2014 RX 350 F-Sport Issues
#31
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To reply to Viperdoc's last reply, when the Lexus rep looked at my vehicle he too mentioned that the 8 speed trans would "learn" my driving/shifting habits. When I asked him how that was accomplished he could not provide an answer. I also asked the local dealer service director about any ECU updates and he said there weren't any. I will have to suffer 2 more years with this vehicle. Then I will go to BMW. My 15 year old 540i MSport at least gives me pleasure when I drive it.
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#32
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I do feel your pain. For me the biggest gripe was with the suspension, which I was able to fix to my liking The tranny is a different issue and I will try the refresh and let you know how it goes. My personal opinion is that there are too many gears, and engineers' attempt to get the best fuel economy out of a car despite the driveability. Today I was going down a flat road at 45 mph and I was in 8th gear! When I blip the paddle shifter, it downshifts to 4th. To me that is a big jump. Our Acura MDX drives better from a tranny standpoint....it's only a 6 speed and it stays in one gear for longer and avoids all the herky jerkiness. But it seems like everyone is putting more and more gears into cars these days....apparently the 2016 Acura MDX now has 9 speeds ![EEK!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/eek1.gif)
![EEK!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/eek1.gif)
Last edited by novaman; 03-24-15 at 05:38 AM.
#33
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At first, I intended to purchase the 2015 F-Sport also. Mainly because of the 8 speed transmission. However, after giving it some thought I decided having 8 gears would be nice as far as fuel mileage is concerned, I probably would never use the paddle shifters. Then when I compared to fuel mileage ratings there really wasn't much difference I went with the regular 6 speed equipped RX 350 with the technology package and sport package. Don't get me wrong, I didn't drive an F-Sport so I don't know how they drive or how well the transmission works. I do know that when taking delivery my salesman mentioned that he had driven an F-Sport and he thought they initial tip in was too abrupt when taking off from a standing start.. So I'm glad that I stuck with the more traditional RX 350, especially when it comes time to trade vehicles.
But with that said, I recently test drove a V6 porshe cayenne that was a CPO. It was about the same price as what I bought mine for new, but with a CPO warranty. I had it in my head that Porsche would be much better as it is a "pure driver's car". I thought the Porsche was actually worse! The engine seemed to really lumber in the lower gears and was very coarse, the ride was worse, and the throttle hesitation upon downshifting was just as bad if not worse than the F sport. Handling was similar. Ergonomics were MUCH worse in the Porsche too....my goodness, talk about button overload! After the test drive I felt better about my car. My wife keeps asking me what else I would rather drive, if not the F sport, and I honestly don't know. I have test driven virtually every other maker of mid-sized SUVs, and they all have some other negative attribute (reliability, fit and finish, size, comfort, etc) that, to me, doesn't justify switching at this point. Maybe the 4th gen RX F sport will fix some of the issues of the current F sport- better tranny mapping and an adjustable suspension- making it a much better car.
Last edited by viperdoc; 03-24-15 at 09:26 AM.
#34
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I don't have any of the indentations in the steering wheel or dash pad. And I don'thave the mirror or hood issues. The transmission can be a real pain though, but using the paddle shifters fixes it for the most part. The fit and finish issues may be a model year thing....mine is a 2013
Regarding the suspension issue I mentioned before, I decided it was too expensive to get rid of the car at this point so I bit the bullet and got new wheels and tires. The wheels are still 19s but 8.5 inches wide. For tires I went with 245/55r19s- Pirelli scorpion verde all season plus, which is an h rated tire. It gave me a 4% increase in sidewall height, which isn't much but does help. And the h rating makes it handle the bumps better. Plus it is wider so it still handles great. Overall, a significant improvement in the ride harshness. Plus I like the look of the different wheels better too.
Regarding the suspension issue I mentioned before, I decided it was too expensive to get rid of the car at this point so I bit the bullet and got new wheels and tires. The wheels are still 19s but 8.5 inches wide. For tires I went with 245/55r19s- Pirelli scorpion verde all season plus, which is an h rated tire. It gave me a 4% increase in sidewall height, which isn't much but does help. And the h rating makes it handle the bumps better. Plus it is wider so it still handles great. Overall, a significant improvement in the ride harshness. Plus I like the look of the different wheels better too.
#35
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I do feel your pain. For me the biggest gripe was with the suspension, which I was able to fix to my liking. The tranny is a different issue and I will try the refresh and let you know how it goes. My personal opinion is that there are too many gears, and engineers' attempt to get the best fuel economy out of a car despite the driveability. Today I was going down a flat road at 45 mph and I was in 8th gear! When I blip the paddle shifter, it downshifts to 4th. To me that is a big jump. Our Acura MDX drives better from a tranny standpoint....it's only a 6 speed and it stays in one gear for longer and avoids all the herky jerkiness. But it seems like everyone is putting more and more gears into cars these days....apparently the 2016 Acura MDX now has 9 speeds ![EEK!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/eek1.gif)
![EEK!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/eek1.gif)
#36
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below is the link to the thread I started earlier with pics. I will have to wait until the morning to get a shot directly from the front which shows the increase in width better. I will say that on a 19x8.5 wheel, the 245/55s look bigger than on a narrower wheel (my Acura MDX has the same size tires but on a 19x8 wheel). 255/50s would look even better, but then I would have been actually sacrificing tire wall height (just a little bit, but every bit helps)
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...x-f-sport.html
Tomorrow I will post a pic from the front and rear so you can see how much wider the stance looks. Plus the wheels are pushed out 10mm in each side, which does look nice.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...x-f-sport.html
Tomorrow I will post a pic from the front and rear so you can see how much wider the stance looks. Plus the wheels are pushed out 10mm in each side, which does look nice.
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