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Owner of a 2019 LS500 (Luxury Package)
Want to see if anyone has any experience with two different issues I've had so far.
1. Sometimes, when shifting between Park/Drive/Neutral, I experience a jerk (not all the time though).
I've read a couple threads, where other LS500 owners experience something similar.
Is this "normal" for the LS500s? Or early signs of transmission failure?
Don't know if it's worth mentioning, I have the automatic emergency/parking brake feature on. So the emergency/parking brake turns on when I put the car into Park.
Note: I have the Luxury Package with Air Suspension.
The rear struts raise up when in Reverse and then back down to regular height when in Drive.
Don't know if that may contribute to what I'm experiencing.
2. I believe this is common for LS500s....but does anyone else experience a delay in throttle response?
Happens very rarely...
Sometimes I hit the gas and the car goes abnormally slow, then randomly jolts and picks up speed.
Turbo lag perhaps?
Here is a thread of other LS500 owners with the same issue (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-purchase.html)
Last edited by LexusRonin; Apr 22, 2025 at 04:43 PM.
No "Jerk" when backing out but I do like to take it slow.
Sometimes a lag when pulling out onto a busy street but its rare.
49k miles, non air suspension.
Thank you!
The jerk is not just with shifting into Reverse...but just between Park/Neutral/Drive in general.
It doesn't happen all the time, just sometimes.
You haven't had that at all?
Owner of a 2019 LS500 (Luxury Package)
Want to see if anyone has any experience with two different issues I've had so far.
1. Sometimes, when shifting between Park/Drive/Neutral, I experience a jerk (not all the time though).
I've read a couple threads, where other LS500 owners experience something similar.
Is this "normal" for the LS500s? Or early signs of transmission failure?
Don't know if it's worth mentioning, I have the automatic emergency/parking brake feature on. So the emergency/parking brake turns on when I put the car into Park.
Note: I have the Luxury Package with Air Suspension.
The rear struts raise up when in Reverse and then back down to regular height when in Drive.
Don't know if that may contribute to what I'm experiencing.
2. I believe this is common for LS500s....but does anyone else experience a delay in throttle response?
Happens very rarely...
Sometimes I hit the gas and the car goes abnormally slow, then randomly jolts and picks up speed.
Turbo lag perhaps?
Hey Sajack, I 100% agree. I have a 23 LS 500 and the gear shift is the only thing on the entire car that I really don’t like. I would much prefer the beautiful shifter you shared in the picture above. I love the car but hate the shifter.
My previous vehicle, a 2018 F150 3.5 Ecoboost also had a 10 speed with paddle shifters. Pretty much the only time I used the paddle shifters or the “Tiptronic” feature in my LS500 or the F150 was to help save the brakes on downhill runs. I’m not interested in stoplight drag racing or abusing my car like a teenager.
The different shift modes seem fairly useless too. There’s not much difference in acceleration times whether I am running in Normal, Sport, or Sport+ other than
more noise from the fake noise generator thingy.
I pretty much pamper the LS500, although I do full throttle runs often, leaving the shifter in “D”.
Top three gears I believe are all overdriven, so they are pretty useless in town. The 10 speed, coupled with the very high ( low numerically ) final drive ratio makes for an excellent interstate machine.
The ‘02’s five speed works flawlessly after 23 years. I got my very first transmission fluid service at my Lexus dealer this year. It doesn’t jerk, slip, or leak and performs flawlessly.
I hope the 10 speed holds up as well. Lord knows what a new 10 speed might cost in a few years.
I purchased a new 2023 LS500 which now has 2900 miles and don't experience any jerks when going from park to reverse or reverse to drive. Car shifts with no problems when driving. I do on occasion get a clunky downshift coming to a fast stop. You can hear and feel it at the diffential. If you baby it to a slow stop the issue rarely surfaces. Took it in to Lexus and they couldn't duplicate.
Owner of a 2019 LS500 (Luxury Package)
Want to see if anyone has any experience with two different issues I've had so far.
1. Sometimes, when shifting between Park/Drive/Neutral, I experience a jerk (not all the time though).
I've read a couple threads, where other LS500 owners experience something similar.
Is this "normal" for the LS500s? Or early signs of transmission failure?
Don't know if it's worth mentioning, I have the automatic emergency/parking brake feature on. So the emergency/parking brake turns on when I put the car into Park.
Note: I have the Luxury Package with Air Suspension.
The rear struts raise up when in Reverse and then back down to regular height when in Drive.
Don't know if that may contribute to what I'm experiencing.
2. I believe this is common for LS500s....but does anyone else experience a delay in throttle response?
Happens very rarely...
Sometimes I hit the gas and the car goes abnormally slow, then randomly jolts and picks up speed.
Turbo lag perhaps?
Here is a thread of other LS500 owners with the same issue (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-purchase.html)
there is an update that the computer needs from the dealer. It's free of charge that fixes that issue. Another thread was talking about it as well
2019 with 49k miles and its rare it "clunks". Its a 10 Spd not CVT.
It surprises me only because its rare occurrence. Seems as if its on the same road and and I get caught at a light unexpected at a certain speed.
since reading this I am more aware of backing out of driveway and trying to replicate "the jerk". Perhaps I have finally mastered this type of transmission switching as not to engage the gas sooner then its actually in gear? Maybe?
Nah. I've owned a LS400, 2 LS460s. This thing will run circles around those. It has more horsepower and is more loaded. Turbos ain't no joke. I've owned 3 turbo race cars. From 4 cylinder DSMs to a turbo fox body Mustang. They all were fast. Ironically the DSMs ran faster times despite having a smaller engine. And it isn't CVT. It's a 10 speed. Same transmission that is used in the V8 LC500. More cylinders don't automatically mean faster today.
Transmission Issues
