Greetings fellow GS Members,
Alexander from Germany, GS 450h 09.2013, 147,000 km currently.

I have a problem in my GS 450h on acceleration, only on specific 3,000/3,500 RPM. Vibrations only start at 90+ km/h, It's definitely tied to RPM—because if I accelerate slowly 2,500 or below, up to 150 or even 200 km/h, there is nothing. Also, if I go full throttle 4,000–6,000 RPM at 150/200, again no vibrations. Only this exact range 3,000/3,500 triggers it.

I bought the GS 1.5 years ago with this problem already. When I bought it, I didn’t notice the issue for half a year because I do 99% town driving and obviously never go above 80 km/h. But after that, I started driving Autobahn a lot and quickly noticed this issue.

So things I already did:

1. It’s not the wheels – vibrations are exactly the same on 4 different sets of wheels and tyres, one of which is brand new.
2. First things I replaced were both rear CV axles (yes, used ones from RC 300h RHD with just 50,000 km, since 300h has half the power and torque, they have barely any wear and are basically new for GS 450h – my old ones didn’t make any weird sound but looked super rusty, and RC ones I found were in very good condition and cheap – yes, part number is exactly same as GS) – 0 difference.
3. Both engine mounts and rear transmission mount – used from GS 2012+ with 70,000 km (I am not a cheapskate, I already bought all the parts brand new, but the problem is I am not sure they are the issue at all). Both used transmission mount and new one feel exactly identical on stiffness; no rubber is worn or torn on my old or 70k used GS. Engine mounts (my old and 70k GS) are not torn (like some videos I’ve seen on YouTube, where the aluminium part you screw the bolt into is basically torn off and wobbles around – not my case). You can’t inspect it visually without taking the mount off the car, so I didn’t know the exact condition. The 2 new engine mounts feel different, more “jelly-like” and less stiff – almost feel like they are defective? But probably this is normal, as rubber hardens over time and could be why my old ones and 70k GS feel stiffer, but not worn or torn. (all used parts i replaced 2 months ago, the new parts for 1.400€ came just today 30.03.2026 - so i am not even sure if replace all over again?)
4. Replaced both flexible couplings “guibo” brand new – 0 effect.

The driveshaft bearing is the only thing not replaced. When I did the guibos, I ordered an aftermarket NTY part—the only one available quickly in Germany—and it’s made differently. Original front and rear dust covers do not fit on it. That’s why I sent it back and didn’t replace it. But from what I can tell, and from other mechanics that inspected it nearby (Renault specialists), it looks good—the bearing spins freely, 0 noise like a shot bearing, the rubber is not torn or worn from appearance. The driveshaft itself looks okay; the metal cross joint also looks fine and doesn’t jump. All balancing weights are present and didn’t rot away. Yes, I was the first person to remove the exhaust since it was never removed before; vibrations were there before anybody fiddled with the car.

GS also got a TÜV (very strict Germany inspection) half a year ago when I already had vibrations, but they don’t drive the car—they check brakes, suspension, oil leaks, etc. My suspension looks okay; nothing is torn or worn; otherwise, the inspector would have noted it in the report, but he did not.

So my fear is—even if I replace both engine mounts, gearbox mount, and driveshaft bearing with completely new parts, it might not fix the issue. Speaking with GPT about this issue, he thinks it’s the “Vibration Damper 31290-30010” inside our E-CVT transmission that gave out. Two other mechanics I test-drove with—they don’t work on Lexus and never driven E-CVT—also said it looks gearbox-related instead of the driveshaft bearing I didn’t replace. What do you guys think? I am getting desperate over here, having this issue for over a year now, and I am really afraid it’s actually the damper that gave out. Is there any info on how reliable the damper is, or whether it’s a weak point? I did search for “vibrations” on this forum, but I didn’t find any exact problem like mine with 450h specifically, only 350 where people had torque converter issues, for example.

Also, vibrations are not 100% always present. Sometimes, to try and replicate it (drove with 2 other mechanics to get their opinion), I was driving exactly 3/3,500 RPM and nothing—almost felt embarrassing I couldn’t recreate the problem. Then we switched drivers, and same, nothing. Then I put it on Sport, and a couple minutes later vibrations came multiple times in bursts. Because they are exact RPM-based, you can’t keep them 100% of the drive. Also, from what I can notice, it feels like they happen more often on a hot transmission? when i drove for some time, or could be coincidence, but not sure.

Vibrations are felt in the foot area in the middle tunnel; the shift lever is also vibrating. It’s not just vibrations—it feels like “kicks,” almost like engine and gearbox mounts are non-existent and the engine just rocks up and down—even though the mounts are there and not torn. Also, a slight kick can happen if I let go of the throttle from higher RPMs (3.5/4/5/6k), but not 100% always and may vary in strength.

So if anybody has any clue what exactly it could be, I would appreciate the help. I have all the brand new parts, but I don’t own a 2-post lift—renting one in Germany costs ~20€ an hour, which is the cheapest you can find. I am ready to replace parts and invest money, but I am not sure what exactly to replace. My biggest fear is replacing the bearing and engine/gearbox mounts again for zero effect, and it turns out it’s the gearbox in the end. I’m getting really desperate here.

Yes, I already took my GS once to a Lexus dealer and explained my problem. They said they never heard of anything like that, and since the GS is so rare, I doubt they even have a couple for yearly maintenance. Anyway, they jacked up the car, looked at the tyres, and said, “Oh look, your tyres are all crooked and it must be the problem,” even though I told them I have vibrations on different new rims sets. Dealer incompetence. This is not the first time—I’ve been there for other things and always huge disappointment. I have a feeling they can’t do anything besides basic oil changes. Last time, they changed my cracked windshield, broke the panel where the rain sensor is located, and glued it together with black Butyl “beige headliner.” I didn’t notice for a couple of months until the panel fell down on one corner from gravity. I drove all winter without heated wipers because they didn’t even position them correctly on heated stripes. I found out by accident changing the wipers after winter—I thought Lexus was competent. Apparently not.

 

Since you already replaced all the common wear and tear parts, the last thing I would look into is the rear differential bushings and mounting. You mentioned you hear a slight kick when you let off the throttle. See if you can get a pry bar where the bushings are on the differential and see if there's any play or if you can see cracks, especially on the two bushings mounted to the subframe.

 

thank you for reply
1. i just did the bearing and i checked all of suspension thoroughly with flashlight, nothing is torn or looks out of place - GS got TÜV with 0 remarks as well
2. i can feel the kick not hear it - its not always and it may vary in strength it happens when you let go of the throttle on high rpm 4,5,6 mostly so like once recuperation starts the power shifts and something kicks - like similar to bad gear shift - but again it varies a lot it might be very slight it might be more notable might not happen at all

ok well bad news...
i changed the Driveshaft Bearing to new Original Lexus Part "37230-30181" - driveshaft itself looks to be ok, cross connection isn't shot, balancing weights didn't rust off, driveshaft splines were ofc marked so i put it exactly the same way together, cleaned splines and put new grease, 0 changes vibrations are exactly the same as before and now i think it has to do with transmission itself

so after changing Bearing i drove to the Autobahn to test if any changes happen - its about 10km to autobahn just 50/60 km/h through town transmission probably not even warming up much
once i was on the Autobahn i ofc started multiple acceleration tests in the vibration range 3.000/3.500 and nothing, i drove for about 20 km like that and when i was already about to exit and head home the vibrations started just as before
so at this point i think its something that once it heats up is starts to cause vibrations - cause its not the first time i already noticed it - if you try to recreate the problem it might not happen instantly only after some time - if it was driveshaft or any bushing it would probably do it 100% of time and not only after 20 minutes of driving at specific load - so the last culprit is the transmission itself

the question is now - so GS 450h unlike 300h has low and high gear (i was researching yesterday stuff about transmission for hours) so at first i thought maybe its the “Vibration Damper 31290-30010” but now i am not sure anymore - since vibration only happen 90+ km/h they happen on clutch pack N2 aka high gear - could it be this clutch pack is burned out and slipping under 3/3.5k rpm range and cause vibrations when it tries to grip but slips constantly and this causes power surges which in terms makes this huge power shift which would ofc rock the whole transmission and motor itself causing vibrations ? the one thing i don't understand - yes under 3.000 when you accelerate 2/2.500 there is not enough power to cause slippage maybe if that's the case - but why vibrations don't happen on hard acceleration already starting from 4/5.000 ? can transmission increase oil pressure to lock the clutch pack tighter together in this range - is there something else perhaps ? whatever the case now i am much more certain its the transmission itself and has something to do when it gets hot

i bought GS 1.5 years ago with about 132.000km (right now 149.000) i am the 4th owner and previous one had it 4 years and he barely did any maintenance...
exhaust was never unbolted - i was the first to ever fiddle with it
brake discs are original from 2013 front and rear - rusted and shot badly - he did replace brake pads in front, in rear ? not even sure... i bought completely new OE 356mm 2 piece Rotor front and Brembo Rotor/Pads back 1.000€+
right rear shock is leaking from the top - found by accident when i cleaned hybrid battery fan and had to removed trunk trim i saw oil on top - bought new OE about 700/800€
all of the suspension looks to be original from 2013 - doesn't look at all if anything was ever replaced from 2013
well he did replace spark plugs at least at 80 or 100.000km by the looks of it - i changed them 146.000 and those were not original from 2013 thankfully
engine coolant - brake fluid - 0 idea if those are from 2013 and ever changed - they might be original fluids i have no idea... its obviously on my to do list i just wanted to get rid of the vibrations problem and service all the rest - i have bought full brake kit front and rear with total rebuilt parts for the pistons, brake hoses and everything - i wants also to spray calipers black glossy (yes i don't want red or blue ones despite them giving at least +50HP) the only reason i didn't do it cause i was waiting for warm weather since i'll have to do everything outside cause i dont have my own garage and calipers need time for paint to dry...

so what i am also pointing to is - the transmission fluid was never changed at all cause previous owner didn't take good care of GS ...
also any Lexus/Toyota E-CVT is always such high debate if the fluid is lifetime or not - it feels like its exactly 50/50 some 1 says ofc change it - the others say never touch it, for a 250/350 i would myself always change torque converter fluid cause friction discs do wear over time and oil at some point will have too many particles that will wear out and damage solenoids but the oil changes to have be regular and start at 80/100k km - if you change it first time ever at 200/300k it might already be too late and make things even worse
in E-CVT from what i found the low and high gear clutch pack work differently - they don't slip as much if barely at all - so they don't pollute the fluid as much so in theory it should not require oil change and it actually could be lifetime but oil still degrades after time even if the car would not be driven - also GS 450h has even though varied torque it could be about 600nm combined which is a lot and i have no idea if the clutch pack 13 years later on old oil can even hold as much - how much wear did it see - can it really burn/wear out ? but in this regard i don't have much experience - so if anybody else owns a 450h can you tell me your experience - did you ever change your E-CVT fluid ? if yes at what km/miles and if it made any difference ? cause i don't know is there any reason to change my fluid now? and if the 2-High Gear clutch pack is truly burned/damaged will it make things only worse?

 

ok well after looking at this video - i think my “Vibration Damper 31290-30010” is also gone the same way, for people who don't understand Russian in video - yes GS has 250.000km down, but the owner also raced the car, did some drifts and what not - and the previous owner of my GS also told me he raced it a lot 250 km/h+ and tried to drift
so i am now even more positive i have the same problem - in the video the 4 rivets holding the alignment plate are sheered clean off - they also got stuck between the springs making those pop out of the socket and shifting the weight of the whole thing - because the transmission shaft was not aligned it shifted and started to grind on the bearing and housing - they say there was a lot of metal particles in the oil and last kilometers transmission was making huge whining noise, so it's pretty much toast and hence why you can see 2 transmission in the video cause they will be using different one ofc ...

i already ordered 8 Liter Toyota ATF WS and 500ml Syringe to fill it back up, i'll be dropping the oil pan completely to see exactly whats going on inside - if there is metal deposits maybe? after that i will decide what to do - if there are metal deposits then well GS is probably toast cause finding new transmission, ordering the damper, + the work to drop engine+transmission of which i'll never be able to do myself, makes it a very big investment not worth it probably
if there are no metal particles - and only the damper is broken then maybe it will be worth it to repair... i'll have to find some workshop who can drop the engine and not ask a gold bar for it

does anybody have info or tips on correct fluid refilling ? there are complicated instructions i would guess - i have never changed transmission fluid on any car, so any info or video link would be appreciated - but only for 450h please - i am sure 350 is different procedure in this regard
and yes i have Techstream if its needed for the procedure

Thank you!

 

Lol all I understood was small video.

The easy way would be to measure exactly what you drain out, and make sure to put that same amount back in. That of course assumes you have not lost any.

The proper way is to make sure car is level and you have to bring the transmission fluid up to temp by going between D and R multiple times. Something like this:

 

Ok i managed to refill my Transmission, the syringe is absolute garbage, refilling through cooling hose was a nightmare, and final temperature procedure wasted 2+ hours...
so after it was refilled i checked Techstream - for some reason there is every temp there for motor or hybrid, coolant, inverter, MG1- MG-2 everything is there except the most important transmission oil temp - WTF?
so i went to the non-Techstream route - bridge OBD and go to maintenance mode - for me D was flashing instantly - tried multiple times, started searching everything on youtube/google/GPT - cause i could not believe that my Oil is too hot since i dropped oil pan and car was almost 2 hours cooling + the oil itself was cold - or like 20° so i thought i was doing something wrong ?
after like 2+ hours of pain i put a big fan under the car and aimed at transmission - 30 minutes later i started the procedure again and this time D was on and not flashing means temp was correct and not overheated - quickly unbolted overflow and set the lever correct ...
so the news is - my oil pan had just normal 13 years and 150.000km wear deposits - nothing that looked critical - oil also didn't smell like burned - so looks like transmission itself is totally fine...
i am still not 100% sure that vibration damper is broken like in video above - but i don't believe its something else - cause what could it even be ?
so thinking to find some shop who can drop the engine with transmission and replace the damper ? not something i'll be able to do myself at all ... have no tools for that, no experience, and no own workshop i could jack up the car for weeks