I am coming from a 2001 Acura CL-S which is a 5 speed automatic, and that car wouldnt' change gears that quickly. I understand cars today change gears frequently to be in the best gear for fuel efficiency?

But I feel like my ES350 changes gears so much, even at the slightest speed change. Is this normal -perhaps it's because I haven't driven a new car since my 2001, 12 years ago! Even the slightest press on the pedal will downshift the car and into the lower gear, even on ECO setting. On my Acura, pressing lightly on the accel pedal didn't result in a lower gear, as I know the engine had more than enough torque.

I also love reliability, and this makes me think the transmission would have a shorter life span with all the shifting. I still haven't asked my dealer about how often to do tranny fluid changes (which I know is a different thread altogether about discussions about "lifetime" fluid).

 

The 6 speed transmission in your ES 350 has no known excessive wear issue, unilke your previous CL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_C...ssion_concerns which was apparently rife with clutch/transmission issues.

 

I agree. Since it came out in the 2007 ES350 there are no indications of any long term (8 model years) reliability issues. Even the early flaring issues didn't seem to effect reliability.

 

I personally almost do not feel when the transmission changes gears. Very smooth operation!
With one exception. If I am driving along local roads with 40 mph speed (which is common) and slow down to about 35 mph the transmission rapidly downshifts and then upshifts hunting for the right in your mind speed. That is annoying. I am going to ask my service adviser if it is possible to reprogram the transmission to fix it.

 

Thank you. Actually, I still have the 2001 CL and no problems so far with the transmission, at 165k miles. Hope I got good luck with trannys! Everyone in the Acura CL community has been talking about this tranny issue for years -so I guess I definitely pay more attention to a car's transmission reliability than most normal people.

 

Alpinefun: I have the same annoying behavior with my 2014 ES. At 35-40 the car pulls back during a momentary downshift and then upshifts back to a "less-drag" ride. My question is whether your Lexus dealer had an impact on this behavior? And has anyone else had this issue and had it successfully addressed by Lexus?

 

We replaced a 2003 Acura TL with our new ES. The TL was known for the same transmission issues as your CL. We lost our first transmission at 65K miles. Supposedly the replacement model was a corrected design, but I never trusted Honda/Acura after that.

One of the reasons we went with the ES was BECAUSE of the transmission. With automatics up to 9 and higher speeds now, a "simple" 6 speed auto was our best bet. It also helps its been used forever in Toyota/Lexus land (along with the engine its attached to).....definitely a positive to us.

After driving the car for 1K miles I have to say I like the fact that its very transparent: it doesn't really make itself known. it just does what its supposed to, when its supposed to. No, it wont win any drag races, but thats not what an ES is for anyway.

 

I have the same issue and find it annoying. Have not addressed it with dealer as other threads I read on the same topic indicated they would just tell me it is designed that way (likely for fuel economy).

My other cars have either a manual tranny or a CVT, so I find the shifting of the Lexus a bit unusual

 

They'll probably say it doesn't need changing, but we know better.
I'll probably do a drain and refill at 50K miles, which will make it a 7 yr old car, since I only do about 7K miles a year.

 

the current 6spd u660e is a great toyota mfg'd transmission.....

 

yes...this is the common "hang up" zone, and is strictly software related. a work around is to set it on the eco setting this will force it into the overdrive gear. you good also shift into manual mode. very doubtful the techs are going to reprogram the shift points, without mother Toyota approval if within the power train warranty.

 

I usually drive in Eco mode and I still have the same shifting issue.

 

I am also noticing this in eco mode on my new ES. Hunts the gear. Also seems to engage clutch when coasting as rpms will drop way down and then come back up with a tiny bit of throttle.

I assume this is all normal but any updates some this last post 3.5 years ago?

 

 

I hope so too!!!