Hi Everyone

This is my first post on this forum

I recently purchased a IS300 2016 F sport 2 with 16700 km on it

Here is the problem:

I noticed at first that it take a lot of force to press on the accelerator, at first I tough this might be normal but still kinda annoying. Then upon getting courtesy car from the dealer RX 350 and then a IS300 when doing reg maintenance on my own car, I found that those cars require a normal force to press on the gas as all the other cars I tried in my life. Just to be clear all the other Lexus I tried including the same exact model require a normal pressure to my opinion, my car is the only one that require this extra force to press on the pedal
I then asked to the dealer to verify this but they are trying to dismiss the issue telling me it is as per spec, that their chief technician looked at it and said it was fine. They also said that they checked and that there is no code (check engine ) generated about this so it is fine

I then asked what is the value they got using a Digital Force Gauge and what is the min max of the specs, They confirmed that they do not have this tool and that because there is no check engine, that it is fine

I challenged them saying that they need to use a Digital Force Gauge to confirm the actual value and that the pressure required does not trigger a check engine, only if the dual position sensor in the pedal disagree which make the call stall for safety.
I then threaten them that I would get this reviewed by another reputable car mechanic shop, have this quoted for repair including parts labor and rental car and then that I would send them the bill or we go to small court claim.

What is your opinion or suggestion ?
Let me know
Jessy

 

I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill and your threats to a shop come off as overly demanding and obnoxious. Careful about asserting a small claims action over something obnoxious like that cause that can (and rightfully so) backfire on you.

I highly doubt there's anything wrong with your pedal. This class of car isn't going to quite behave like an RX. It's supposed to be sporty. What you perceive as "stiff" isn't actual physical pressure, but what you perceive as pressure relative to the action performed. Meaning put your car in sport mode and you'll notice the pedal "feels" different even though there's no physical change in the pedal, but how the pedal is mapped.

I think you're just not used to the car and you're expecting it to drive like a Honda Civic. Not happening.

 

Also btw, no dealer is obligated to go on a fishing expedition for you. Outside of performing reasonable checks to accommodate your concern, the burden or proof would rest with you to prove there's a defect. Without engineering data from Toyota, I highly doubt how you'd do that with a singular test from some off the street mechanic.

I say just enjoy your car and stop worrying.

If it worries you that much, pull the pedal assembly and inspect it

 

Hi everyone

Thanks E46CT for your reply, there was a noticeable difference between my car and the courtesy they gave me which was the exact same IS300 model, this is why I was making a fuss about that. The car felt like a U-Haul truck
The reason I was obnoxious with them is that they did not even want to check it since they said there was no code (check engine) that were lit up, which was clearly a way to brush me off without considering my concern. I do not like to be discarded without consideration.

I have an update:
I went to pick up the car yesterday and the dealership director asked to talk to me. He explained to me that they really tried to resolve this. Among other things, they disassembled my pedal to confirm that there was no debris or anything wrong with the mechanism, they even compared by disassembling the same brand new model they had in the show room. He showed me pictures of the disassembly. He also told that they lubed the friction location of the pedal with the little rod that go in the position sensor module in the pedal. He also mention that they created a SCAR which is for them asking for support from the engineer at Lexus to try to help resolving the issue. And they check if there was any recall, service bulletin or any report from Lexus toward this issue.
I told them that I was pleased at the effort they did and that I would calm down, at this point I felt that my concern where addressed as much as possible.

But when I got into my car I got really excited because now my pedal works perfectly and as smooth as it should. Still they are not sure what fixed it, was it disassembly re assembly or the lubing, but now it is perfect

I sent a message this morning to everyone I had escalated it to thank them for taking care of my concern

 

Sounds like all it took was some disassembly (assuming that did it). Something you could've done yourself without all the hassle of going to the dealer and causing everyone to pull their hair out. I've taken apart a BMW pedal for fun (and lubed it up for fun) but noticed no difference in operation. It was done for curiosity. a 10 year old pedal too (digital pedal)

It could be placebo effect too. There's not much inside a digital pedal to cause it to bind. It rides on a plastic pivot and has an internal spring that provides resistance. Then it hooks up to a wire harness. Not much going on inside.

Either way glad you will leave those poor guys alone now

 

Here's that picture from 2012 when I took on this little project of opening up a gas pedal. not sure you'll find something like this anywhere. At the time i was the worlds first and only that's ever explored inside. Maybe someone's opened one up again by now?

 

Not to hijack the thread, but my 2017 IS300 Fsport
gas pedal seems to sit a bit off center in relation to the
metal loop portion of the throttle mechanism.
Anyone notice similar?