To those with the auto -any throttle lag or hesitation at low speed?
 

To the members that have the auto, is there any throttle lag or hesitation when pulling from a slow corner or rolling stop? I have read all of the reviews and have seen no mention of this but I would like real world input. I am aware of the ''idle issue'' and am not asking about that. Many of today's autos (including Subaru) are programmed with a slight hesitation or lag. It can feel like the engine cant decide what gear to be in for a split second or it can feel like the ecu simply ignores peddle input, sometimes for up to a full second in the bad cases (04 Toyota Solara). Is anyone experiencing this annoyance?

No, not at all. I find it quite responsive. The only time there ever is any lag is when you come out of reverse, but I think that's a safety feature.

Rob

I've noticed no lag at all, either in full auto or manual mode. I contribute this to "good programming" as much as anything. Based on what I see on the display, the auto's brain always knows, based on the mode you are in, if it is acceptable to switch up or down a gear, so if the request comes in, it just does it.

You can see this on the display in manual mode where it constantly displays next to the gear number an up, a down or both arrows letting you know what you can do.

I have been very impresses with the automatic transmission. Light years ahead of my 01 Prelude. Very smooth at any RPM, but youll be in manual mode more often than not ;)

Appreciate the feed back.

First you should know that I ordered a manual and ended up buying an automatic after test driving them both. I did not feel like I was loosing any performance by going with the auto, plus I'm not 20 years old anymore (ie no street/drag racing) and this is my daily driver (comfort, mpg, etc.)

But to answer your question, mine has zero lag. It knows what gear to be in based on speed and throttle position. Manual mode feels just as quick as driving a manual trans. They did a great job with it IMO.

I've noticed a bit of a lag in downshifting when it's in sport mode, usually at highway speeds. I've had the same issue in my Lexus IS250 which has essentially the same transmission. I think the computer might get a bit confused on whether to downshift 1 or 2 gears. Doesn't happen all the time.

Interesting, haven't noticed that, but I don't run in Sport mode very often. I tend to either run in standard auto (with manual intervention using the paddles) or in manual.

I haven't noticed this either, but I too don't use sport mode on the highway.

I have not hit any lag on the Auto. It does however get confused going on a steep and windy hill on low speed. It will keep the revs at 1500 rpm and will hesitate to downshift if I keep it a certain speed (which happens to be around 15-20mph due to up hill traffic) However I do just tap paddle shifters to kick it down or push more on the accelerator.

Other than that, the AT is a champ!

I think when you get an automatic with 6 speeds there is some computer confusion. I once floored my Lexus IS250 to pass and rather than downshift from 6th to 5th it went in to 3rd screaming at 6000 rpm. 6th is pretty much an overdrive and probably what I should have done is press the accelerator less exuberantly going for 5th or 4th gear. Still getting used to both cars automatics.

I noticed a lag occasionally when I took it out for my test drive. Hasn't been a problem since, or maybe I'm not as attentive as I was when I was checking it out. Or, maybe the ECU calibrates after a certain amount of miles?

1. Doesn't address OPs post.
2. Auto gets better MPG due to the longer gearing in 5th and 6th

OP: Like others have said, there is no throttle lag. I haven't had a delay in downshifts either, but have only used it during spirited drives and not cruising on the highway so IDK if that is a factor.

Well, yes, in certain aggressive attacks the nannies will limit fuel. Avoid excessive throttle and turn inputs combinations. Select Sport/VSC off mode while choosing gear selections to maintain the 5-7k power range to get the full capabilities available in the FR-S.

Have any of you tried launching your auto? It bogs down before it decides to get up and go. I am talking with nannies on/off or any combination. Its like it lugs all the way up to a certain range in the RPM. My friends manual does not experience this which is expected.

Is this what the OP is talking about?

Is this with the brake fully depressed? Toyota has a safety feature where it won't rev passed 2k with the brake fully in. Only problem is the car moves without stickier tires. :bonk:

Or if you talking about a neutral drop then yeah, that doesn't work. You need to get around 90$%on the brakes in drive to launch. But like I said, with sticky tires the car still rolls a bit

Yea it is fully depressed because of what you mentioned. I can sit and spin the tires but anymore pressure on the brake and its a no go :p

Whats 90% to you?

A little less than 100. Lol. IDK really. I just put it down all the way and let off very very slowly to find the sweet spot

Please explain to me how a launch is performed... I'm very curious as to how to pull this off in an auto.

I am interested in this technique as well :thumbup:

I've experienced this too. I live on a steep hill with speed bumps. In sport mode, every time I slow for the speed bumps, it will not downshift to keep moving but instead gets bogged down around 1500, until I really put excessive input on the throttle. Just been resorting to paddle control on my hill like some of you have been doing; though at first I thought something was buggy with the shift logic. Maybe tomorrow I'll see if going up the steep hill in normal mode fixes this error.

That lag I am wondering about plagues many Toyotas, Lexus, and many other modern vehicles. It happens when you are decelerating to around 20 mph, say for an upcoming turn, then you go to hit the gas and there is a delay between peddle input and acceleration which can cause a sudden jerk as the gears finally engage. Toyota actually had an ECU update TSB (for my model) about this but it did little good.

I have this issue in my car (04 Solara v6) and have been looking into it for a long time. The best theory I have seen is that the shift logic is such that the car, when decelerating, will stay in to high a gear to avoid engine braking thus increasing mpg. When you go to hit the gas the car needs to downshift which for some reason takes longer than it should. It is precisely the downshift hesitation that I am worried about as it can be a real pain. I also wonder if it has something to do with the Stator in the torque converter but that is just an idea.

Do any others with the auto have this ''downshift hesitation'', delay between peddle input and acceleration, or jerkiness, particularly when resuming acceleration immediately after moderate deceleration?

Haven't had any issues. It's gotten even more peppy after break-in (about 2500miles right now).