Hello good people of lexus forum
2013 es350 sitting at 123k KMs 76K miles , i wanted to know that is this a normal behaviour
so when my car is in normal mode first and second gear feels slightly jerky later gears smoother and smoother
in sports mode yes i floor it so yeah i can feel all gears shifting
in eco mode first two gears i can feel and after that its very very smooth hard to even know when it shifts
i been driving manual my whole life this the first automatic vehicle so may be i am exaggerating.

can you guys tell if its a normal behaviour of transmission, i am also due for atf change soon but afraid if there is already a problem it could get worse.
thanks !

 

Well….my opinion is that an ATF change is in order. Might help , but I do note you exercise the beast regularly.

There are a multitude of threads and posts on changing ATF, do a bit of search on this forum, and you’ll see them. I for one, don’t believe the fluid is “lifetime”, as that defies logic.

I have about the same mileage on my 2014 as you do, noticed a few odd shifts this spring, took it to my usual Toyota dealer and at their recommendation had it flushed with new Toyota ATF. This summer I went on a 3500 Km holiday. 80%highway, 20% city, nary an odd shift or stumble from the transmission.

not looking to light a flame here, just my experience. Go for it.

 

Interesting that this post came up today. This afternoon I was in the parking lot of a big box store when I noticed a guy wearing a Toyota mechanics shirt. I struck up a short conversation with him and he told me that he worked at a nearby Toyota dealership.. I brought up the subject of transmission flushes and he said he was a big believer in them. In fact he told me that his truck ( not a lexus or toyota ) had started having some transmission issues at around 150K miles. He said he did the BG transmission flush on his truck and said he could tell immediately that what he had been noticing was now no longer an issue. He told me he did the bg flush about 100K miles ago and still no transmission issues what so ever. I also asked him about the fact that Toyota / Lexus say the tranny fluid is world class or lifetime fluid. His response to me was they consider lifetime to equal 100K miles.... Previously I had decided NOT to do the fllush, but now I'm wondering again. Doesn't seem to be a definitive right or wrong on this subject.

 

Thank you @Poppa and @st1800 , that is right that changing ATF change/flush has been discussed many time and i don't want to start it here, all i wanted to know from your side is that how smooth an automatic transmission especially similar lexus model shifts in these modes, can you feel your car shifting or it's so smooth that is not discernible from first gear to last.

 

“can you feel your car shifting or it's so smooth that is not discernible from first gear to last.”

I cannot feel the transmission shifting through all the gears.

 

It is generally very smooth, however....if I back off the throttle at just the "right" moment I feel the shift very clearly. Same if I suddenly smack the throttle to the floor! But for general, around town, Econo-mode cruising? Not so much to even draw my attention to it. The tachometer gives a more obvious indication of an upshift than the seat of the pants.

 

I can honestly say I don't even notice when it shifts gears.. smooth as silk in my car.

 

Alright guys @Poppa @Tootsall @st1800 just got out of shop, got my ATF changed at 125000KMs [77600 Miles] , the fluid came out from car was red in color i am actually surprised how clean it was no sedimentation, no chips etc as people were talking in other threads. i am sorry i could not get pictures to show, but it was definitely not brown not chocolate but red and ofcourse not even pink how new looks like, if you read my original post about noticeable shifts , so far drive home was normal nothing new, i will reply back soon if there is any differences.