Buying Gs450H, Sluggish Response In Testdrive Car!

[Wolf02]

Hi all,

Im planning on buying a GS450h 2007 model.

HOWEVER!, i took one out for a test drive today and i was very disappointed with the car i took a test drive in!

It was a 2007 with around 70k on the clock, car was in great condition and i was very tempted right up until i took a drive.

The problem was, and let my try an explain this accurately....

When driving along at a steady speed everything is fine but if i put my foot down hard it took around 1-2 seconds before the power kicked in!

Literally no reaction from the car for at least a second before the car even registered that i had done anything.

Im fairly sure thats not right, but the garage owner suggested it could just be because of what im used to (audi S4).

Ive read loads of reviews on the GS450h and they all say about the amazing acceleration and the torque.

Having just driven this one either something is very wrong with the car or my expectations of this type of car are wrong ?

The car has been sat at the garage for no doubt a few days, it had no fuel in it until the guy topped it up just before i went out in it but only with a VERY VERY small amount of fuel.

Asking those who own the GS 450h here, is there something that low fuel, having been sat for a while, ecu remembered previous drivers lazy style etc etc etc that could have caused this ?

OR is it really just what this car is like, my wife's BMW X3 was a bit like it, hesitated before changing down and pulling away when you planted your foot.

And finally, should i just walk away from the car, or should i take it out for another drive but only after having done (X,Y,Z) to see if its ok.

I really like the car and its in my budget but i dont want to buy a 450h if they really are that lazy to respond.

To be clear, pulling away from a standstill was fine, not groundbreaking but fine (felt slower than the s4 even though they are 90% same on paper 0-60).

Only when already travelling along and planting my foot was the problem evident, if i gradually accelerated all was ok and it was quite a surge but always felt like the car was catching up with me, 1/2 a second or so behind what i was asking it to do.

Help please!

[dandydons]

I have the same year of car and dont have that kind of delay. Did you have the power mode on ?

[Wolf02]

Hi,

yea i tried power mode and tried shifting it to the manual sequential mode, nothing changed it much.

If i didnt know better i would say that the electric power wasnt doing anything until the petrol kicked in, either that or the gear engagement was delayed (but based on what ive read i dont think the gears work that way).

[wendle]

It might be a couple of things

If your driving along at around 30 ish, and just using the hybrid system ( batteries ) and you suddenly put your foot to the floor there can be a slight delay, the engine has to cut in, I must admit on the very odd occasion I found this a little disconcerting although I have not noticed it as much in the new GS.

If your not used to driving a car with a CVT gearbox you may feel that there is a slight delay in acceleration but quite a lot of engine revs, unlike a conventional gearbox.

Try another test drive, take it out of Auto and into manual, and have a go at driving it like that, at least that should give you a I dear of the cars potential.

I am surprised that you feel the cars slow, there could indeed be a problem with the one you are test driving, it may be an I dear to test drive another one, just to compare.

[Wolf02]

I was doing around 50 when i floored it so the engine was definitely running i would think.

I did think of that at lower speeds but dont think it was the case at 50+

As for the engine revs, there were none for a few seconds either, its literally like floor it, nothing, nothing, slight push and big rev increase, then full push.

Once it got going it was quick but that delay was truly epic.

Im going to go see another one asap to compare, but i would like to buy the one i test drove is possible as its good price and the spec i wanted.

IS there anything i can do to kick it into life (eg disconnect the Battery, old FTO autos suffered from this and a reset fixed it).

Could it have been the really low fuel level causing it to go into some sort of safe mode ?

Im just wondering if its worth going back to the original garage to see if its actually ok i just had a bad run because of X or if its a walk away job.

For a lexus i would be surprised that i just happened to find the one bad one!

[Wolf02]

Thought it was worth saying that my S4 is a manual so obviously no possibility for delay in gear engagement there.

I havent driven that many auto's and never a CVT before, but my wife has a auto focus and that i consider to be quick to respond, her X3 before it was a bit slower but still OK for a big 4x4, this car was truly slow to respond by comparison.

Ive looked for videos of people doing rolling starts to compare but cant find anything of anyone already doing >30 mph and seeing when they floor it compared to when the car responds.

But from what im hearing its NOT normal for a gs450h to respond anything other than instantly.

[dandydons]

If your driving along at around 30 ish, and just using the hybrid system ( batteries ) and you suddenly put your foot to the floor there can be a slight delay, the engine has to cut in, If your not used to driving a car with a CVT gearbox you may feel that there is a slight delay in acceleration but quite a lot of engine revs, unlike a conventional gearbox.

As above - but from what I think you are describing sounds like there is a delay in revs for longer than normal and also when you are probably already on the petrol engine . Best try a few others if you can.

[Wolf02]

If your driving along at around 30 ish, and just using the hybrid system ( batteries ) and you suddenly put your foot to the floor there can be a slight delay, the engine has to cut in, If your not used to driving a car with a CVT gearbox you may feel that there is a slight delay in acceleration but quite a lot of engine revs, unlike a conventional gearbox.

As above - but from what I think you are describing sounds like there is a delay in revs for longer than normal and also when you are probably already on the petrol engine . Best try a few others if you can.

yes absolutely was a significant delay in revs, the second the revs kicked in the power started.

I will have to try another and hopefully it will be a better experience!

Why do I have to be the person to find the one duff lexus in the world!

[dandydons]

Good luck with the next one.

[TonyB]

Nah.....I got a duff one too.......

[Boxboy]

Hi, try test driving it with the sport button on, it becomes a lot more responsive when you put your foot down.

I've found with both the sport and power buttons you'll get the performance to beat the s4.

[noby76]

mordern auto boxes adapts thier response times and shift parameters to how an owner or previous owner drives so if the previous owner was a 'gentle on the throttle' driver the box will learn and adapt to how it responds and shifts so my guess will be maybe the previous owner was such a driver hence there is more delay to responde when you floor all of a sudden because the response or shift parameters are not used to that 'Sudden' command. the ECU will still work out what the driver intendeds but the response might be a bit more slugish. ask the dealer to disconnect and reconnect batteries before your next test drive to reset every parameters in the ECU and this time with enough fuel in the tank maybe you can chuck £20 quids worth in it just so you can spend a bit more time with the car on the road and also have it in Sport PWR Mode. those 450h's are no slouch cars...good luck

[Wolf02]

Well I didnt buy the first one i took out, but did take a test drive in another GS450h....... And I bought it !!! :)

This one drove amazingly! totally different car to the first one i took out. Drove in in my Audi S4 and drove away in the GS 450h ! Great day !!!

Thanks for the responses people, im now one of you!

[mr2lad]

Lol welcome to the ownership of a GS450h mate.... Hope you enjoy...I'm still smiling after 9mths :)