ES350Bob

Mack,

The intensity of the RPM spike is a function of your normal acceleration habit. The heavier the acceleration, the greater the spike.

I saw someone post their dealer had insisted that if it is not over 500 it is not a problem which is complete and total BS if that person typically is light on acceleration.

Here is the test: If during an acceleration process you notice an increase in RPM associated only with one gear change but no other does it, then there is a problem, particularly if that change results in an RPM spike that increases and decreases depending on how heavy or light you are accelerating the car. And most importantly if no other automatic transmission you have ever had behaved that way and if no other gears of your current behave that way except one change or in some cases two changes of gears.

Under the hood recorded it sounds like a classic slip and not into neutral either, it is as though no Trans fluid is present and a whining metal on metal sound which is difficult to hear inside the car.

If you decide to have your car looked into, do not be surprised if you get told several times over several service appointments that it could not be duplicated. That has happened to a volume of members on here before it finally was duplicated by dealer svc..

ES350Bob

Mack..part 2

Hopefully you have driven a stick shift quite a few times and if so this should help you decide whether you have this or not.

When I drove a stick shift, if I wasn't timed right in releasing the clutch, as in only 3/4ths or so released, the engine would rev yet it was almost in gear or slightly in gear but my lack of skill on the clutch allowed it to rev, spike the RPM and to a degree slip as a result of me not quite letting it totally engage the gear. It is very much like that as an experience for a driver but for different reasons it is happening, in the case of the Es350, it is a lack of ample fluid that sounds just like the old AAMCO commericals of transmissions slipping to a degree.

Macklin

Bob, I know what to look for....that was not my question. My question is when does it become an issue? You are correct in that I typically baby the car until I see the temp gauge start to move. However, I have aggressively accelerated when it was cold, either into traffic or trying to replicate it, and the few times I have seen it, the characteristics of the 'flare' were exactly the same as under normal cold acceleration....i.e. 4 - 500 rpm increase with split second gear change.

Bottom line is, I don't feel this is a big enough issue (as it stands) to have the tranny pulled out just to have another bum one put in!

I've got it documented and I'm standing down until they engineer a better beast.

wanderer99

I think its an issue when you notice it and think "what the heck was that?" and you car kind of jumps a bit as the gear engages.

ES350Bob

Mack.

Waiting for a better fix is the best you could do as whole transmission replacements are not correcting it anyway it seems.

I think that as long as you are hearing a higher revving sound of engine at the same time as you see RPM spike and this is gear change specific, it is present in your car.

The route you take from when started cold plays a role in this too from my own observations. If I go one direction with several stops and starts it rarely ever did it, if I went a more direct route from cold start it would most often do it. Also direct route at heavier acceleration, the higher the revving and RPM, baby it as I almost always did, still a revving sound but lower RPM spike. The newer car has done this as well, mild RPM spike like 200 to 400 and engine rev and in the direct route mentioned but I am trying to be positive about it as it is so new this could be it's learning phase and I sure hope that's all it is.

toneman

twister--I guess "lucky" for me I've yet to experience the former in my vehicle, but unfortunately have gotten the latter; the 500 rpm jump only occurs if I can manage to get my car up to speed quickly (when I say "quickly", I don't necessarily mean driving it like I stole it) immediately after a cold start...if I drive it for about a minute w/o having yet reached the 3-4 shift, then the 500 rpm jump doesn't occur once I do reach that shift point. Regardless, transmission seems to be working fine otherwise--i.e., nothing has happened that made me go "WTH was that?"...