In a different thread I think in this forum, I do recall reading someone saying driving in Sport instead of Sport+ delayed the time it took to overheat but I still did overheat on the track. I think they mentioned something on the lines of instead of overheating in 8 mins in sport+, it overheated in 15 mins in sport. Typically track sessions are 20-30 mins per round, so you still end up losing track time waiting to cool down.
Again, not what I've experienced since I don't have one, but that's what I've read. Hopefully someone here is able to figure out if all 24s or if they announce the 25s having the cooler at least with the dynamic handling package.
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May seem like a bunch of silly questions.

If the transmission overheats, the warning appears.

Question:
- Is this bad for the transmission?
- How long does it take for it to cool down?
- Why in Sports + it runs hotter?

 

1 - Presumption is that Toyota / Lexus has set a temperature threshold before the point where damage is done. If you own and track the car a lot and are constantly bumping into the temperature warning, I would assume that you should be changing the transmission fluid more often than recommended.

2 - the issue is ultimately that the default transmission cooling shares the main radiator with the engine coolant, rather than having a dedicated cooler. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to cool back off if stopped (with the engine fan on) or in casual driving.

3 - Sport S+ puts the transmission in its most aggressive mode, which would mean holding higher RPMs before shifting and shifting faster between gears. In our group of 3 on the main track at COTA / Austin, none of us were seeing a significant performance improvement in Sport S+ vs Sport (where it doesn't overheat). We found these cars to be traction limited for their weight in hard driving -- they get into the ABS easily under hard braking, and traction control is very active when accelerating out of a curve -- so it's possible that any advantage gained by the more aggressive transmission setting is mostly limited by the lack of traction.

My main concern with the lack of dedicated transmission cooling is that the car is driving around all the time at a higher transmission temp than it otherwise would have. How big that temperature difference is, I have no idea. Lexus obviously considers this to be an issue, or they wouldn't be adding transmission cooling on some of the special edition cars.

 

Lets see what 2025 brings. I plan to pull the trigger on a new bespoke order probably in the fall for a mid-year 2025 model. Hopefully that will be an option.

It would be ashamed to only offer it on the Inspiration series of cars considering the engineering that Lexus put into this piece.

 

This is 2024 LC with Dynamic Handling Package….checkout at 9:55 !

 

I have a 2024 inspiration series I just picked up new on July 23rd. I checked and my car has the transmission cooler part number 32910 but no additional radiator. The parts list mentions that its water and air cooled. It seems to be plumbed into the existing radiator the best I can tell. My car arrived into the US on May 15th, so I assume it was a March 2024 build. Thought I would share. Mine car set up exactly as the above schematic shows.

 

How did you find the parts list for your Inspiration?

 

Further back in this thread. Flowrider made a post showing the Lexus schematic with the Transmission cooler and the associated plumbing on July 11, 2023.

 

not on mine!

 

Thanks. But how do you know that part is on your car? I have a 24 Inspiration as well. Just curious if you have some documentation specific to your car or do all 24 Inspiration have the transmission cooler?

 

I sure don’t see any trans cooler on my 24… intersesing though.. it’s probably direct fit with the correct parts to upgrade…. Hopefully we will get more details in the future.

 

I removed the plastic covering in the engine bay and looked for it. It sits low behind the radiator towards the passenger side. You have to remove the plastic covering to see it, but it’s there.
They say it’s only in the Inspiration Series. I didn’t believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes. That’s why investigated it.

 

Thanks. I was thinking to do that after looking at the drawing. Thanks for verifying!

 

I wish I had taken a photo to show everyone. I might take the photo today and post here for everyone to see.

 

This is the transmission cooler