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Posted

I’m having an issue when cold, less than 30F. The car shows “Shift System Malfunction” on the dash. Been to the dealership and they tell me it’s a known issue with no fix available. On the work order they document it as they can’t replicate the issue and that I should return if it does it again. When I picked up the car they drove it in and the warning was on the dash. I showed them and they say the same thing. I’ve reached out to Lexus, doesn’t appear that is going anywhere. Has anyone else had this issue?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Yes, after a cold weather start.  Sounded a little off at first. Stopped at store came back out and cleared, sounded OK then.

Posted

Thanks. Exactly the same thing. It goes away when you shut off the car and restart it. Still working with Lexus on it. As of right now shutting it off and restarting is my work around, like I’m driving a winter beater. Pretty frustrated with Lexus. Lots of folks just live with it but we don’t know what the cause is or what could stop working someday as a result. Everyone experiencing this should notify Lexus and hopefully someday there will be a proper recall/fix.

Posted

Weak batteries tend to cause strange display warnings when the weather gets cold. Have you or the dealership's tech checked your battery?

Posted

Hi, I'm considering buying a 2023 RX350 with 9,800 miles.  I took it for a test drive today and immediately upon starting the car, this same warning light came on.  I cleared it by following the on screen instructions but it came right back.  The temp outside was in the 40's.  This vehicle is at a BMW dealer, so they had no clue what to do.  I told the BMW salesman that if he can find a resolution, I will buy it.  Have you made any progress getting this resolved?

Posted

Unfortunately not. No known fix yet but it goes back to the dealer on 1/7/25 when our temps are looking to be colder. So far mine only does it below 30 degrees. Same thing, won’t clear with the menu reset but turning off the car and restarting will clear it. I have 14,000 miles on mine and bought it new. If I were you I would not buy it until Lexus figures out why it’s happening and what the fix is.

Posted

Thanks Tom.  Anxious to hear the outcome of your visit on the 7th.  I contacted the Lexus dealer that sold this car to the original owner.  They are located 10 minutes from my house.  Hoping they are motivated to get me an answer and earn my service business.  I will absolutely NOT buy this car unless this issue get resolved.

Posted

I spoke to a Lexus representative today that told me this is a common error.  According to him it occurs when you shift "too early".  I assume he means before the car has fully booted up.  Has anyone mentioned that before?

Posted

Yes and that is interesting. They did claim that could be the cause, I disagree for three reasons. 1) I, like most people drive the same way all the time and this issue only happens below 30 degrees. 2) I start the car right away and tend to have things with me (work bag, cup, etc.) that I get secured before I shift. I don’t shift as soon as I start the car. 3) the warning comes on immediately upon start up, you wouldn’t even have a chance to shift. At the dealership it was on when the valet brought in my car. Their claim was maybe the valet shifted too fast. I don’t feel this is the reason. I’ve taken at least one video and several photos. I expect it will be on tomorrow with the temps dropping overnight. I will video it again.

I’m glad you shared that. It sort of proves that theory is even more unlikely. I know when I’m shopping for a car it is usually new to me. I’m not familiar with the layout, how everything looks, works, etc. It seems odd to think someone unfamiliar with a vehicle would get in, start it and immediately shift into gear without getting a lay of the land so to speak. The boot up cycle on the car is fairly quick. Do you think you may have shifted into gear too quickly?

  • Like 1
Posted

All good points Tom, and Happy NewYear.  Here are further details on my efforts to get an answer. 

Yesterday I called and left voice mails for the service managers at 2 local Lexus dealers.  I didn't get a call back, so 9am today I went to the Lexus dealer that is 1/2 mile away from the BMW dealer.  The assistant service manager asked a tech but could not get an answer.  He said his top technology tech was not in and suggested I come back on Thursday with the car. 

I took the car for another test drive today and the error message did not appear.  I tried all 3 driving modes, gunned it and no errors.  I also started and re-started the car 3 times, and shifted while in the lot.  No error messages.  The weather here today was almost identical to yesterday.  40 degrees.

I put a $1k refundable deposit on the car and will be meeting with the porter from the BMW dealer at Lexus Thursday morning at 9:30.  The weather is supposed to be in the 20's Thursday.

AFTER the test drive and my efforts starting and re-starting, I was sitting in the office waiting for the deposit paperwork to get finished when I got a call from the other Lexus dealer.  The caller was not from the service department, he was from their loaner department covering for the service manager.  He had no idea why I called, so I explained my issue.  When I explained what was happening, he was the one that told me it happens all the time with drivers unfamiliar with the loaner cars.

I told him I cleared the error while driving the car but the error message came back a short time later.  He said to bring the car in and have it checked out.

To answer your question.  NO, both yesterday and today I did not attempt to shift the car immediately after starting it. 

How many miles are on your car and how long have you been dealing with this issue?

Posted

Happy New Year! Just turned 14,000 miles today. This issue started the end of last winter but it got warm shortly after it happened and I didn’t even contact the dealer then, chalked it up to a fluke.

Now consistently every time we get below 30 it happens. Keep in mind the hard part about this issue is it only happens on the first cold start. You can literally drive for feet, turn off the car, restart and the error is gone. The dealer says there isn’t anything they can do if the error isn’t present when they see the car. I understand that but it doesn’t resolve anything.

You have to do what you are comfortable with. Here is my prediction, the Lexus dealer will find nothing wrong. The error won’t be there when you go in and you have no way to prove, on record that car has anything wrong. The question you have to ask yourself is: Will this warning cause you any concern long term? You likely will live with it for as long as you own the car. Some folks are good with that and willing to accept it. Others might be nervous about it or tired of dealing with it and trade for a new BMW haha.

I’m 100% in the camp where one way or another I won’t live with it much longer. I’m hoping Lexus can fix it or make it right. Honestly I’m not super optimistic but who knows. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes next week at the dealer. So far it seems we are both getting the same info from the dealers. Not sure if I mentioned it but I do have an open case with the Lexus brand experience center and the plan next week is to involve a national technical expert from Lexus. They are trying, I’m confident they know about this issue. I’m equally confident they have no idea what is causing it yet and a fix does not exist.

  • Like 1
Posted

Wow... what a crazy situation.  I'm glad you've escalated this to the Lexus brand experience center.

It sounds like nothing is recorded in the diagnostic port either.

Silly question.  The error message says to see the Owners Manual.  I assume there is nothing of any help in the owners manual.

Posted

Owners manual did not help. I forget what it said now, I think something to the effect of if trouble persists contact the dealer. Not 100% sure.

I did find that NX post before also. Definitely sounds like the same issue. I had a hard time telling if there was a confirmed fix. Lots of people are treating it like it’s no big deal. Lexus/Toyota have an extremely loyal customer base. Some make excuses like it will go away when it gets warm or the battery is weak or it was the drivers fault for shifting too fast. Not wanting to admit their brand can have anything wrong. I’m not a brand loyal guy. These are machines some will be good, some bad. In the words of the broker….past performance does not guarantee future results. I think that statement very much applies to cars too.

Posted

Oh and you are correct. Nothing recorded in the diagnostic port of the car. Which is also interesting for a vehicle that tracks your every move and driving habits.

Posted

Just a suggestion, make sure you thoroughly document every time this occurs. Photo / video.  Had it happen once so far, but hoping not a re-occurring issue.

Still having issues with doors handle not releasing in the cold ( Another thread post ), dealer cannot replicate, but have multiple videos saved just in case.


Posted

Thank you and good suggestion. I am documenting it each time. I have several photos and at least one video so far. I am going to try to get more video to help prove I’m not shifting too soon.

Sorry to hear about the door handle issue. I haven’t experienced that but mine are temperamental. If the button is pushed and the door isn’t pushed open hard enough for example. It’s rare and I guess user error but still a pain when it gets stuck in that ajar space.

Lots of quirky things about the RX. The close and lock feature is another example. Great concept, works about 75% of the time.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Update for those following - Dealer picked up the car on Tuesday, 1/7/25. No progress yet. Sounds like Lexus is sending someone to MN to look at the car in person and they arrive next week. As of now Shift System Malfunction is still a mystery.

I did have another potential issue pop up last weekend. The Maintenance Required Soon light came on. It comes on briefly at start up and goes out within 30 seconds. According to the miles to next service (wrench icon) it has over 5,000 miles until service is needed. Someone told me the light might be indicating a tire rotation is due. Maybe but why has it never come on for that before? Why does it go out so quickly? How does the driver know what maintenance is required? Just seems odd and makes my paranoid side wonder if this car has electrical issues.

Stay tuned….

Posted

Sorry for the long delay in posting an update.

I met the porter at the BMW dealer om January 2nd and it was a cold morning.  We got in the car together and the error message came on immediately.  We took it to the Lexus dealer and I gave the service manager the Technical Service Bulletin dealing with the same issue on the NX model. 

By the end of the day the Lexus service manager called me and told me the battery was weak and they replaced it under warranty.  I called the BMW dealer and requested a refund on my deposit.  I took the day to test drive an Audi and an Acura but still liked the RX better. 

I stopped by a different Lexus dealer that by a stroke of luck had a 2024 Certified Pre-Owned RX350 with the Premium Plus and Luxury packages and I bought it on the spot.  17k miles but with 58 months left on the bumper to bumper warranty.

On a side note, the car was inside on the showroom floor.  Before we agreed to buy the car, my wife and I were sitting in the car with the accessories on and the batter died.  They replaced it immediately.  It seems odd that a 14 month old battery would need to be replaced, but I'm glad they replaced it. I've had no issues with the car.

Posted

Congratulations on your purchase! Sounds like a good find.

I picked up my car from the dealer last Friday. They said they did a software update on it. It’s been super cold here and so far the warning has not reoccurred. I’m a little suspicious for a few reasons but I’ll leave it alone now. Case closed and I’m happy to have my car back.

I want to say that this shift system malfunction issue does not seem wide spread. It seems to impact a handful of 2023s. I’ve had a few loaners during this experience and none had the issue. I wouldn’t be concerned about a battery going out on a show floor car. The RX has electronic everything and people in and out of a car looking at and trying all the features without the engine on drains the battery fast. Glad they gave you a new one.

Posted

Great news.  Glad they were finally able to resolve your issue.

Posted
On 1/1/2025 at 9:01 AM, Carguymn said:

Happy New Year! Just turned 14,000 miles today. This issue started the end of last winter but it got warm shortly after it happened and I didn’t even contact the dealer then, chalked it up to a fluke.

Now consistently every time we get below 30 it happens. Keep in mind the hard part about this issue is it only happens on the first cold start. You can literally drive for feet, turn off the car, restart and the error is gone. The dealer says there isn’t anything they can do if the error isn’t present when they see the car. I understand that but it doesn’t resolve anything.

You have to do what you are comfortable with. Here is my prediction, the Lexus dealer will find nothing wrong. The error won’t be there when you go in and you have no way to prove, on record that car has anything wrong. The question you have to ask yourself is: Will this warning cause you any concern long term? You likely will live with it for as long as you own the car. Some folks are good with that and willing to accept it. Others might be nervous about it or tired of dealing with it and trade for a new BMW haha.

I’m 100% in the camp where one way or another I won’t live with it much longer. I’m hoping Lexus can fix it or make it right. Honestly I’m not super optimistic but who knows. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes next week at the dealer. So far it seems we are both getting the same info from the dealers. Not sure if I mentioned it but I do have an open case with the Lexus brand experience center and the plan next week is to involve a national technical expert from Lexus. They are trying, I’m confident they know about this issue. I’m equally confident they have no idea what is causing it yet and a fix does not exist.

apparently, its a known issue with RX350 2023, and Lexus is not doing anything about it. more than likely they will have us/ consumer to wait it out till the warranty expires so they can charge thousands of $ to fix the issue

Posted

I suspect you are 100% correct. Nothing about this process was very reassuring to me. I have no proof, however the way this was handled and what I was told vs what was documented doesn’t add up. Warning is not coming on anymore. Was it fixed or just disabled? I’ll never know for sure. I trade often so with any luck I won’t have to deal with it anymore.

Posted

Glad to hear the error code was resolved, but I know what you mean about not having a good feeling entirely how or what was resolved. 

I'll be scheduling my 2023 to go in for the same issue.  Have been taking photos / video for my own record should something come up down the road.

You hate to be that way, but that's how times are now days.  

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