Is300H Permanent Drivetrain Vibrations @1300Rpms

[Steve44]

cant say ive ever noticed this, though possibly have but put it down to tyre roar or vibration from a ribbed or rough surface. What are the circumstances and symptoms exactly?

[ColinBarber]

Under gently engine load/acceleration, typically around 50mph maintaining speed going up a slight incline, you will get a resonance if the engine is running at around 1,300 rpm. It is similar to a rough road surface.

Best you don't go looking for this, once you discover it you will constantly be aware.

[darrude]

Definitely engine speed related as well, as the engine revs up / down you can hear and feel the car go through the "vibration" zone if that makes sense.

I have only noticed it in the roadworks on the M1 from derby to sheffield where there is a 20 mile 50mph zone. If it wasn't for this stretch of motorway I think I would be unaware and just assume that occasional vibrations were just down to road surface..

hope you never find it Steve44!

[darrude]

Well ECU update did absolutely nothing.... will keep pushing for the dampener fix. This and the Bluetooth disconnecting all the time are really ruining this car.

[dblacha]

Well, so this is the same ECU update as mine done a few months before. Exactly, it did nothing for me (other than placebo).

However... since I've got 35kkm+ on my ODO, I'm feeling that vibrations are less fillable! Maybe it's due to higher env. temperature.

A have one flat and long the road suburbs where I always felt vibrations. Now I CANNOT get them stable, even if I'm trying hard... Only short one when I'm sticking the 1300rpms hotspot.

[ToreOe]

So, has anyone else got this fix now? The "during July" estimate from my mechanic is now "start of September"...

-Tore

[darrude]

Mine was fitted yesterday, took just shy of 2 weeks for the parts to come. Not really used the car yet to see if the issue is fixed though.

[darrude]

Well, I have just done my first 150 mile journey, with the modification to the rear dampener. I wouldn't say it is a 100% fix but it really is only barely noticeable, and I was deliberately driving to make it as bad as it could be, and only on one stretch of the M1 would I say I noticed it when I wasn't trying to notice it (ie, radio on quite loud), and even then, I think had I not had the issue in the first place I wouldn't have actually thought anything of it as it was quite subtle.

I actually Emailed this forum topic over to the dealer (Lexus Coventry) as the first time the car was in they knew nothing about this issue. They rung Lexus UK and ordered the parts the same day. I would say if you have a similarly affected car then might be worth doing the same as I think this is isolated to a handful of cars that dealers are maybe not aware. Not sure how correct this is, the service guy said the fault is caused by a manufacturing issue with the chassis.

[ToreOe]

Thank you for the update Darren.

It seems some owners does not notice this issue, while others are bothered by it. I was passenger in another IS300h a few weeks, and could feel the vibrations clearly, even though the owner claimed his car did not have them. I pointed them out to him... "There! Can't you feel it?".

A couple of days ago I met him again, and he cursed me for making him notice. Now he could feel the vibrations all the time and was really bothered about them

-Tore

[Blom1974]

Will have mine done in a couple of weeks.

[ToreOe]

Well, today is the day.

I'm off to Lexus now to have the damper installed. (And they are going to try to fix an issue I have where the infotainment freezes when someone calls me when I'm in the car. Good luck to them with that one.)

I must say I'm pretty exited, and anxious. The report from Darren that it wasn't an 100% fix worries me a bit.

I'll report back after "surgery".

-Tore

[ToreOe]

Well...

As I was about to set off to Lexus on Monday, they called me. They hadn't got the parts. New appointment tomorrow. New call, no parts. New appointment Monday 21.

This could take a while.

[Blom1974]

Had mine done last week. For me it is a complete fix! It makes the ride smother in all speeds not only the dredded 1300rpm spot. I am not able to force the problem either. I had a tad of vibration running motorway speeds around 130-140km/h but that has dissapeared too. Thought i had unbalanced wheels but that was not the case then. It also make the idle rpm lower and they have deleted the old software fix that made the engine try to skip 1300-1400 rpm all the time. You are now able to easily choose to stay on 1400 again.

It feels som much better and more luxurious with a smooth drivetrain !

[darrude]

Glad to hear it is a 100% fix. Can I ask you a strange question. Since mine had the fix I've noticed sometimes that the "EV" light flickers on and off like it can't decided where our not to go into EV mode. Not sure if it is a problem I should go back to the dealer for. Also it enters EV mode at speeds upto 70mph if going downhill which it never did before. It's intermittent now though so hard to shore the dealer.

[Deadloak]

Mine does that too, with no fix. So not connected Darren, is my guess.

Davud.

[DJP]

The car will go into EV mode whenever the system determines the car can run on the Battery alone, and that can be at higher speeds than you might expect. If you tapped the accelerator pedal I'm sure it would go out again just as quick.

If it's coming on and going off again I wouldn't see that as abnormal, if it's flickering like a dodgy light bulb, that would be a concern.

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

[ToreOe]

Well, back from Lexus after having the tuned damper installed.

I have to agree with Mikael, this fix is amazing. Not only are the vibrations gone, the driveline is so much more silent at all speeds.

They didn't manage to fix the bluetooth/phone issue though. New infotainment "brain" is on order.

Still, I'm a very happy camper now!

-Tore

[Blom1974]

Glad to hear it is a 100% fix. Can I ask you a strange question. Since mine had the fix I've noticed sometimes that the "EV" light flickers on and off like it can't decided where our not to go into EV mode. Not sure if it is a problem I should go back to the dealer for. Also it enters EV mode at speeds upto 70mph if going downhill which it never did before. It's intermittent now though so hard to shore the dealer.

I have seen it flicker sometimes too. But i saw that before the mod aswell. I think it is normal.

[beneee]

Whilst I was on the toyota site yesterday i noticed a Technical Service Bulletin labeled "Vibration and droning noise when driving".

It sounds like exactly what you are describing, its dated 27/07/2015

Here is the brief description.

CP-0082L-0614

Models:
GS300h; IS300H

DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENON
Some customers may experience and report vibration and droning noise when driving between 80 to 90km/h.

PRODUCTION CHANGE
1. Software logic of power management ECU has been changed.
2. Dynamic damper of Rear differential carrier has been added. (*)
* Applicable for ONLY IS300h

[Zotto]

Thanks for info. Being a GS300h owner I will pay more attention if vibration occurs and if so I will tell to next service.

[Deadloak]

Does it feel like you are driving over a comb (best description I could come up with) :)

Otherwise it was just a bad road surface I noticed.

I've only experienced this a couple of times, but not on my normal commute, which is lucky.

David

[bfimmortal]

Hello everyone,

I'm from Melbourne Australia. Does anyone know whether this issue is "officially" addressed in Lexus Australia and its dealerships? Thanks!

[dutchie01]

i drove a base model IS 300h from 2014 for 3 weeks until my new IS300h F-sport was ready so i can compare the 2. I first noticed the strange noise combined with vibrations from the diveshaft? when driving on the highway in heavy traffic doing 40/50mph for at least 20km. the engine is humming just over idle rpm and the system constantly switches between petrol and electric. when the petrol kicks in the sound is there and oh boy did that het irritate. mainly because the cabin is so quiet ( i recently drove a jag xkr 8cyl convertible and when you accellerate it vibrates, rattles, sniffs, shakes but here it is called character... ). from that moment on i always noted that sound and i could onluyhope my car would be better.

and it is. the new 2015 does have it but much shorter. it is more or les bearable. but is still wonder why Lexus brought this car to market with this phenomena. i sometimes think it was marketed too soon and development was not finished yet.. i am sure they knew and maybe that is also the reason the IS300H is not for sale in the states?..

[Webra]

I had the technical bulletin update done on my car, model year 2013. There is a software update along with the diff damper install. I have noticed that the drone at 1300rpms is hardly detectable now, so it's a big difference. Additionally, the engine is somehow smoother and quieter, and the boom at 4000 rpms is also less, so the whole car feels more refined then before. I also noticed that in eco mode the car is less sluggish in low to mid throttle.

A recent front bushing and rear anti roll bar upgrade has turned it into a real neutral handler. Stock suspension.

[Adrianotiger]

Well ECU update did absolutely nothing.... will keep pushing for the dampener fix. This and the bluetooth disconnecting all the time are really ruining this car.

Hi,

did you solved the Bluetooth issue? I have the same bug since 1 month (never worked correctly, but now it connect and disconnect every minute).

I was thinking my phone was broken and so I am waiting for a new one (Lumia950), but at this point it is probably a nav.bug!

I downloaded the last update from customerportal.lexus.eu last week but the bug is still there.