Hi all.

I’m new to the RCF. I test drove one today with 77k miles and I’m considering it. The owner stated (it was also stated in lexus service records) that it had an issue when he would mash the gas at highway speeds it would be sluggish to downshift and accelerate.

Has anyone had similar experiences. I could replicate if on a test drive. It’s a 2016 with performance pack.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

 

It's not a Porsche PDK the delay is fine. Buy the RC-F its the bees knees.

 

What drive mode are you in?

 

It performs the best in SPORT+/MANUAL mode with full torque converter lock-up where when you downshift or upshift, it would give instant upshifts/downshifts. Auto mode is very complex as it has artificial intelligence. so the transmission ECU learns from your driving behavior. If you drive very conservatively, it will learn to be like that and suddenly when you need the transmission to act fast, it would do weird things. Still, if you use SPORT+ with auto mode, it should be drastically better than other modes.

I never use auto mode. I only have used the SPORT+/MANUAL mode and there are never issues as I downshift myself to the right gear. If you still want to have more aggressive downshifts in AUTO mode, you can install a small bolt-on called AFE Power SprintBooster v3, which is a throttle controller. I have it as well. Because it increases the throttle response, the transmission reads it as aggressive driving behavior as the throttle is opening/closing faster. It greatly improves AUTO mode response. Also, if you have a 2015 - 2016 RCF then you can do RR racing ECU tune and it greatly increases midrange torque so there is less need to downshift and it also improves throttle/torque mapping.

 

I think any owner can confirm. If you are in normal mode and mash the gas, the car can't figure out what gear it needs to be in. It is very sluggish to move/downshift into the proper gear. But as Rolla stated, driving in sport+ & manual rids the car of this issue. Only time I am in normal mode is on the highway with cruise control on.

 

It is by far the biggest complaint about the transmission. Lexus advertises lightning fast shifts, what they fail to mention is that the quick shifting only happens when going up through the gears and your foot is to the floor.

When you punch it there is a significant delay while it figures out how low to downshift to get the car moving.

It is easily avoidable by driving in M and you control the shifts yourself.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. It makes me believe that this condition is normal, which is what I expected. Really appreciate the feedback.

 

Current owner has no idea what they are talking about. Put it in Sport or Sport+ to minimize throttle response delay/lag.

The transmission searches for the right gear to drop into in normal mode. And this is less than ideal. If I need immediate throttle response, I put in one of those two modes above.

 

having driven the RCF for four years if you cant figure out this shifting pattern you should buy a Prius. Yes when driving down the highway in normal you mash the throttle there is a slight delay to down shift. But once you are used to it is nothing. I drove manuals for years and it would be similar to putting in the clutch and down shifting to get the revs up.

 

In normal mode the car feels lazy and shifts are slow. Normal mode also engages the economy engine cycle to improve mileage. The shifts are Lexus smooth and you wouldn't guess it's an almost 500HP car.
Even Sport mode is lazy in shifting unless your in manual mode and high RPM's.
Put it in Sport+ and it's a different car, even in auto mode. I only drive in Normal when my wife is in the car....