Fostee

Colberto I'm with you, I have the exact same issue. I have a case open with Lexus and I suggest you do the same. We need to raise awareness and fight for a resolution. Please everyone open a case with Lexus so they cannot claim that this is not a major issue. Frustrated in Florida too. Shame on Lexus hiding this. Please, if you are looking at a gen 4 Lexus RX 350 stay away. If Lexus doesn't come up w a solution, like others I'm demanding a refund. Currently 2100 miles on vehicle this is unacceptable!

Koetsu

Mine doesn't. My RX350 just put in a smooth bravura performance on a 1500 mile round trip using 87 octane gasoline. So, all of them do not "drive like this". Sincerely hope you get your problem resolved PDQ.

Fostee

Koetsu thanks for your comment. Honestly when I purchased the vehicle I had 100% confidence that a new Lexus RX would drive just like you say. I only briefly test drove the vehicle because it seemed perfect and I had full confidence in the Lexus drivetrain. Unfortunately I don't have the same driving experience as you but hope to get the issue solved promptly. As you can I see I'm not the only one with this issue. Its strange how so many vehicles seem to be affected and then vehicles like yours are smooth. I've driven 2 4th gen RX 350 and both were affected with the issue.

Fostee

Here is a YouTube video of my issue.

Htony

My SIL purchased new 2017 Tundra PU and it did same thing. Toyota insisted it is normal. The truck had updated tranny like RX. He traded it in for loaded 4- Runner which had older 6 speed tranny. I was a long time Acura MDX driver, when first 2015 MDX produced in Alabama
plant came with 9 speed tranny which was doing it. Hesitation was so severe it was to a point of being dangerous. They came out with a TSB which made some difference. I drove it on sports mode only for little over 2K miles then traded it for BMW X5 which had 8 speed tranny.
X5 never exhibited those symptoms.

randomwalk

Guys,
i used to own a 2008 Lexus LS460 which already has 8 speed tranny back then...the rx350 just now has it. Anyways, we experienced the hesitation problem 10 years ago already and Lexus hasn’t addressed the issue since then...don’t expect they do anytime soon...

JT4

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I test drove a 16 GX with the old school 6 speed back to back with an 16 RX, the GX felt much more responsive even though it weighs a lot more..

My previous 2015 RX F-Sport had an 8 speed and although on occasion there was a slight hesitation on initial acceleration, it was nothing liked I experienced on my test drive.

The X5 doesn't exhibit those symptoms because it has a ZF 8 speed trans, which I have in my Q7 and it not only delivers power great it's shifts are seamless.

GSFRX350

You mentioned using the top fuel (93 Ithink) - what's the recommendation for fuel in the US in the manual? I'm in Australia and we have different octane ratings here, however the manual here states 95 which is our middle tier fuel (regular is 91 premium is 98). I too was having issues with the lack of power/changing up gears too quickly/rough upchanges, went to dealer for service who found nothing wrong but they did reset the transmission ECU. Vehicle was much better but as the days/weeks went on the habits seemed to be returning, not as bad but still there sometimes. All along I'd been using 98 (our top fuel) as I thought that would provide the best outcome for driveability just like you were thinking. Two tankfulls ago last week I thought I'd try 95 as per the manual and the good old RX 350 is smooooth as....pulls better out of corners/roundabouts without the early up changes, when it down changes they are smoother also. My garage is at the top of an incline and the car would always make a downshift just before it enters the garage which was always a rough change, now it still changes down but much smoother far more like I would expect of a Lexus. Overall much better driveability - in Australia we don't have any vibration issues though, well I haven't heard of there being problems.

Nail34

Lexus is not hiding from the hesitation issue or they would not have issued a TSB. That doesn't mean that they have a universal fix, just that they are aware of it.

The X5 which shifts so much better than the RX still jerked when going up a hill when shifting from 2nd to 1st. However the X5 engine and transmission disintegrated at 57k mile, but that's another story.

Colberto wrote "2) Has anyone really fixed this issue successfully? What did it take?"
I have 10,000 miles on my '17 RX sport and it had a hesitation problem, maybe not severe as some have mentioned but it was clearly there. At 4,000 miles I had the TSB done and it completely change the car, no hesitation at all. 6,000 miles and 6 months later it is still shifting smoothly without hesitation. So I would recommend that if you have hesitation get the TSB done. If you still have hesitation after the TSB, bring the car back to the dealer and tell them to do it again and again and again until you are satisfied with the result. And the same advice for those that have had the TSB but the hesitation came back.
Make absolutely sure that they they disconnect the battery, to reset it, for at least 30 minutes after the update.

Fostee

Lexus sent the field service technician to drive my vehicle. He was able to experience the shaking. He reset the ECU and TCU systems and drove it again stating the my vehicle drives like a new vehicle. It did seem to resolve some of this issue but the shaking still persists and the issue is not resolved. I told my Lexus case manager that I’m still not satisfied. I agree with prior poster that Lexus is probably not going to come up with a fix to the issue. For the posters that say to install the TSB, all the new vehicles already come with that TSB applied. The field service tech recommended using premium top tier fuel which I’ve been using since the vehicle was first purchased, that’s 93 octane top tier fuel.

While I understand that the shaking may not be damaging the vehicle to drive it, my main issue is that a luxury 40k SUV should not have this issue as a newly purchased product. In addition, the loaner vehicles I had drove with more miles on them drove worse than mine so I’m worried the problem will worsen as time goes on. Therefore I think I’m going to demand a refund. It’s too bad because the exterior, interior and suspension are all great. Unfortunately a shaking jerky ride is a deal breaker and not acceptable.

technodis

Fostee, i requested the same thing and had a tech come out to my local dealer last month th to address a very long list of what i consider defects in my vehicle. They sent me a denial letter right after the new year saying the car is operating as it should and that they could not offer and support at this time. I expected the response and wasn’t surprised. I also asked for a buyback. Needless to say that I am extremely disappointed with the build quality of my RX and Lexus in general. They really missed the mark with this one. I now have new issues that deal with strange noises that the dealer is unable to address or is stating that is normal for the car. Maybe normal for an older car with 200k miles but not a $60k Lexus with 30k miles. Let us know how it goes with your Lexus in round 2 Fostee.

Kajnbabe

I've had my 2017 RX-350 f-Sport w/16,200 miles for 14 months and each time I bring it in for servicing I tell them they need to fix the hesitation issues. The first time they said they did a Flash back/re-flash and I thought I saw a difference. The 2nd time I brought it in I told them to do it again b/c it still hesitates and I'm having to drive in Sport mode all the time b/c that's where I feel less hesitation and I feel safer. Eco or Normal mode there is way too much hesitation. The same technician that worked on it the first time said it was due to the way I drive. Said I needed to give it more gas at take off or when passing etc. So I left it alone and thought I'd watch the way I drive. Still driving like I have been for 40+ years and it still hesitates. So I brought it back Friday and said you have to do something about this vehicle it continues to hesitate when I take off from a stop light or sign and/or when I try to merge into Interstate/Freeway traffic and still having to drive in Sport mode and spending/wasting a ton of gas & money. They gave me a loaner, 2017 RX-350 Luxury model and this vehicle drives like a dream. It's in Eco mode and I'm telling you this car doesn't know what hesitation is b/c when you are sitting at a light, it's raring to roll. I'm serious, it's fantastic!! I sent a text message to my check-in representative and said this is how my car needs to ride. It's hard to believe the difference. Not sure when I'll get my vehicle but she said they will def keep through today which is Monday. I asked for another reset but don't know if that will help but I can't believe the difference of these two vehicles in the way they drive. The luxury model drives better in ECO mode than my f-Sport model in Sport mode.

DoanD

I had my 2017 rx350 in lexus dealer today for 20k service.
I complained about the hesitation issues. The service advisor told me that Lexus aware of the problem and trying to come up with the software update. My guess is that the car system trying to save gas mileage that caused the hesitation.
hope this help.

Rarebird

LordBowral