2015 vs 16+

[bloc]

People may clown the wood-look plastic in the cruiser but it’ll never crack.

And personally I could deal with the post-tsb 8spd behavior for what it brings to the table on tire size and gearing options.

16+ LX got the terrible can’t-touch-screen setup too. That by itself is a total disqualifier, personally.

 

[AnyMal]

Its not the transmission, number of “gears”, or even the ratios. Its the shift programming that sucks.

The combination of pedal learning modulation the ecu does, the comfort mode response map, and economy tuning makes it practically undrivable in city traffic.
The amount of pedal give is inexcusable. Then couple that with comfort shifting and fuel saving 7th gear target at city speeds and it becomes a literal joke.

If someone could substantiate the update id be ecstatic to be proven wrong. I bet its just the throttle learning reset that you felt, which by the way was not calibrated properly at the dealer. That much i can assure you of. You would have to rent out an airstrip to do it properly.

Sure it drives great on the highway at highway speeds. It will downshift quick enough and there is torque available (albeit not enough for me really to brag about) but its there. Its everything in between I'm talking about. Im curious where yall do most of your driving to actually enjoy it. Im usually in comfort mode in town due to road surfaces but i keep the trans in S.

 

[Madtiger]

People may clown the wood-look plastic in the cruiser but it’ll never crack.

Oh, if true, then I may have to take back my harsh criticism of LC’s fake crap.

 

[Madtiger]

Its not the transmission, number of “gears”, or even the ratios. Its the shift programming that sucks.

The combination of pedal learning modulation the ecu does, the comfort mode response map, and economy tuning makes it practically undrivable in city traffic.
The amount of pedal give is inexcusable. Then couple that with comfort shifting and fuel saving 7th gear target at city speeds and it becomes a literal joke.

If someone could substantiate the update id be ecstatic to be proven wrong. I bet its just the throttle learning reset that you felt, which by the way was not calibrated properly at the dealer. That much i can assure you of. You would have to rent out an airstrip to do it properly.

Sure it drives great on the highway at highway speeds. It will downshift quick enough and there is torque available (albeit not enough for me really to brag about) but it’s there. It’s everything in between I'm talking about. Im curious where yall do most of your driving to actually enjoy it. Im usually in comfort mode in town due to road surfaces but i keep the trans in S.

Maybe it is the LX “modes” that is screwing with you??

LC has no mode other than “Power” mode which i never use. I have no complaints. In fact, the past week, i drove LC exclusively in city and highway…probably close to 1000 miles. No complaints. My Honda ZF 9-speed on the other hand is a true POS.

 

[AnyMal]

Oh, if true, then I may have to take back my harsh criticism of LC’s fake crap.

Its the price point that makes your critique applicable. Or you could turn your attention to the peeling steering wheel…

 

[AnyMal]

Maybe it is the LX “modes” that is screwing with you??

LC has no mode other than “Power” mode which i never use. I have no complaints. In fact, the past week, i drove LC exclusively in city and highway…probably close to 1000 miles. No complaints. My Honda ZF 9-speed on the other hand is a true POS.

Your shifter doesn’t push left into S?

 

[Madtiger]

Well let me clarify, MY 8 speed definitely sucks. I thought they had solved the transmission issue by late '18, which mine is, but maybe mine has other issues. Regardless, I like the fact that a 6 speed just doesn't shift as much. I dont want to feel the tranny, I want to feel the engine. Every time I start to savor the engine, it shifts! You dont need 8 gears to reach 80 miles an hour in a Land Cruiser. I can see 8 speeds in an M5, or lots of gears when you are pulling a bunch of weight. But everyone knows the only reason they added two more gears was to hopefully grab a tiny bit more fuel mileage in order to help meet federally regulated fuel standards across the fleet. Id probably prefer a 5 speed. Maybe Ill see if I can do an AB60F swap. While looking that up, I just found that the 8 speed is also used on the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport! Great, that will help me sleep better.

I don’t tow. (And i don’t think that the 8-speed got any better MPGs either.) But i love the 8-speed providing excellent CRAWL ratio while off the beaten path….

 

[Madtiger]

Its the price point that makes your critique applicable. Or you could turn your attention to the peeling steering wheel…

true on price point. I cannot think of ANY vehicle above $60k that has fake wood. Damnit, now i am back to my rant against the fake crap!

Peeling steering wheel?? Wait, what?1

 

[Madtiger]

Your shifter doesn’t push left into S?

Oh yeah…lol…well, now you know how much i use that!

Actually, i use S-mode not for speed…but for descending Colorado moutain passes and engine braking, where i spent 1/2 of my life.

 

[AnyMal]

Im going to be doing a calibration soon somehow or another and will report back. I do not have any harshness in any shift in my late 2017 and dont need the TSB but with the previous owner mystery and larger tires im hoping it will do something for me.

Its been a couple years of my light foot behind the wheel so i dont know how its not adapting but maybe its my fault. Im not an aggressive acceleration type of guy, im more of a momentum driver. I speed but not from standstill. Not trying to see single digit city MPG…

 

[AnyMal]

true on price point. I cannot think of ANY vehicle above $60k that has fake wood. Damnit, now i am back to my rant against the fake crap!

Peeling steering wheel?? Wait, what?1

Seems to be common here.

 

[Mrtwooooo]

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned about the 2016+ LX is how the windows roll up. I do not know if the pre 2016 models or if the LC does this but when you roll up the windows the movement slows down the last 2” or so as it goes up. I guess to give it a more premium feel of soft closing.

 

[1Maverick]

I’ve had 4 200’s, starting with the ‘08, ‘14,’19 and now ‘20. I can absolutely without a doubt say the ‘20 shifting is not an issue in traffic as we just spent an extra 2.5hrs getting to Florida in the worst stop n go traffic I’ve ever witnessed heading there. Many times traveling at 5mph for a couple miles in intervals. We didn’t notice any shifting issues. It simply drove very smooth and unnoticed. However, in my first 200’s they were fine but felt sluggish with my 34’s getting on the freeway or passing. My ‘20 doesn’t even notice them. The only issue I had with my ‘20 and it happened just twice early on and hasn’t presented itself since then, was the 1st-2nd gear change when slowing to a crawl and then pushing on the gas for an instant upshift, we felt a harsh gear change. That was worrisome but again, hasn’t happened in a year so far. The 6-spd in my ‘14 was great at towing our car over vail pass. I have also towed with the ‘20 and has zero complaints, in fact it was great.

Update: referring to the LC’s I’ve owned

 

[AnyMal]

I’ve had 4 200’s, starting with the ‘08, ‘14,’19 and now ‘20. I can absolutely without a doubt say the ‘20 shifting is not an issue in traffic as we just spent an extra 2.5hrs getting to Florida in the worst stop n go traffic I’ve ever witnessed heading there. Many times traveling at 5mph for a couple miles in intervals. We didn’t notice any shifting issues. It simply drove very smooth and unnoticed. However, in my first 200’s they were fine but felt sluggish with my 34’s getting on the freeway or passing. My ‘20 doesn’t even notice them. The only issue I had with my ‘20 and it happened just twice early on and hasn’t presented itself since then, was the 1st-2nd gear change when slowing to a crawl and then pushing on the gas for an instant upshift, we felt a harsh gear change. That was worrisome but again, hasn’t happened in a year so far. The 6-spd in my ‘14 was great at towing our car over vail pass. I have also towed with the ‘20 and has zero complaints, in fact it was great.

All those being LCs?

This may be a thing… LX does have more horsepower afterall.

 

[1Maverick]

All those being LCs?

This may be a thing… LX does have more horsepower afterall.

Sorry, they were all LC’s

 

[LTSR]

The peeling steering wheel for the LCs seems to have been limited to 2016-2017 models, AFAIK

 

[TeCKis300]

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned about the 2016+ LX is how the windows roll up. I do not know if the pre 2016 models or if the LC does this but when you roll up the windows the movement slows down the last 2” or so as it goes up. I guess to give it a more premium feel of soft closing.

Good point and I've always wondered if some of this minutia is present in all the variants.

I can say the pre-16 LXs do this too. Maybe the LC guys can weigh in.

The puddle and side step lights are another. I know the LC doesn't have step lights, but wonder if they have other exterior lights? When approaching the LX at night, a proximity sensor will illuminate the step and puddle lights which is a nice feature in the dark.

 

[AnyMal]

I was motivated to do some digging by my um feelings on this, and well, heres the problem:

From the model intro feature set:

The 10% throttle shift map in FSM: (honestly cant believe my eyes, but at least im not crazy this truck will shift at 3MPH by design LOLOLOL)

And of course lets not forget how to re initialize the learning TCM (what i was saying with absolute certainty was not done correctly at the dealer):

Its still unclear to me based on the instructions from the true linguists and poets of the FSM if they want one pattern of your choice done 5 times or all 3.
Either way ya, um no.


Here is the only other map listed: WOT which lets you basically redline as I'm sure you know. I'm guessing most people are seeing this as there is no in-between outside of "learning"?

Does anyone else see anything clearly wrong here?


Its very apparent for me when im stopped, right turn from standstill, traffic coming and I get a huuuge delay getting moving without slamming the pedal.
I should not need in first gear, with 403 ft*lbf@3600 rpm low end torque, and 4.795 ratio have to ever ever do that unless it's designed for morons.
Instead of actually revving, if you do any sort of light pedal work, yes indeed, it will ****ing shift at 3 MPH and 1500 RPM with traffic coming right at you.
It does not allow you to use the torque, oh no.
It will instead rob you of it, use it to rev match, and to get you into a more "efficient" gear, at a ridiculous speed so you can get rear ended and honked at.

It is clear to me now that if you drive with a light foot like I do, since I hate aggressive driving that you are gonna get clowned on by the TCM.
I suspect everyone who likes the 8 speed has a lead foot and lives in more suburban settings?

Im not surprised the tuning here is based around grandma having only two states of pedal control, on and off and doesn't know how to modulate a throttle.
This is yet another Toyota-ism that I cant seem to get away from just like the steering weight, its not setup correctly...
On top of all this computer control there is unfortunately still no kick down for a real "just go" type emergency?

I'm used to performance cars and have a very delicate foot from cars that would give passengers whiplash with a noob behind the wheel.
I may just be better off with a pedal commander or something since It doesn't seem like calibrating this will do anything, this is how its ****ing designed...
Im just tired of trying to fix everything wrong with this truck from factory and I have yet to find a "learning reset" for the "AI".

This is a very mismanaged product line from top to bottom.
It's like they tried to take as much joy away from the 5.7 as they possibly could to make it "smooth", IE smooth for people who don't know how to drive.
And one more oddity for the LX to add insult to injury is "premium" fuel? WHY??? Does anyone know why Lexus does that outside of brand appearances?
It's like they think people don't know its just a 4 runner or LC underneath.
Why do I have to pay more for gas? Im afraid to even try 89 based on some of the guys here with the spark advance debate etc.

I dont know, this is why I took a 6 month break from messing with the truck. This isn't the type of messing with that I enjoy.

 

[AnyMal]

This might explain 1-2 shift shock, torque reduction factor of 2 from the unusable (on-road) 1st gear on the first upshift.
After 3 MPH, you get half as much torque!!! YAY!
Of course it doesn't feel right. With light throttle, its just trying shift again at, wait for it, 6 MPH! LOL
No wonder it feels gutless and still guzzles gas. Its handicapped the way i drive it. Literally.

2016+:

2008-2015:

 

[John Guedry]

I have a 2016 LC got in 2017, at that time drove the 2015 lx liked the LC more. However just last week my wife and I drove a 2016 LX as she might want a GX/lx replacement for her LS sedan. I was impressed w the 2016 lx, drove smaller than the LC and GX, and felt more quick. My LC feels like a tank, much like the GX, the LX felt more refined.