Hello everyone,

So I recently purchased a 2007 LS460 with 115k on it. I've noticed that about a month ago the car started driving pretty weird. The transmission would shift hard and jerky almost through the first 3 gears, like driving a manual.

Also, when I tried to floor the car from maybe 40-50mph, the rpm would shoot up only 500 then downshift and accelerate causing a violent jerk. It feels like if I was driving at 50mph on 8th gear, when I floored it the car would feel like it downshifted to 7th gear for merely less than a second and downshifted again to 4th gear causing the car to jerk hard.

This is the car's history:
- Reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery (no help)
- Auto transmission software has been updated at the dealer
- Valve springs recall has been completed
- Head covers has been changed
- Engine module has been reprogrammed by the dealer at 70k miles
- Trans fluid has been changed at 70k miles according to lexus.com service record

So at this point I really dont know what could cause this problem anymore, maybe it could be the transmission fluid?

This is driving me nuts, I have owned 4 lexus and never had any problem with those previous ones. Any helps/tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think this could be it, or at least a symptom of the problem. Why was the transmission fluid changed at 70,000 miles? It's a sealed system that shouldn't ever need changing unless there was problem with the transmission and it had to be opened up. I would try to find out about this service at 70K.

Also, what happens if you manually shift the transmission through all 8 gears?

 

The transmission service was noted as "Changed" on the lexus.com website, this could simply mean that it was refilled to the correct fluid level. Reason why I dont think it was "Flushed and changed" is because other fluids were listed on the same service date at 70k: the Differential fluid, and brake fluid which were marked "Flushed and changed".

The hard shifting is pretty consistent but the jerky thing during very hard acceleration is inconsistent, sometime turning the car on/off could solve it, but not always.

As for when I switched to manual, everything seemed to be working as normal but 3rd and 4th gears. When downshifting from 4th to 3rd, the car jerks a bit like described above.

I forgot to add one more service that the previous owner did which was the Hesitation on Acceleration TSB. So, that is pretty much everything that you can possibly done for this model.

I will be taking the car in for an oil change tomorrow and ask them to diagnose the problem, hopefully its just another software issue.

 

I drove my friend's 2008 LS460 and it feels like a completely different car. It was so smooth and no matter how hard I try to drive his car, I was never able to produce the same problem that I had.

Then he drove my car and was very surprised how my car was acting, that how I know it was a problem and not normal at all. I will try to make a video to be clearer if the problem is still there after the oil change and the initial diagnose.

 

Transmission.

 

At least take it in and have the dealer check and see if transmission was refilled properly.

It is serviceable. It does not have a dipstick, just like my 430, but it was made to have the fluid exchanged. It is not really sealed. You won't get a smooth 200,000 plus transmission if you never change the fluid. Not even with the synthetic they have used since 2004. But that is another subject.

 

A little update.

I took it for an oil change and I decided to change the transmission fluid also. Trans fluid was dirty, but after changing it I dont really feel anything different. The car still having the jerky shifting problem. Any suggestions on what should I do next?

 

Did the service department have any suggestions?

 

FINAL UPDATE: FIXED. ---- NOPE!!! UPDATE AGAIN 2/12/14. Problem came back after a week ----

I forgot to mention that when I did my oil change and transmission fluid change, I did not get them done at a Lexus dealership hence they did not follow a very specific procedure on how to change the transmission fluid. Therefore, it did not fix anything.

Yesterday I took it to a Lexus dealership and decided to do it right this time. They advised me to just do the transmission fluid again at their dealership WITH a correct procedure. It took them the whole day to let the transmission fluid cool down to a certain temperature before they could do it, so they gave me a nice loaner for 2 days. I honestly did not think it would fix this problem and get ready for the bad news.

Today, I was so scared while on my way to pick up my car, praying they would fix the problem the whole time . AND OH MY GOD, when I picked up my baby, it was like a completely new car, everything shifted so smoothly, all the previous problems has magically DISAPPEARED. On top of this great news, I also found out today that I still have free XM radio service....

Overall, it was a crazy roller coaster ride for me, I have never been so happy getting something fixed before. This really put a toll on me for the past month. I learned my lesson that there are things in this car only a Lexus dealership has the knowledge and correct procedures to do the maintenance on. These cars are so sensitive in every way, everything is computer controlled, everything has to be within certain range, certain procedures. It was so far the best $335 I spent on my baby since I got her.

I hope this thread will help fellow Lexus owners in the future.

 

Mebbe not on the XM. I think they're running a freebie for a week or so. Otherwise, great news!

 

great news, congrats

 

Ah Ha! I just assumed that all this was done at a Lexus, or at least Toyota, dealership. You certainly don't have to have everything done at a dealership, but I would never let one of those oil change shops change my oil much less touch my transmission.

Glad it worked out for you.

I think XM gives you 3 months free when a car changes ownership.

 

Yeah I learned my lesson the hard way but I'm really glad it worked out great. In the end I paid next to nothing when I changed my transmission fluid at that private shop since it was a hook up, so it wasn't too bad.

As for the XM SAT radio, I think the previous owner might have had life time subscription service. I just gotta wait and see if it expired after 3 months. I only had the car for almost 2 months now. The weird thing is I only able to access maybe 60-70% of the channels available on the channels listing on their website.

 

Hence the expression "you get what you pay for".

It's probably because when Sirius and XM merged, you had to pay extra for the channels that Sirius has that XM doesn't. If you are lucky maybe the previous owner did have a lifetime subscription. Actually if you had the 3 month trial, they probably would have already sent you a notice to subscribe.

 

yikes ive been hearing so many bad stories about these little oil change places... i think im gonna just get it done at the dealer from now on.