Harsh 1-2 shift on 8 speed

[Hokie99]

Bought my wife a 2016 LX 570 last month, we love the vehicle, 65k miles one owner no accidents serviced at Lexus in Houston. I am noticing, especially when the tranny is cold, that the 1st to 2ndshift is harsh...like my friends Mustang 5.0 with a shift kit back in high school harsh.

Are you guys and gals with the 8 speed seeing the same thing?

Thanks in advance all.

 

[04UZJ100]

Search around on here. Ensure that the TSB (software update) has been applied as the 2016 and 2017 were susceptible to what you describe.

 

[CharlieS]

Not sure about the LX, but the 16-17 LC had a TSB for the harsh shifting. It fixed the shifting for me.

 

[Hokie99]

Ok will do, I thought TSB was more about the tranny searching for gears too much but obviously I did not read all of the threads. Thanks again all.

 

[Madtiger]

If it was service by Lexus, then should it not already have the TSB??

 

[04UZJ100]

If it was service by Lexus, then should it not already have the TSB??

No. It’s not a recall.

 

[Hokie99]

I did not see any mention on the Lexus Owners site of any TSB being done to this vehicle. Thanks and I will get this service performed soon. Thanks again.

 

[JS22STL]

Pretty common. My 18 is a little harsher than I'd like when it's cold or if you are slowing down and start to accelerate. Once I learned the behavior of the trans I have adapted my driving and it behaves much better.

 

[CharlieS]

I have to chuckle how everyone is so eager to claim the land cruiser heritage for their Lexus badged variant, but when the same problem exists across brands they’re treated as if they are vastly different animals. Does the Lx570 share a transmission and programming with the land Cruiser, or is it different? I honestly don’t know. If it is the same, many of us with ‘16 or ‘17 Land Cruisers have had the 1-2 shifting issues addressed with a Toyota TSB (TSB 0209-17). It is not applied automatically or proactively by dealers, but they can apply it. As I said, this fixed the issue on my ‘16 land cruiser. Use that information in any way you like. The Lx may not have the same issue, fix or resolution - I don’t have the foggiest idea.

 

[spazzyfry123]

I've read up on other threads and conversations on the topic. I see some mention the harsh shift under hard throttle. While I can't say that I notice anything too goofy on the 1-2, I definitely notice harsh under hard throttle. Not just a "I wish it was smoother" but a "oh wow, that was a big jolt." Sounds like this 1-2 shift complaint's TSB also takes care of that?

I don't see anything in the vehicle history report to indicate that this was performed, my VIN is part of the "affected list" in that other threads indicate a VIN cutoff, but Toyota Owner website does not indicate that anything is outstanding. As I am not the original owner, is there a clear way to understand if it has already been performed/mine truly is a part of the affected list? Or is a simple call to the dealer the best method?

Thanks!

 

[CharlieS]

According to the bulletin, the dealer is supposed to apply a sticker to the underside of the hood, but my dealer did not do that. Toyota customer service said that my vehicle did not show my vin needing the TSB according to their system. The dealer test drove and verified the harsh shifting behaviors, then applied the TSB as I requested. It fixed the issues. YMMV.

 

[Hokie99]

I will make an appointment in a April to get this TSB performed and will report back. Thanks everyone for your time in replying. Have a good evening.

 

[hamiltoneod]

OP, any update?
I have a 2017 and was told the TSB was performed but the shifting is still terrible. I may take it to a different dealer to see.

 

[borfoo3]

I have to chuckle how everyone is so eager to claim the land cruiser heritage for their Lexus badged variant, but when the same problem exists across brands they’re treated as if they are vastly different animals. Does the Lx570 share a transmission and programming with the land Cruiser, or is it different? I honestly don’t know. If it is the same, many of us with ‘16 or ‘17 Land Cruisers have had the 1-2 shifting issues addressed with a Toyota TSB (TSB 0209-17). It is not applied automatically or proactively by dealers, but they can apply it. As I said, this fixed the issue on my ‘16 land cruiser. Use that information in any way you like. The Lx may not have the same issue, fix or resolution - I don’t have the foggiest idea.

I don't believe the LX570 had this issue. My personal theory is that this drivetrain was originally optimized for the LX570, which had bigger wheels and a ~200lb weight difference vs the 200.

I test drove my relative's 2020 LX570 in heavy traffic, which felt much smoother in figuring out the 1-2 shifts under low speed /heavy traffic driving compared to my 2020 LC200. The 200 is just too eager to downshift to 1st gear when coasting, and drives far better when I kept it locked in '2nd start' mode in almost every scenario besides moving from stand still.

 

[Hokie99]

I don't believe the LX570 had this issue. My personal theory is that this drivetrain was originally optimized for the LX570, which had bigger wheels and a ~200lb weight difference vs the 200.

I test drove my relative's 2020 LX570 in heavy traffic, which felt much smoother in figuring out the 1-2 shifts under low speed /heavy traffic driving compared to my 2020 LC200. The 200 is just too eager to downshift to 1st gear when coasting, and drives far better when I kept it locked in '2nd start' mode in almost every scenario besides moving from stand still.

Ok, so my Amsoil flush definitely helped the 1-2 shift but it was still too harsh for my liking. I took it to the dealer to do the re-flash and now it’s shifting how a Lexus should in my opinion.

 

[Hokie99]

OP, any update?
I have a 2017 and was told the TSB was performed but the shifting is still terrible. I may take it to a different dealer to see.

Interestingly the first time my dealer did the flash the computer didn’t take the re flash, the second time it did and the vehicle shifts much better. Maybe the re flash didn’t take on yours?

 

[CharlieS]

Is the version of the transmission ECU flash shown in Techstream someplace? If so, maybe we can get a sampling of versions that do or don’t have the reflash and whether they experience the hard shifting behaviors?

The Toyota TSB says to put a sticker on the inside of the hood, but my dealer didn’t…