Rx300 Lurching

[Monster-Mat]

good luck.....hope the results are whats expected.

[TonyUK]

Damien well said.

I drive in excess of thirty thousand miles a year and do know how to drive and adapt to cars and situations.

[King of the Hill]

Any news yet guys?

[RxMike]

Dear All

As you know I have been following thread with much interest, after all I did bring up this issue in another thread many moons ago.

Whilst I am keen for Lexus to address this issue and come up with a fix, for me the problem does not leave me as dissatisfied as some RX owners.

I do accept however that different driving conditions such as in London or congested areas could make the problem constantly apparent and thus totally spoil the driving experience of the car.

Adapting ones driving technique as has been mentioned I feel will not solve the problem. It MAY make it a LITTLE less apparent, but the inherent problem is still there and requires rectification.

Even though I do a lot of local driving at relatively slow speed in our RX for me the problem in MY such driving conditions is not as apparent as it may be for others.

I DO NOT experience this issue on a daily basis in our car only maybe once a week, but the problem should not be there. Too many owners have now reported it, not just with the RX but also with other Lexus models as well.

Lexus need to addresss this quick time. Even yesterday will now be a little late. At least a technical explanation of what is going on would be nice and how they hope to resolve the issue.

Bearing all of the above in mind, and trying to give this matter some perspective, last night I passengered from Luton to Gatwick in a 5 month old top of the range Merc Turbo diesel estate with auto box. It also had a few hiccups on some of the gear changes. I asked the driver if it did that often. He's covers about 80 to 150,000 in Mercs in the last 2 - 3 years, (executive taxi work), and he assured me that the gearbox on these Mercs does occasionally lurch. He had noticed it often but was not overly concerned about it. Over all he was very pleased with his vehicle.

This is just like me - very pleased with the car, but would like to see the gearbox issue adressed. After all the car is faultless in every other respect which is why this issue seems to stand out so much.

Regards

Mike G

[Bartierx300]

Dear All

As you know I have been following thread with much interest, after all I did bring up this issue in another thread many moons ago.

Whilst I am keen for Lexus to address this issue and come up with a fix, for me the problem does not leave me as dissatisfied as some RX owners.

I do accept however that different driving conditions such as in London or congested areas could make the problem constantly apparent and thus totally spoil the driving experience of the car.

Adapting ones driving technique as has been mentioned I feel will not solve the problem. It MAY make it a LITTLE less apparent, but the inherent problem is still there and  requires rectification.

Even though I do a lot of local driving at relatively slow speed in our RX for me the problem in MY such driving conditions is not as apparent as it may be for others.

I DO NOT experience this issue on a daily basis in our car only maybe once a week, but the problem should not be there. Too many owners have now reported it, not just with the RX but also with other Lexus models as well.

Lexus need to addresss this quick time. Even yesterday will now be a little late. At least a technical explanation of what is going on would be nice and how they hope to resolve the issue.

Bearing all of the above in mind, and trying to give this matter some perspective, last night I passengered from Luton to Gatwick in a 5 month old top of the range Merc Turbo diesel estate with auto box. It also had a few hiccups on some of the gear changes. I asked the driver if it did that often. He's covers about 80 to 150,000 in Mercs in the last 2 - 3 years, (executive taxi work), and he assured me that the gearbox on these Mercs does occasionally lurch. He had noticed it often but was not overly concerned about it. Over all he was very pleased with his vehicle.

This is just like me - very pleased with the car, but would like to see the gearbox issue adressed. After all the car is faultless in every other respect which is why this issue seems to stand out so much.

Regards

Mike G

←

Well put Mike

[m'ladys husband]

Hi All,

Guess what?

Its now a week past the date when I was promised some feedback after the global get together of technicians from LGB, Belgium and Japan...........................just what I expected.

I cannot help but think that Lexus imagine that if they leave us alone maybe we'll give up and go away.

Wrong on that one.

COME ON LEXUS - TALK TO US.

Perhaps all you other owners of these otherwise great cars can call your dealerships and ask if they know what happened in the wotld talks on 18th August and if they say no, ask them to call LGB and find out for you.

Lets try and raise awareness again.

Michael.

[JohnRX400h]

Evening all,

I have been lurking on this thread with interest put not posting 'till now. I only have two observations to make.

1 - I am in Service Quality for a FSTE top 100 by trade. If there is one thing organisations can do to appease a situation is keep contact promises. Like all Service issue this is soooooo simple. Phone when you say you will, call when you say you will, write when you say you will. Even when you have nothing to tell call anyway and reposition the next contact. Manage and where possible exceed expectations - simple. If you are not getting this then Lexus are really missing a trick.

2 - All the 'letting Watchdog, Top Gear etc know'. I fully understand why this is seen as a tactic which can work in getting PR and therefore action. My one caution, however, is the negative effect this can have on the Model and Brand and therefore residuals. As many have said here the RX is a great car apart form these issues. And indeed when I had my RX300 before the hybrid I thought it was great too. (Incidentally I did not experience lurching) My point is that if this does come to the fore and much publicity is raised then the RX could be a worse purchase proposition and thus have a lower residual. Is that something we all want? I am not suggesting that the approach is wrong, just that it may have some consequences.

My 2 cents.

John

[AlexUK]

JohnRX400h very well put!

As I have said in an earlier post there only seems to be a handfull of people complaining about a "Serious lurch" I can get a minor lurch if I try (foot down hard at 8-20 mph) but I do not drive like that so I don`t get the lurch. Sure if you are the unlucky one that gets it keep on to Lexus. But do not let it get out of hand.

This thread is being monitored but I can`t lie and exaggerate about the lurch. Lexus must be looking into it but if there findings are not showing a serious lurch on the car or cars they are testing, what do they do?

It must be just as annoying if you have a £39K that is not up to the promised spec.

To sum up--------------- If the word gets out that Lexus RX300 has a serious lurch who will want to buy one. Then what???????????????

Alex

[King of the Hill]

Hi John and Alex,

I understand your point of view. I have to disagree if Lexus were to deal with this in an impressive way in the public eye (whether forced into the situation or not) they may very well end up cementing their reputation for service! This would in my opinon make the vehicle more popular and therefore raise the residuals! Of course if Lexus were to stuff this it may well dent residuals.

The thing is that all cars are machines and they cannot be perfect every time. The general motoring public accepts this. However when things go wrong the firms should be there to solve the issues. If Lexus happens to be forced to be there they will do their best to spin the PR positively by coming up with a good resolution...this will help the brand and the consumers!

Just my opinion, but then again I don't actually own an RX!

The King

[JohnRX400h]

Ok, says he getting sucked into the debate......

Now, first things first, it is very easy for me to comment on this as I have a RX400h sitting outside which is not lurching, spitting, crying, poking or doing anything which upsets or annoys me.

This will potentially make me argue the other side of the debate but I hope I do this impartially and without prejudice to the 'problem'.

In response to the 'If Lexus had dealt with this in an impressive way'. Well the issue it not yet resolved. I totally agree that the contact issue which I raised in my previous post is not good. They should be managing your expectations well and at the least fulfilling contact promises. This is, as is demonstrable from previous posts, causing the complainants frustration. How much better would this whole situation be if members had been kept up to date. We have heard it all before

Well it is taking ages to sort but at least they are keeping me up-to-date and I know what will happen next [unquote]

On the flipside, however, I don't think Lexus should take every problem they have reported from every customer and knee j e r k (lol didn't realise 'till posting that that word was banned) into doing something about it. I am also sure the R&D into a new car is expansive and that every component will have compromises made to balance pure performance, reliability and functionality. If the gearbox is changed to dial out some low speed characteristic then what else will change and be not as good?

Also remember that any major change could cause a recall and this will be a decision that will not be taken lightly as the implication on the whole company will be a massive factor.

In terms of some of the comments here I do feel some are a little sensationalist. To say the car is practically dangerous whilst driving around town. Is this really the case? Perhaps I was lucky with my RX300 with its lack of lurching but I did have a very different driving style when I was in it compared to my Audi TT. Would I plant the accelerator at low speed? No. Why? Due to the fact it is an auto and I knew it would pause and then speed forwards at a rate which potentially would be a surprise depending on gear, grip, wheel lock, etc etc etc. This is exactly the reason I chose a manual TT rather than the DSG auto box. I test drove both and the DSG did have a pause before power like many auto boxes. This also from a double clutch auto not one with a torque converter which should have been quicker. Just try typing 'hesitation' into the TT-Forum and see how many hundred threads you will get.

So I guess what I am trying to say is how much is this really a problem and how much is this people not changing driving style to suit the car? Don't get me wrong, If I am incorrect here and there are a batch of gearboxes which perform differently and in a dangerous way then something should be done but if this is a 'characteristic' of the box and it is down to a modified driving style then perhaps Lexus are finding the solution harder to pin down.

I don't think anyone here would disagree that a F1 car is the pinnacle of the motoring world, but how many of us could drive one smoothly. I know extreme example but are we expecting too much of one machine? There have been many arguments that for £40k it should be perfect but much more expensive cars have their own shortcomings.

So in summary....

1 - Have Lexus managed customer expectations? Well obviously not from what has been written. This is a simple ball which should not have been dropped and, incidentally, one which can be picked up immediately by one dedicated point of contact picking up the phone to M'Ladys husband et al and doing so regularly until resolution.

2 - Should instant refunds be given to those who want? IMHO no. Lexus should be given the opportunity to either fix or explain the reason for the issue.

Like I said, some will agree with my point, some will not, and it's a public forum so that is a good thing. Still look on the bright side, we could all have chosen M-Class Mercs and the gearbox would be the least of our worries!

John

[AlexUK]

Hi All

I have just come back from another glorious day out & I actually had a lurch without trying too!

I had taken a diversion into some tea rooms in Somerset only to find they were closed, my wife and I decided we did not want to wait three quarters of an hour for the opening for a cup of tea etc. so did a three point turn and proceded up a steep incline to get back on the road we were originaly on----- and then it happened, half way up the incline a slight snatch. "Did you feel that" I said to my wife? "Yes" she said--- "So what"? "Thats the lurch I`ve been telling you about on the Forums". She replied --- "Is that really what all the fuss is about"?

I think the car just changed from second to first to get us up the hill but the snatch really was no big deal.

The rest of the day the car has been its usual self--- a pleasure to drive.

I have had this car for 3 months now and this is the about the third/fourth lurch experience I`ve had with this vehicle and every time it`s happened it`s been a minor experience.

I do not want to become paranoid waiting for a lurch to happen! When it happens there allways seems to be a good reason for it like the above and its really quite minor in this car.

Alex

[m'ladys husband]

Good day to you all,

I have been looking at all the recent posts and have at last some news -

To quote John,

1 - Have Lexus managed customer expectations? Well obviously not from what has been written. This is a simple ball which should not have been dropped and, incidentally, one which can be picked up immediately by one dedicated point of contact picking up the phone to M'Ladys husband et al and doing so regularly until resolution.

2 - Should instant refunds be given to those who want? IMHO no. Lexus should be given the opportunity to either fix or explain the reason for the issue.

Well, there we have it.

Someone must have been reading the quote above from John!

I have this morning received a letter from Lexus GB which I copy below for you all to see -

We have today received confirmation from our counterparts within the Lexus European Division and the Toyota Motor Corporation that a commitment has been made to investigate the development of an enhanced ECU for the RX 300.

The initial information we have received states that our engineering division will build and test a new ECU, as the current ECU does not appear to have sufficient memory to make the anticipated adjustments. There will then be testing carried out in the UK before final approval for a new unit. At present this is likely to be by late October, early November. However, it will take in the region of six months to have full production of these revised parts due to the homologation process, something which is beyond our control.

Should you be happy to do so, we would very much appreciate your own continued involvment and cooperation with the survey team. We will also be seeking the involvment of other customers happy to lend their support to this project. With your permission we will be in contact with you in the near future regarding this matter.

Please be advised that Steve Settle, Director Lexus (GB) Ltd is fully aware of this current situation and will be continually advised of any developments.

Thank you once again for your co-operation and patience shown to date.

:D

I have to say a big well done to Lexus for recognising the problem does exist and for taking notice of those of us who find the fault an annoyance. To those of you who have yet to suffer the fault, I say it now looks hopefully that it will be rectified before your car develops it.

For our part, we will happily await the new ECU and hope that it does finally make this otherwise great car EXACTLY what it should be.

Many thanks to all of you who have supported our efforts to gain awareness of the problem and who will no doubt want to be in on the testing stage of the new ECU.

Maybe you could let me have an idea of who and where you are so that I can send a confidential contact list off to Lexus when they ask for it?

Not sure of the etiquette on the forum for letting me have your contact details but if you want to email me directly I will happily post my email address.....answers please!

Good result for us the end users shelling out £39k for our cars and a good result for Lexus and their Customer support - it does pay to talk!

Happy motoring to all.

Michael.

[King of the Hill]

Well done Lexus...this is certainly what we as Lexus customers have come to expect and appreciate from the brand.

And congratulations to m'lady's husband and others for prompting this fix! :winky: :zee: B) ;)

The King :zee:

[harlowrog]

Back off me hols, great to see your finally getting through to them, I'm in Harlow you can put me down on your list, I will be more than happy to supply my details.

Regards

Roger

[TonyUK]

Well done Michael & Lexus I will forward any details you require for Lexus GB to resolve this problem, just let me know what they are and where to send them,

By the way Alex I really do not think you have experienced this lurching in your car yet, I think we all know what a normal gear change feels like this is not a normal function of a car or ECU

Tony

[RobRX]

Finally some news! I ll happily opt in for the testing, let me know how to contact you Michael.

Rob (in Poole)

[Sabastian]

There must be 100's of RX owners who accept the car as it is, as I did before this topic was started, not realising it could and should have a smoother transmission, so will Lexus GB us? I doubt it.

[SuperChargedL]

I hope that the Lexus will provide the fix for the problem for all European RX300's not just for GB. I am living in Finland and have had the same problem from the very beginning, I bought the car in June 2004.

[Damian]

Thanks and well done to you Michael.

Already looking forward to smoother gear changes.

br

D

[m'ladys husband]

Hello all,

I have been away in Holland on business until today hence the delay in posting again.

Many thanks for all the kind comments, it really is very good of you but to be honest, like everyone, we just wanted the car to be as it should be. It's good to know that if we work together we can achieve a result.

I will collate a file for Lexus to have and then they can contact everyone directly.

Please, if you want to be included in the lists for LGB, email me at michael@imperial-motoryachts.com with your name, address and phone no together with car reg and local dealership and I will make a database for LGB to have when they are ready to make contact. I undertake to traet all the information in confidence and only pass it to Lexus - no mailshots from us!!!!! :D

I will monitor the forum and post again as and when there is more news but until then, we have to prepare our boats for the boat show next week.......happy days!

If you are at the Southampton boat show come and say hello - we are on berths 114, 155, 119 and 121. (Oh yes, bring your cheque books with you, we can be very persuasive!).

Best regards to you all.

Michael.

[RxMike]

This is outstanding news.

Lexus really have once again come up trumps by doing the right thing for their customers.

Well done to Michael for sticking to your guns on this. As you say it does pay to talk.

I am happy to participate in any testing Lexus would like help with on this, and I will forward you my details to pass on accordingly.

I look forward to a resolution on this now in the near future. I guess we'll all need new ECUs then?

My faith in the brand is reinforced once more.

This comittment from Lexus would NEVER have happened with my last make of car (Audi), and I had driven them all my life until I saw the light.

Regards all

Mike G.

[m'ladys husband]

Hi Mike,

Thanks a lot for all your help and support.

Please send your details so that you can be added to the database I am collating for LGB.

Best regards.

Michael.

michael@imperial-motoryachts.com

[harlowrog]

Sorry, nothing new to add, just want to keep this post near the top of the forum so as many people as possible jump on board.

Roger.

[Easy Rider]

I have put up with this problem since I bought the car in Sept 2003. I listened to all of the reasons that were put forward but nothing was ever done about it. In the end I wrote to Lexus GB about this and some other issues and they promised to arrange an engineers visit for which I am still waiting.

It is a great relief to know that it is definately not the way that I drive that is the problem as I now know that so many of you have had the same experience.

The most frustrating aspect of this has been the collective refusal of Lexus to acknowledge that a problem exists.

Well done to all of you who have kept the pressure on to acheive at least recognition and hopefully resolution of this problem.

I will forward my details to Michael to be added to the list.

Regards

Ken

[m'ladys husband]

Hi All,

Dont forget to let me have your contact details if you have not already done so -

michael@imperial-motoryachts.com

Please send your details so that you can be added to the database I am collating for LGB.

Best regards.

Michael.