FieryISF

I was hoping to get some insight on this. I’ve only had the car for a couple of months and primarily have driven it in auto mode. I installed a catback Borla exhaust a couple of weeks ago and have been driving the car in Manual and Sport modes since. Love the sound of the exhaust, especially the throttle blips while down shifting. Recently, I noticed that the shifts are somewhat slow and sluggish when I first start driving the car and while the tranny and engine are still cold. I also noticed that the torque converter is not locked in while in any gear. For example, let’s say I’m cursing in 5th or 6th gear at around 2.5k rpm, if I let go of the gas pedal, the rpm’s drop by about 500 rpm, and when I get back on the gas pedal, the rpm’s go back up by about 500 rpm and stay there. All of these symptoms go away once the engine and tranny are up to their normal operating temps, and it stays that way for the rest of the drive. The shifts are crisp both up and down, and the TC stays locked in any given gear at its appropriate rpm.

My questions are:

Is this a safety feature to protect the tranny and the TC while the car is getting up to its operating temps?
If not, what would be the remedy for this? Check the fluid levels and top it off?

The car is an 08 with 35k miles. VIN 001737.

Any input would be appreciated.

Gary

obby

iTrader: (9)

i notice a different in shifting when my tranny is cold compare to when its all warm up. Might be normal.

bradhop15

iTrader: (1)

Im pretty sure its just the cars safety feature while warming up. If you notice the coolant temp warms up first, but until both are warm it wont shift as quick. Mine is the same way.

obby

iTrader: (9)

plus you shouldnt be driving it hard until the oil temp is atlease 2 bars.

FieryISF

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was hoping that was the case.

I agree, and I never mentioned driving it hard. Just normal acceleration and shifting, while it's warming up is when I notice those symptoms.

VtotheJ

iTrader: (2)

Another ISF in NJ! Join join join -- https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...sf-thread.html

As a preventative measure, the F doesn't let you drive it hard until you see 2 bars, like another member mentioned.

UCrazyKid

Normal....

zapa

Ya normal for sure.

boostftw

iTrader: (3)

My cars the same too.

DCoolBeans

the car is smarter than the driver

ps its normal...if you were still worried you can get it scanned for codes at a auto shop for free

ihadboost

Same here man. I thought that might be a problem but then I noticed after it warmed up all was good.

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

Dont drive as M when u 1st start the car, just drive as Auto 1st for a few minutes for the tranny warms up. and then shifted M mode. Should be smooth .

FieryISF

Thanks everyone. I was hoping that's the case, but wanted to double check.

On another note, what's up with no blips under 2k rmp?? My M3 with DCT would blip under 2k, which reluslted in much smoother downshifts for 3-2-1. It's not so much noticeble in higher gears.

UCrazyKid

If you are in manual sport mode and shifting at under 2K, you are doing it wrong.

FieryISF

Not necessarily. Look, my M3 had the DCT and my Maser had the F1 tranny, and both blipped on downshifts even under 2k rpm. Now both were automated manual tranny’s vs. the automatic 8 speed in the ISF, but if Lexus went as far as rev matching the downshifts, why not offer it in all RMP range??

I’m sure I’m not the only one that finds this annoying. With that said, I’m new to this car, and if this is normal operation, is a tune available that would add the blips to entire rpm range including between 1-2k.