileage. I’ve had 2007 Camry hybrid, two Prius’s, Kia hybrid(horrible hybrid system) two RX450 hybrids including my current 2019. All except the Kia were trouble free and exceptionally inexpensive to drive. “Pretty much never work out” not true in my case and the advantage outweigh the negativism you put forth. Everyone’s negotiating skills are evident in many unhappy experiences. I could not be happier with my last transaction. The young lady at Dorschel Lexus in Rochester was a miracle worker. Kinda Godly I guess.

 

The Highlander is a FWD-based vehicle (as is the RX). It has a transverse engine layout.

 

As somebody who has leased cars for decades. Let me show you where you got screwed.

1. You rolled in 18 months of lease payments. So now you're paying finance charges on those payments twice. What you should have done was traded out of the 350, and either paid off any negative equity or rolled THAT into the new lease.
2. Your payment went up "only $36" but you went from a 36 to a 48 month lease. Your actual cost has gone up DRAMATICALLY its just hidden in the additional term. You should be paying a good bit less for a 48 month term

This is a common way dealerships talk people out of leases early and into leases on new models, the dealership is in no way a "miracle worker" and what you did in no way makes any financial sense. They use going to the 48 month term as a way to hide the huge jump in lease payments due to the negative equity and the poor deal on the new car in the first place. You will find that this trade, all said and done, probably cost you $7-8,000. Pays for a lot of fuel.

NEVER negotiate a lease using the payment. You will get totally screwed.

I have a friend who has done the same thing that you did several times with the RX and now she's paying $900 a month for an NX....for 48 months. No kidding.

As for Lexus transmission suits. This is the largest Lexus forum in the world. If there were chronic transmission issues, they would be heavily discussed here. Go on forums for vehicles that do have legitimate chronic issues, those issues are very clear in the forums posts. You don't see that here...

There will ALWAYS be lawsuits by disgruntled people.

 

I drove a RAV earlier this week and it was a joke. There was at least a 3 second delay from hitting the gas to the car actually moving. The seats were extremely uncomfortable also.

 

Three seconds? That's a long time. BMW's in my experience have been responsive.

 

Well maybe 2 seconds but a significant delay. It wasn't a BMW, it was a Toyota RAV4.