Had my 2014 GS350 for just about a year now. Love the car.
I noticed when I pull in or out of parking spots when my steering wheel is turned almost all the way sometimes I will feel a bump. Almost as if the car went over a small bump or if the tires were catching on something.
I asked about this during maintenance and they looked into it but didn't see anything abnormal. This is something that has been happening since day 1 I got the car.
It's not annoying or anything, I just want to make sure I'm not damaging anything.

Other thing is feeling the car change gears at slower speeds (30-40 MPH). Sometimes going around those speeds my body can actually feel the little "bump" or so which is accompanied by the bump in the needle on the tachometer.
Alternatively, I notice going at slow speeds going downhill and gently hitting the breaks will result in a noticeable "bump" as apparently the car downshifts and I will hear a sound from the engine.
These issues I've only started noticing recently but my commute also changed recently. Went from a short easy 6 minute ride to work to 50 minutes. It's possible I've only started noticing these things now.

Anyways, just wondering if this is pretty typical or may be a problem. I never have any engine lights pop up, always take it for scheduled maintenance when it's time. My car knowledge is somewhat limited.

 

Normal. Due to Ackermann steering geometry. You'll find similar behavior on Porsches and many other sportier-natured cars.

 

I have noticed this too, figured it was normal and because of AWD or something. Good to know it is because of Ackermann steering geometry, I'll have to look that up.

 

Thanks! Glad I asked.

 

Read about Ackermann Steering Geometry and also about Scrub Radius and Squirm.

When a car with a tight suspension and wide tires makes a small radius turn at a slow speed, one of the front tires can slip, jump or jerk.



You'll find it slips/skips easier when you drive over a surface that has both dry and wet patches - with the wet surface making it slip more, or when turning sharply on a surface where there are painted lines (e.g. parking lot) because the paint eliminates the friction of the rough surface texture.

 

My RC does this too.

 

I noticed this as well on my GS350 AWD. It does it even at 90 degree turn at low speeds especially when there's a slippery patch of surface.