docbhn9

I noticed a problem with the transmission lag , during acceleration to merge from the ramp with fast traffic behind. It was scary and unbelievable as car with v6 engine and 300hp accelerated without engaging the transmission in drive “Normal mode” . It is my es350 2023. Is it a common problem? Or it needs a computer update? It has only 2000 miles on it.
any comments ASAP please?

CJS57

The transmission and shifting software in these cars only works well for very gentle and small accelerator inputs. Get a bit aggressive and the transmission does lag shifts and jerk shifts. There is no cure.

LS500Fan

The only way around that is to buy the hybrid ES.

grp52

That isn't true for ALL ES 350 8 speed transmissions.

On my 2019 ES 350, when I floor the accelerator pedal I can't discern when the transmission shifts gears unless I watch the tachometer for big RPM changes indicating gear changes as the speed increases at a rapid rate. The same applies also with less aggressive accelerator inputs.

Other than WAG speculation, I'm at a loss as to why some 8 speed transmissions have shifting issues and others don't.

hotwings

Did the hesitation upon hard accelaration only start happening when the car passed around the 2000 mile mark? It behaved fine before that?

artbuc

I thought this was fixed by 2023. My 2020 does it and makes me want to get rid of the car on a regular basis.

RobertJay

My 2022 ES 350 continues to do it on a regular basis.

CJS57

Quote: "On my 2019 ES 350, when I floor the accelerator pedal I can't discern when the transmission shifts gears"

Flooring it or Full throttle from stop or rolling is NOT when Jerk Shift happens. All our cars do that just fine. All our cars do Jerk Shift under certain other conditions. If you drive like Grandma going to Sunday school then you will never feel Jerk Shift.

hotwings

OK I get what you are saying. Very aggressive throttle inputs or very gently throttle inputs do not tend to cause the jerk shifts. It's something in-between under certain driving conditions. Apparently this is suppose to be an "adaptive" transmission that learns your driving habits so it can alter it's shift characteristics over time which makes it hard to troubleshoot.

I really don't understand why they would make it so complicated, it should shift the same under the same load/throttle input conditions.

artbuc

Mine has a noticeable jerk/hesitation when accelerating hard from a rolling stop. Trans can not figure out if it wants to up or downshift.

hotwings

Did you notice this from when the car was brand new or did it develop over time?

mikemu30

My 19 and many others have done this from day one - I've learned to deal with it.

july1988

Just put on Sport+ mode and you don't have the issue anymore, oh wait

artbuc

New. Not as bad in Sport mode.

Grandpa123

Nubie here. Just purchased my "22 IS350f AWD and have noticed on a couple of occasions throttle hesitation. In normal mode and at the start or moving slower (making a turn). This can get a driver in trouble if response to throttle is late. I'll have to try driving in Sport mode to see if that makes a difference.