Purchased my 2017 IS300 AWD Fsport around Thanksgiving.
I am just experiencing the first winter conditions this past week.
Seems like the engine needs some time to warm up. I have it garaged.
I let it run for a few minutes and start my short drive to work.
It is still revving high through the first couple traffic lights @ 1000k RPM.
The steering wheel is vibrating a bit also. By the time I get to work it has settled down.

I know the idle changes according to the different driving modes. If I switch to the ECO mode,
the high idle phenomenon goes away. Bottom line, it seems to have a prolonged
high idle in the normal mode when it is cold.

How is the AWD in snow? How many inches of snow before clearance becomes an issue?

 

I haven't driven it in "high" snow before, but in slush and light snow this thing is quite tractable. I haven't had any difficulties - even slid it a bit through an empty intersection one night and found it very controllable.

As far as the high idle - it's in the name of warming the engine up. I find Eco mode and turning the fan off are the only surefire ways to make the 1000 RPM idle go away. It's perfectly normal, however. The vibration can feel a bit troubling, but I experienced this quite a bit back when the car was fresh. It seems less severe now.

 

i drove mine saturday in snowy weather in about 3 inches of snow out of the driveway, and this car is more than capable in the snow the AWD system works very well. now keep in mind i have winter tires on top of it so my performance in the snow will probably be a bit better, but even with all seasons you should be fine

 

I've put my IS350 AWD through fairly deep snow over the past couple winters. Very capable even with all season tires. This weekend I forgot to even put it in Snow mode and still had no issues on a poorly plowed highway.

The problem I encountered this weekend was with the headlights caking up with wet, sticky snow since the LEDs don't generate any heat to melt it. Suggestions?

 

Just gotta clean the headlights often. You could try applying some RainX to them so the wet snow doesn't stick as easily.

My IS350 handled Vermont this past weekend beautifully. Snowed the entire time we were there. Very happy with the Blizzaks I installed.

 

Wow, that's a gnarly picture...

 

Drove 100 miles in poorly plowed roads this past weekend. I have all seasons on my IS350 AWD and the car handled very well in the snow. I drove in snow mode for some time and there wasn't a moment where i felt the car was going to slide.

Also, tried to have some fun in the empty parking lot with TC turned off and it managed to auto turn on. Anyone else faced this?

 

Did you hold the button for five seconds when turning off the TC? (Sorry, stupid question, but have to make sure )

 

Beautiful pic! What brand is that roof rack? Looks so sporty and rugged.

 

Yeah, I noticed it revs high for a long time too.

I took mine around for the first time in snow earlier this week. With my Pirelli Ice Zero FRs, it was cool hammering the throttle in snow and seeing it propel with no issues.

I did find that if I hammer the throttle from a standstill and turn, the rear end likes to kick out, and I think this might be because it's an RWD-biased AWD system, is this correct? I'll be more careful next time, but very good car in snow, and the heating system is very strong in my 2014 still.

 

Yes, that's correct. Under normal driving, the system will put 70% of the power to the rear wheels, and 30% to the front. If the rears start slipping, it can vary up to an even 50/50 split.

 

You need to do the Lexus Pedal Dance to turn off all the electronic nannies...

 

The pedal dance is fun to do, but I don't know that you really need it. Like I mentioned before, I couldn't tell any difference between pedal dance and holding the TC button for five seconds (other than the fact that the pedal dance doesn't allow you to turn the TC back on!).

 

I am updating the thread to describe some additional snow/cold observations as of today.

My new 2017 IS300 is taking a long time to warm up, as I mentioned. Today, leaving work, it was 25 degrees and there was a fresh couple inches of snow. So, the engine was still revving high, 10 minutes after starting. Driving home, I had to be careful as, as soon as I took my foot off the brake, it launched! The other observation was that electronic steering left me with little road feel on a slippery surface. But it was all okay, I just need to get used to it.

 

I am running my IS200T on all-season DWS06 tires. So far it is better than I expected. I am sure the 300 is much better yet.