Hi all to new owners of the HS250. We have owned the car for about a month. It is a great car. My one complaint is an annoying one that takes lot away from the joy of driving the car though. I have noticed that the car surges around 40 to 45 mph and around 55-60mph. I thought maybe there was a problem with the car, but took the car for a test drive with the head mechanic at our dealership. He knew right away the problem. From my reading, it is not with all hybrids, and perhaps with a good number though. The computer is over sensitive trying to accommodate the battery and engine. The mechanic called this "rubber banding" effect. The car surges forward at these speeds on the highway since both the battery and engine are switching " in and out" If you research this topic for all Toyota and Lexus hybrids, it is a common problem for some. For those "some" it is annoying. For the Lexus RX400H, it become enough of a problem from 2005 to 2007, that Lexus found a fix for it in a update of the firmware in July 2007 that stopped the problem, and also improved the gas mileage for those affected. Having the car for only a month and noticing this as a problem, the mechanic said that the car is too new and need to hear more from customers to see if it is an ongoing common problem before they will put a team together to fix the issue. The car is selling like hotcakes from what I hear, and I am anxious for others to see if this is a problem for them as well, otherwise, for the unlucky few that sense this in their cars, it will never be fixed. I have reviewed some in the internet for the Prius and Camry, and there are also isolated incidence with those models too. The mechanic say that the cars are different enough that the same fix doesn't fix all. Too bad. Thanks for reading and posting your experiences. Lexus monitors these forums, so hopefully they will see that this is a problem to address.
Problem: Continued speed surge while on cruise control.
I have had the 250h for a few months now; driven over 5000 miles; mainly on highways. Overall it runs great.
One problem I have noticed is as follows. If I put the car in cruise control and touch the cruise control lever upwards for a fraction of a second to increase the speed, as expected, the speed goes up by a mile or two.
However, if the contact with the cruise control lever is for a couple of seconds or so, the speed continues to surge in an uncontrolled fashion--from 60 to 65, 70, 75 etc. By stepping on the brake, speed does get under control. My wife took it to lexus dealership and drove the car with their mechanic. He told her that this is not a problem and occurs with hybrid cars! I am concerned about this and has scheduled another visit to the dealership. Has anyone else noticed this type of speed surge?
Surging
in Lexus HS 250h Club
Posted
Problem: Continued speed surge while on cruise control.
I have had the 250h for a few months now; driven over 5000 miles; mainly on highways. Overall it runs great.
One problem I have noticed is as follows. If I put the car in cruise control and touch the cruise control lever upwards for a fraction of a second to increase the speed, as expected, the speed goes up by a mile or two.
However, if the contact with the cruise control lever is for a couple of seconds or so, the speed continues to surge in an uncontrolled fashion--from 60 to 65, 70, 75 etc. By stepping on the brake, speed does get under control. My wife took it to lexus dealership and drove the car with their mechanic. He told her that this is not a problem and occurs with hybrid cars! I am concerned about this and has scheduled another visit to the dealership. Has anyone else noticed this type of speed surge?