Hi Everyone. Just purchased a certified 2017 RX 350 F Sport with 21,000 miles on it. It was locally owned and traded in at my local Lexus dealership. After owning it for about three weeks I'm becoming slightly concerned about the engine and transmission but I do suspect everything is normal and fine. Just to be sure I wanted to post my concerns here for your thoughts.

#1 - Engine is very noisy after cold starts in morning:
Typically the first startup of the day usually around 8-9am the engine is very noisy until it warms up and then it's very quiet. It sounds like a old truck with mechanical lifters that runs out of oil - tap tap tap tap. Again, once it warms up and I travel a few miles, it's quiet for the rest of the day. Is this normal?

#2 - Transmission:
The Transmission can very harshly downshift under certain circumstances, mostly in cruise control when traveling over the peak of a hill when it downshifts to slow down the car. I've been able to replicate the harshness by manually shifting from 6th-5th gear using the paddle shifters at speeds of 45+ mph traveling down hill. Under normal driving accelerations, cruising, and deceleration the problem doesn't exist and transmission is smooth. I'm certain it only happens between 5th and 6th gears. When I quickly downshift through other gears it's nice and smooth. Thoughts?

Bonus #3 - Noisy power steering pump or alternator:
When I'm driving around town after the engine heats up and quiets down, all I can hear from the engine bay is a whiny power steering pump or alternator. Something constantly whines. It takes away from the experience of driving a nice car like this especially an F Sport that is supposed to be sporty and aggressive (I know I know - its the same engine, trans, exhaust, tune, as all the other RX models). Does anyone else here this low level whine coming from the engine bay at low speeds?

For all the above, the drive mode is set to normal 100% of the time.

Thanks in advance. I love this car even if the above issues are normal and cannot be fixed.

 

Probably normal. I noticed immediately that my 2018 is noisier than my 2015 was -- it's also got 45 more horsepower. And yes, the lifters are on the noisy side. Also they tune the F-Sport exhaust to make it louder and deeper -- the "droning" that some complain about.

Probably normal. There's a TSB for the "hesitation", i.e. the hunting for a gear issue, that might or might not improve the shifting -- this is #L-SB-0032-19.. I had it done and there was a small but noticeable improvement. Using the paddle shifter, if you are cruising down the freeway at 70 MPH plus or minus, and you take your foot off the accelerator and downshift, it goes from 8th to 5th gear in a single step, and that can feel harsh. Possibly that's what it is doing when you are in cruise control.

Not normal in my experience -- I would make friends with your Lexus service advisor and get him to take a ride with you when the car is hot. It may not be a "failing" kind of problem, but it shouldn't be audible from the driver's seat.

In my opinion.

 

Adding onto what dibl has said:

For #1, this is completely normal. The newer RXs have a combination of direct and port injection so your vehicle runs a bit rougher. You'll also notice some vibrations being transmitted into the cabin as a result. Try pulling down your driver's side visor at idle and see if the mirror vibrates.

For #2, if the issue doesn't exist under normal driving conditions, then the TSB that dibl specifies may not be a fix. The rough downshift when using cruise is not a new issue for Lexus/Toyota cars, it's just how it's programmed. However, if you start experiencing a rough downshift under normal speeds, it may be worth looking into.

For #3, this is not normal and I would get it checked out.

 

Hey @AndrewTO , can you elaborate on this point about the combination of port and direct injection? I've driven a lot of 4-cylinder Ford Ecoboost engines, which I think were all direct injected, and never noticed any roughness or vibration. I'm really curious why the Toyota combination of direct and port injection is inherently rough. Do other Toyota vehicles that use the same powerplant as the RX have the same behavior?

 

I wonder whether the Variable Valve Timing, aka pseudo-Atkinson Cycle design, also contributes to the noisy idle? But is certainly is a torquey engine, compared to the Gen. 3 350.

 

1. Normal. Noticed this on my 16 RX-F vs the old 13 RX

2. Also normal unforunately. I hate it and it always shakes up the passenger whenever I'm on Sport or Sport+ mode because it's even worse on those modes. Our other car is a BMW 5 series. The BMW shifts are far smoother. I really hope Lexus works on this more.

3. Agree with everyone who said take it back and have the advisor sit in the car with you.

Other than that, congrats on the car! The f sport looks so angry, I love it...a mean machine. Not to mention it's a fantastic and reliable car. We've consistently had at least one Lexus at our house since our 1993 GS300. Great cars! 👍🏽