12340987

Are there any owners of the lexus models known to be afflicted by unintended acceleration and subject to recall? Can anyone tell me if it isn't possible to shift into neutral while going 70MPH and/or WOT? Is the shifter mechanically linked to what gear you select? Or is it just a big electrical switch in any toyota?

TalkLexus

12340987...The vehicle can be shifted into neutral at any time when the vehicle is sitting still or traveling at any speed. The vehicle does have a electronic sensor on it (just like any vehicle with an automatic transmission) that determines when the vehicle can be put INTO gear.... you can always go out of gear just like apply a clutch in a MT vehicle.

zhivuyatut

Just try it once yourself and you would never be afraid to do it.
It would do no harm to the car as long as you do not try to cram it into reverse.

Push the shifter forward while coasting on the highway. Roll for a while.
Pull the shifter back. You are in (D)rive again.
All you do is disengage and then engage again an electronically controlled clutch.

TWong350

iTrader: (8)

If you have any concerns, take it to the dealer. But as the other posters has stated, no, there's nothing stopping you. That's the first thing that you should do should you encounter a problem.

jerfitz

12340987,

Look at this post.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5257673-post25.html

overclock

I was going along the highway one day doing about 60 or so and I put the car in neutral. I went to put it back into drive and accidentally put it in reverse. I was in reverse for about .00000001 seconds before I realized what I had done but it would have been long enough for the car to know what I had done and go into reverse. I quickly took it out of reverse and put it back in drive. Anything go wrong? Nope. Did I start going in reverse? Nope. Is there some sort of override so that when absent minded people put their forward moving cars into reverse that the transmission doesn't shift into reverse? Probably so. The linkage is electronic just like all the other linkages nowadays.

Toymota

You can and should put it in neutral. No, it will not cause the car to flip...

Heck, you can even put it in reverse while driving forwards as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjWX4-aL5NA . In this case, the electronically controlled transmission waits in neutral until you have stopped before engaging reverse.

jagtoes

You can shift to any gear except PARK while the car is in motion. Some gears will not work because they are tied to engine speed but you can always go into neutral. If you go into park there are mechanical interlocks which will damage the transmission. As to reverse you can also damage the transmission if you shift it under 5 mph. So if you want to practice then just find some empty road and give it a try. Also while you are at it try turning off the engine by holding the start buttion for 3-5 secs.

jkutti2000

DOES anyone encourage shifting to N when you are coasting.. for example u r at 40 mph. u see a light 400 yds away green . uknow u wont make it.. hence move to N.. u will notice RPM goes down.. and then use minimal brakes to come to a stop... SOME WHERE once I read that should not make MPG difference but shifting to N takes stress off the gear box ??
and prolongs life!. but isnt the CONs that u r doing any extra mechanical movement.??

dreyfus

I do this all the time. It's good environmental sense to not drive up to a red light. I'll put the car in neutral going down hills as well. It does improve your mileage significantly if you make this a regular practice.

The added wear on the shifting mechanism is negligible. The only con I see here is if you needed to perform an emergency maneuver where you needed to apply power. Having the car in neutral at that point would significantly delay your responsiveness because you'd have to shift into drive before you could power out of the situation.

overclock

I remember back some 20 years ago that you weren't supposed to tow an automatic car more than 40 mph without taking off the driveshaft if the drive wheels were touching the ground. Is that still the case?

I will shift into N as well when I will be coasting to a dead stop.

ESsearch

I shift to neutral sometimes as well just to see if I can stretch the gas mileage. From what I have read, it helps gas mileage only if the car will coast a very long distance. That is, coast longer than if it was in gear but your foot off the gas. For example, on the highway doing 60 or 70 and it is a long downhill stretch, shifting to neutral I can coast much further than just taking my foot off the gas. In town, just approaching a light usually won't gain you anything because if you can get there with just your foot off the gas, you will use less fuel. This is because the car is programmed to stop fuel to the injectors when slowing and your foot is off the gas.

To the original posters point, it is easy to shift the car into neutral at any speed that I have tried it at.

Pete

12340987

Forgot about this post...
I ask specifically if it's mechanically linked, because people who claim to have the unintended acceleration problem (like that woman that testified before congress), say that it the transmission doesn't go into neutral in that condition.
Just wondering if they're full of crap. I'm not concerned at all because I have an old 300, and would gladly take a 350 that accelerates too much

CJS57

Yes, she was full of crap. It is usually illegal to put the car in neutral when coasting or on hills.The thinking is that you may need to suddenly accelerate and it will take you longer to get back into gear. Also the car is in better control when in gear. I am not worried about you doing this, just stating the laws.

AlexusAnja

Keep in mind to those that say "you can always switch to neutral." More vehicles now are getting electronic shifters, meaning there is NO mechanical link between shifter and transmission. I don't kow about the ES350, but the LS430 on has electronic shifter. Therefore, there is always a POSSIBLITY that you might NOT be able to switch into "N" if the is a failure with the electronics.

Honestly, I know it's neat to say you have electronics of everything in the car, but what does it really do? Electronic shifter, electronic steering, electronic brakes... what happens when the electronics don't respond? It's a very dangerous and leaves space for doubt in overall safety, or long term safety.