ToreOe

Just a thought. If you are using the gears to slow down then the brake lights will not show. Thus not alerting the drivers behind you are slowing down.

Driving at night, I can see the reflections from my brake light in the rear view mirror, and I have noticed something strange. If I go down a hill and use the brakes to keep a constant speed, the brake lights do not show. However, as soon as I reduce speed, ether by using the brakes *or* the paddles, the brake lights light up. Same goes when dynamic cruise is braking.

I find this kindof cool, but also worrying - are the brake light computer/software controlled?

-Tore

The explanation to 180+140=220 that I find simple to understand, is that the NiMH Battery in the IS300h is capable of delivering up to 30kW of power. This equals to approx 40hp.

If you are using all the power from the engine to drive the car, the electric motor needs to get all it's power from the Battery. Thus, you end up with 180hp + 40hp = 220hp.

In reality, some of the power from the engine will be converted to electric power by the generator and used to drive the electric motor to alter the gear ratio. That is why the electric motor can use more power than the batteri alone can provide.

The sum of the power *sources* is 220hp, even though the sum of the maximum engine and motor output is more. And you cannot use more power than your power sources can provide.

-Tore

Dominik,

Yes, I noticed the same vibrations in the GS300h loaner I had - albeit less pronounced. There were none in the GS450h, though. I guess I should have gotten an IS450h - that would be nice.

Today's visit at Lexus got me nowhere with my bluetooth-ache, but I got a confirmation I was first in line when the tuned damper-parts became available. Indications from Toyota Norge was that this would be some time this month. Boy am I looking forward to that.

-Tore

Twan,

Thank you for this very interresting piece of new information.

I'm the one that got a new car from Lexus because of these driveline vibrations, but after 6000km the new 2015 has the same vibrations. Not as bad as the 2014, but definitely noticeable.

The IS has an appointment with Lexus for an infotainment update monday, I will definitely inquire about the "bugfix" then.

-Tore

Ross,

As David states, Lexus does not seem to offer the firmware for download. They might be available in the paid section of http://www.lexus-tech.eu though, I have not checked (but there is a lot of good information there, I have downloaded most of the car's electrical schematichs already).

However, my local Lexus dealer seemed to have no problems mailing the firmware file to me so I could avoid the trip to them to have the firmware updated. It's worth sending them an email or giving them a phone call to ask.

-Tore

Hans,

Even though it's been a while and you probably have gotten your firmware updated at Lexus now... I had the same issue with my 2015 IS300h. It came with VC03103D, which had some issues, at least for me.

I got VC03101G, and the car would not take it, ended up with only the back button active as you did.

However, Lexus recently released another version of the firmware - VD12102C. This is said to be a "universal" firmware for several Lexus models. I got it today from my mechanic, and it installed just fine.

Can't say much about improvments yet, but the user interface does feel more responsive, and WiFi connection seems more stable.

-Tore

Dominik,

I still think the new car is more responsive than the old one, but I'm inclined to believe this is due to individual differences between examples rather than any model changes done by Lexus.

-Tore

Dominik,

The vibrations in "Stevens" (Named so by my friends after the known artist "Shakin' Stevens", for obvious reasons) were easy to record, as they were very pronounced. I used my Iphone to record, and did a Fourier-transform of the recording to see a graph of the frequency spectrum. There was an obvious spike at 43Hz, which corresponds well to the torque pulses from a 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine running at 1300 rpm.

The reason the vibrations aren't bothering me any more may be partly that I have switched to sommer tires, which are significantly firmer than the winter tires in the temperature we are having now - thus reducing the amplitude of the driveline osccilations and partly because they are so weak they don't bother me any more...

-Tore

Dominik,

The car drives and feels... like a Lexus :D

I initially felt some weak vibrations at 1300rpm, but they seems to be gone completely now (at approx 1500km). Basically, I'm a very happy man.

Best regards

Tore

Dominik,

Going 90kph is hard in Norway ("normal" speed limit is 70kph on most roads). Finding a flat road harder. Our roads either go up, down or around a bend.

However, the engine seems to work mostly around 1300rpm under light to moderate load. Just like the old one.

When I say "quicker", I most likely mean the response when I press the throttle. Like when I'm at a junction and need to get into traffic. The old car would hesitate before it accelerated, this one just goes. (And yes, it is even zippier in Sport mode :-)).

-Tore

Dominik,

I'm 45 years old and have run out of testosterone :) Traffic around here is dense and the old car was not very inspiring to drive due to the vibrations. I never got around to take it for a drive just to have fun. I might do that now, though.

I have only driven the car 1000km, and I'm still on the first tank. I think it's to early to say much about consumption yet.

However, on the old car the consumption stabilized on 0.6l/100km after 5-7000km, showing 0.57l/100km on the computer. The new car shows 0.56l/100km on the computer after the first 1000km. I think that looks promising.

-Tore

Dominik,

Quite frankly, I have only tried Normal mode. Never used Eco or Sport on the old one either.

According to the seller there should be no difference in the driveline between the 2014 and the 2015. I just think I got a bad one last time...

-Tore

Dominik,

The difference is that the ICE in the new car runs noticably smoother. Less vibrations and less sound from the engine. It feels quicker too, with better response to the thottle. The old car "growled" when pushed, the new one just goes with a purr.

Hard to explain in a language that is non-native to me :)

-Tore

All,

I've driven the car 700km now. For all practical purposes, Lexus has fixed the virbration issue for me by giving me a new car :D

The vibrations in this car are so weak, I would never have noticed if I hadn't been sooo tuned to a 43Hz vibration for so long...

Oddly, what I find most different between the new and the old car is the engine. The old one didn't run very smooth (although not worse than I expected from an oversized 4-banger). The new one just purrs. While engine starts and stops in the old one was absolutely noticable (causing an audible clunk most of the times), in this car I cannot feel them at all.

I'm happy.

-Tore

Thanks,

I've driven the new car 131km today. This car has the vibrations too, but to a significantly lesser degree. If I didn't know what to listen/feel for, I'd probably never noticed.

The new center console material looks a lot better than the "old" plastic, but the shark fin antenna for the GPS doesn't match the style of the car I'm afraid.

Will take the car for a 500km trip Saturday, and probably report back.

-Tore

All,

Just wanted to inform you that I have now, finally, returned my IS300h (named "Shakin' Stevens" by my friends) to Lexus.

I am picking up a brand new IS300h today. Boy do I have butterflies in my stomach. Have several long journeys planned for this week and the weekend, so I'll get to test it for vibrations pretty quick. If the new car has the same vibrations, I don't know what I'm gonna do...

My car was top spec built to order, so there was a 4 month wait to have the replacement car built. It's been a long wait.

-Tore

PS, I have a brand new CT200h F-Sport as a loaner now. It really makes me realize what a great car the IS is.

Janne,

My car has had a 4-wheel alignment check with laser equipment as part of the tests and checks done by Lexus. All angles were spot on.

In my car, the vibrations are related to engine speed only - within the speed range in which they appear (63km/h to 95km/h). They only occur at 1300 and 1800 rpm, and the vibrations are at 43Hz and 60Hz. I would believe that if the vibrations came from the tyres, they would relate to road speed, not engine RPM?

-Tore

Hi all,

I found something slightly worrying when I changed to winter tyres this weekend. My right rear wheel was worn down to 2mm. This is after 11000km.

My car have Continental 225/45-17Y, as I had the dealer change the stock 18" wheels to 17" before I took delivery of the car. (It is a "Luxury" model, which in Norway is the top spec, similar to "Premier" + all available extras in the UK.)

Front tyres are at 5.1mm and the left rear is at 3.3mm.

I have reported this to my dealer, and they think it might very well be related to the resonance issue. Which, by the way, got much more noticable with winter tyres.

-Tore

@ganzoom:

From what I gather, it seems to be an issue with only a very limited number of cars. As a statistically insignificant example, at a dealer event I spoke to 12 other IS300h owners from my region. Neither of these had any resonance issues. Some of them had noticed a bit of vibrations at certain speeds, but nothing unusual even for a "luxury car" and nowhere as bad as mine.

-Tore

@Dominik:

I cannot say that this isn't the cause for all IS300h vibration issues, but I have had cars with exhaust pipe resonance and they were very different from what my IS300h is doing.

If I had to make a bet, it would be that we are victims of an issue called "Hybrid driveline resonance". There has been done quite some research on this. This document gives a good, if somewhat technical explanation: http://www.ece.eng.wayne.edu/~hying/images/getPDF.pdf

After the temperatures came down, my car has been quite vibration free for some time, but has started acting up again lately. I am looking forward to getting the replacement soon.

-Tore

Dominik,

The vibrations in my car does indeed vary with the temperature, but mine is worse at high temperatures. This summer, with ambient temperatures approaching 30C, the car was practically unusable. Now with temperatures about 5C the vibrations are hardly noticable most of the time.

I too feel that the issue has gotten gradually worse from I got the car 7 months ago untill now, but as you say, it can be related to temperature.

-Tore

Hi Dominik,

No news as such. A new car with the same spesifications as mine is on order, expected delivery is Januray 2015.

At the last meeting with Lexus I was told that there was signals from Lexus that the cause of the issue had been identified, but there was no estimate on when a fix would be implemented, tested and ready to be rolled out.

I did not want to wait any more, and decided to go with at new car even though they offered me a compensation to keep waiting for "the fix".

-Tore

@Silver Arrow:

Well, they sold me a car with a defect they are not able to rectify in three attempts. According to Norwegian consumer laws they have to take the product back or replace the defective product (the car) with a new one.

Thus, we are strictly speaking not talking about Lexus Goodwill here, just the law.

-Tore

Well, today I picked up my car after Lexus' 3. attempt to fix the car. They did not seem to have a plan this time, but poked around trying to find *something* I guess.

Needless to say, they found nothing. I test drove another IS to see if I could feel the same vibrations in it as my car has, but even though there was some rpm/load conditions where the driveline felt more "rough", it was not nearly as bad as mine.

I now have an appointment at the end of the month to come in and do the paperwork so they can order me a replacement car. Hopefully that will be the end of my vibration issue...

-Tore

Another follow-up from Norway.

Today I met with the CEO of the regional Toyota/Lexus dealer, and we drove for a trip in my IS. I now have a written agreement that Lexus is allowed one more repair attempt on the car to remedy my vibration issue. They will fly in an expert from Brussel to assist them after the summer.

If the attempt fails, and my car is not fixed by end of September this year, I get a replacement car.

Makes me sleep a bit better at night, now I know I won't be stuck with a car that has an "unfixable" defect that will make it worth a lot less when I am going to sell it.

-Tore