Where do you people come up with this stuff....the gas pedal makes a sproing sound?

 

Yep....when you lift your foot quickly from the pedal you can hear it "bounce", I guess it vibrates a little and a "sproing sound" is heard - that's a good word, who knows what you'd call it.

 

Can't say I've ever heard that on mine, but I'll give a listen next time I drive it.

 

I can attest to this as well. Kind of like when you flick one of those spring door stoppers. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does it sure gets your attention.

 

I drove with a master technician today and he says all the vehicles drive like this. I had a loaner RX with 13k miles on it and it drove terrible, worse than my RX350. The dealer basically said that they can't help me further but will send information to Lexis HQ. I asked them to refund the vehicle which they refused to do. I am again contacting Lexus HQ asking them to move my complaint up, as I am very unsatisfied that a Luxury vehicle will drive like this. Lexus knows there's an issue and they can't fix it because they need to meet EPA rules. So they have the car drive like a piece of **** so they can say X MPG. Even if there is a simple software fix to fix the issue, they won't implement it because number 1 they will have to fix all the vehicles and number 2 it would likely change the efficiency and mess up the EPA specifications. 40k to drive a car with piece of **** transmission. RX buyers be warned, look elsewhere.

 

I wonder if Lexus software engineers are not as smart( ?) as Audi, BMW, MB ones? When I drive German vehicles with 8 speed tranny I don't feel mentioned issues.
I think ECU and TCU both have to work in harmony to have a smooth running vehicle. Today's software package is modular in nature. Each individual engineers write
code for their assigned module. Then the modules are all linked together to complete a package. Individual human thinks differently. Thousands of lines of coding written by different engineers..... Hardware design change(dog clutches) and new software will have some bugs for sure.which will take some time to debug. If the issue is bugging you so much drive older RX until Lexus solves the problem.

Dealer level service technicians(even ones trained by Lexus at factory), I'd say they are not refusing to do anything, they are unable to do anything because it is beyond their level of expertise. The TSB in this case is downloading and installing the software patch from Lexus server, I am guessing.

 

Yes I agree the fix lies with Lexus. The local service centers are not able to change settings for the ECU/TCU, they can only reset to factory settings. The problem is that Lexus knows there is an issue and either are unable to fix it or they choose not to for recall or PR issues. I suspect once they discovered the issue, they were too committed to the transmission and software settings that they could not change it and correct it. Now they continue to sell vehicles with the same issue and keep it hidden. I'm going to keep calling Lexus HQ until the problem is corrected. I hope others do the same.

 

Wasn't there a TSB issued to fix this - I'm in Australia and the problem isn't evident here, but I've read on here that the TSB/new software can be installed by your Lexus dealer. Are you saying they won't do it?

 

Have you tried visiting another Lexus dealership to see whether their Service Department will address your issue differently?

 

Some of us only have one dealer to choose in Minnesota for example there is one dealer with two locations in the state

 

You guys should consider yourselves lucky compared to me. Not only do I have hesitation issues I also have vibration and Drone to deal with. Dealer says its normal, but they are trying to come up with a fix. So mad at myself that I didn't test drive this vehicle as I figured its a Lexus, what could be wrong.

 

This isnt a permanent solution but I put the RX into 3rd gear and when I get up to speed, I put it back into drive. This eliminates most of the hesitation.

At this point, I have given up on the RX and just deal with the issues. Considering trading it in for a mini van since our family is expanding.

 

I am a first time Lexus owner, having purchased a 2016 RX 350 back in '16 when they came out. I love the cars physical appearance...but have been plagued by horrendous shifting between 30-45 MPH since the first day I have had it. At first I thought it might be "learning" my driving pattern...and expected it to perhaps smooth itself out, but two years it has not improved.

I have pushed the issue with the local dealer, I have read a few threads on here of others with similar issues, I have taken it in for diagnostic checks...resetting the "learning"...and updates to the software...but it just simply stinks. It shifts worse than any crappy rental car I have driven in the last 10 years. I am now opening a case with Lexus corporate...but I really want to ask the forum...

1) Is everyone with this 8 speed transmission have the same experience? Is this unique to my vehicle..or should I believe what the technician said when driving the car with me that..."this is just the new Lexus 8-speed transmission...the old 6-speed in the earlier RX was like butter...but this one has too many gears and shifts in the 30-45 range".

2) Has anyone really fixed this issue successfully? What did it take?

I've spent hours here reading one thread...and I never found a person with a solution.
I'm a bit surprised that if this is just the way the car drives...that reviewers or Consumer Reports hasn't given this car an "unsatisfactory" driving score.

I do love the design and the interior...but every time I push down on that accelerator...my blood boils! Did I get duped into a so-called luxury car that can't even smoothly shift?

Frustrated in Florida.

 

I have spent an hour here reading this issue....and I wish to be counted among the very very frustrated owners that are being told by their service departments that this horrible shifting is simply how the vehicle behaves. For me my 2016 RX shifts so poorly between 30-45 its downright embarrassing. It misses...hesitates....confuses....and doesn't get a handle on itself until what I might assume is the 8th Gear @ 45 MPH plus.

I too am so surprised that if this is how this vehicle normally operates...that the bloggers, reviewers, Consumer Reports etc...wouldn't have dinged the driving experience for this issue. I rent dozens of cars a year and TBH...my own Lexus drives worse than anything I experience from a beat-up rental.

I have a case open with Lexus Corporate. My desired remedy is just to get it fixed (if it can be)...or I will be selling this car and chalking up my first Lexus experience as a fail. Lexus was my last hope for a good luxury Japanese option.

Sorry for ranting...but every time I press on the accelerator...my blood boils...and all of the nice leather and other features don't seem to matter.

 

It is not ranting, there are some folks who think vehicle drives OK if it starts and rolling on(maybe tooinsensitive to feel things?) The idea is shift up as quickly as possible to increase MPG. Alas! the TCU software is not perfected. ATM, only way to improve situation somewhat is driving in sports mode. The symptom worsens in COLD climate. Since you mentioned you frequently rent vehicles, then try some BMW, Audi, MB vehicles which use similar gear box. I am sure Lexus is dealing with this issue very hard behind the curtain but when they eventually done it, well, they insisted the symptom was normal to many Lexus owners.meaning they lied.