Vpanin

When I put my car in drive or reverse, I have about a 1.5 second delay until engagement. There are no hard or rough engagements. I wonder if my tranny fluid levels are good.

Is this how the 04-06 work?? I feel that it takes longer to engage than previous cars Ive owned

Jabberwock

I think that's about right - there is absolutely no bump or noise - smooth as silk when switching between forward and reverse.

playa3uhh

but very smooth for me as well. Honestly, I never really notice it because it's so smooth. But 1 second or less sounds about right.

DNC

I have noticed the same. When I back out of parking place, then shift into drive it seems to take more time than it should. It is one of the few things that really bothers me about the car.

AlexusAnja

I will have to try you guy's Dukes of Hazzard maneuvers because I've never experieced any lag in engagement of the gears. Then again, maybe it's me babying the LS, but I've never shifted it into "D" until a full stop... unlike other automatics I've had where I'll shift into "D" before it stops and let the tranny kick in.

Vpanin

Yeah I guess its how theyre made......just a lil longer delay than some other cars......

DNC

We have had 4 Lexus; 1 used and 3 new. 2 had this pause and 2 did not.

Vpanin

I was just trying to make sure that this wasnt a transmission fluid level problem

Tee

When I first got mine, I said something to the service manager about it and he said that is how the tranny is designed. They checked it just to be sure but we also compared it to other LS430's on the lot and they all had the delay after coming out of reverse.

AlexusAnja

Okay, are you guys shifting after the car somes to full stop between "D" and "R" and vice versa? I did a startup to "D", then a "R" to "D" and a "D" to "R" and the only one that had any noticeable delay was "D" to "R" for me.

The startup to "D" was less than 1 second, and "R" to "D" was also less than 1 second.

I'm just thinking that with the electronic shifter and all the gadgetry, is it possible that for safety reasons and to ensure no mechanical damage, that the transmission does not go into a different gear of "D" or "R" until it detects a full stop? Are you guys shifting from the gears to another before a full stop?

Vpanin

I never shift gears before a full stop......It just seems to be a long delay from D to Reverse or vice verse

Tee

The only slight delay is coming out of reverse into drive, once the camera turns off she is good to go. Again I compared it to other LS430's and they all did it. The electronic shifter is designed that way for some reason, I have come to just deal with it.

Lust4Lexus

Mine also has a delay. I wad a VW that was very similar. It is annoying, but I am living with it LOL.

AlexusAnja

Sorry to beat you guys that have the delay, but unless mine is the exception, there should not be a lengthy (definitely NOT 1.5 sec) delay with the shifting. I would fight the dealership to have it looked at. LS430 with 1.5s shift? Our junky family Plymouth Voyager didn't have any delay shifting... the Lexus flagship should not either.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

One thing I don't like is that mine stops the rolling backward when you drop it into drive. If you are even slightly creeping backwards, it'll jolt to a stop. I've driven other cars that did this (rental Mitsubishis come to mind) and did not like it, but the '05 LS does it too. The '03 did not.

I've never noticed any delay in response of the transmission when a gear (reverse or forward) is selected. It seems pretty much instant like most every other car, or else I think I'd have noticed it and questioned whether or not something was wrong.