You must be in automatic mode, hold the shift paddle and it will drop 2-3 gears and switch you to (temporary) manual mode. In true manual mode, it will only switch one gear per press (from my experience). Hope that helps.

 

Ok thanks, I'll try that.

 

I have also had the hesitation in turns on acceleration - I think it has to do with the VVT /camshaft/eco mapping because the only time mine has done it is when I have switched the drive mode just before turning into a corner and accelerating out of that corner - goes flat one time after switching drive mode then runs normal - have driven 2 other outings aprox 100-200 miles per without switching drive modes - has not done it once. I feel certain it is not a transmission issue - the engine goes completely flat when the event happens only when switching drive mode.

 

I hear you on getting out of Normal mode Doug, I really haven't pushed the RC F hard since it still only has 400 miles on it. I have played with Sport mode however and I can say that at half throttle, it is a totally different vehicle!

With that being said, I really don't think it's the transmission. it really feels like there's a fuel cut for a bit, or the computer gets confused. It then performs flawlessly from there, it's really strange...

 

my car does it also at lower speeds. ill pull out into traffic and give it moderate gas and its like the car is confused for a couple of seconds then it catches its breath and goes. oh yeah did i mention my brakes squeaks like a city bus! lol ha

 

How many miles? My brakes squealed also. I have about 3,700 miles and all is quiet now.

Again, I think the hesitation is just a slow down shift on the tranny issue in normal mode. It annoyed me. I only drive in sort s now and spend most time in manual mode. I think the 8 speed transmission is just too many gears and requires too many gears to be skipped when you hit the gas in normal mode in auto. Sport S definitely keeps you in a more ideal gear at higher rpms so you don't skip like 6 gears on the downshift just to accelerate hard . . .

Hopefully, Lexus can do a simple flash eventually to remap these trannies and make them a little more aggressive so to speak.

 

That's exactly what my car does. My brakes squeal like crazy too, but they seem to calm down once they warm up.

 

Just to follow up, I played with this a bit over the weekend, and here's what I found.

If you're in D (automatic) and you downshift with the paddle, it drops you 2-3 gears the FIRST time only. Didn't matter what mode I was in (Eco-Sport+), what gear/speed I was at (freeway ~70mph in 8th, and city road ~45mph in 6th I think), or how long I held the paddle (very quick pull or held for any length of time).

Basically it seems like when you paddle out of automatic, it drops you 2-3 gears to be in a sportier sweet spot (like oh you want to take over, let me just drop a few gears and run the rpms up and then it's all yours). Only that first pull to get you from D to M does that though; any other time it's always 1 shift per pull.

Kinda what I figured, and seems like a good design, just FYI for everyone in case you're curious.

 

Your assessment is the same as mine and it points out that some of the editorial drivers incorrectly described tranny action and performance.

In M mode, the RCF will upshift in 0.1 second and downshift in 0.2 seconds. The more you approach redline, the smoother the upshifts are. High speed blips are downright aggressive. The car can be quite angry under full attack.