Erratic Handling
03-20-08, 02:20 PM
#16
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I would say the quality is questionable if my car already has one of those remanufactured racks and it is already shot, although my car does have high km's it's already on its second rack.
03-27-08, 04:31 AM
#17
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I was under the car last weekend and everything in the steering rack and linkage seemed tight.....no play. My frustration has finally reached the point where I made an appointment with the dealership for tomorrow. I will provide the following info to them when I bring it:
Sequence of events:
Sequence of events:
2/16/08 - Replaced the two front tires, which were bald on inside. Had “H” rated Michelin MXV4 tires installed.
2/18/08 - Had front-end alignment done. After doing so, it’s the first time I really noticed the erratic handling.
3/3/08 - My suspension was tired, so I decided to replace the struts (front & rear), strut mounts (front & rear), and strut bearings (front). Also, I decided to replace the front tie rod ends, front ball joints, and sway bar links (front & rear) in an effort to improve handling.
3/5/08 - Had the alignment re-done after the suspension parts were replaced. I also decided to replace the other two tires.
Handling did not improve after the above work was performed. Quite frankly, it’s scary to drive on a windy day, as the car is all over the road.
3/17/08 – Thinking the problem might be the tires, I exchanged all the tires. This time I had “V” rated Michelin MXV4 tires installed.
No change in handling.
3/21/08 – Got under the car, looking for play in the tie rod links (inner), and the steering rack. Everything seems tight to me. I added a little toe-in into the steering to see if it had any effect on handling. No change. I’m stumped!
2/18/08 - Had front-end alignment done. After doing so, it’s the first time I really noticed the erratic handling.
3/3/08 - My suspension was tired, so I decided to replace the struts (front & rear), strut mounts (front & rear), and strut bearings (front). Also, I decided to replace the front tie rod ends, front ball joints, and sway bar links (front & rear) in an effort to improve handling.
3/5/08 - Had the alignment re-done after the suspension parts were replaced. I also decided to replace the other two tires.
Handling did not improve after the above work was performed. Quite frankly, it’s scary to drive on a windy day, as the car is all over the road.
3/17/08 – Thinking the problem might be the tires, I exchanged all the tires. This time I had “V” rated Michelin MXV4 tires installed.
No change in handling.
3/21/08 – Got under the car, looking for play in the tie rod links (inner), and the steering rack. Everything seems tight to me. I added a little toe-in into the steering to see if it had any effect on handling. No change. I’m stumped!
03-27-08, 05:02 AM
#18
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you can do this yourself by jacking the car up and letting wheels rool at 20 mph[only do this if you know whatim talking about and can do it safely etc], or you can take your car to service center [easiest/safest] and have them spin your wheels on tirebalancer machine [you might go ahead and pay for balancing i guess] and they will tell you which wheels have bad wobble to them. i would watch while it happens so you can see since it might be more than one, and the differences so you will know which are worth replacing if one or more are truely wobbling.
also, the problem might be the road, try a different road and stuff like that.
you could also rotate the wheels to see if changes --> to a wheel wobble
also, the problem might be the road, try a different road and stuff like that.
you could also rotate the wheels to see if changes --> to a wheel wobble
03-27-08, 07:31 PM
#19
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Wow. Not even sure what to say after that one. Were you joking ll?
I'm very interested to see what the stealership comes up with and appreciate you sharing your info. I haven't done too much to the car yet, especially after everything you have gone through with yours, but I would like to have this fixed as well.
kev.
I'm very interested to see what the stealership comes up with and appreciate you sharing your info. I haven't done too much to the car yet, especially after everything you have gone through with yours, but I would like to have this fixed as well.
kev.
03-28-08, 01:49 AM
#20
So theres no play side to side in the wheels whatsoever? This just sounds like control arm bushings to me with the severe wear on the inside and the loose handling. I saw you replaced many bushings and maybe I can't read but have you replaced them?
03-28-08, 02:07 AM
#21
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i've had a similar problem to this on a car after putting lowering springs and aftermarket wheels on. The wheel camber was way off, causing excessive tire wear on one side of the tire as well as a 'pushed around by the wind' sensation. IIRC with the es300, the camber is not adjustable, but I don't know for sure.
03-28-08, 05:05 AM
#22
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When I had the car up on jacks, I could not feel any side to side play in the wheels. I was under if for a while trying, but came up with nothing.
Other than replacing the sway bar links, I did not change any bushings. It would be nice if it was something simple like control arm bushings.
It's in the dealer's hands as I type this. I'll let you know what they find.
Other than replacing the sway bar links, I did not change any bushings. It would be nice if it was something simple like control arm bushings.
It's in the dealer's hands as I type this. I'll let you know what they find.
03-31-08, 04:37 AM
#23
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On Friday, Lexus could not find anything wrong with the steering or suspension hardware. Everything checked out okay. They did not have time to check the alignment, so the car is back at the dealership so they can check that out today.
I'll keep you posted.
I'll keep you posted.
03-31-08, 10:32 AM
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The dealership just called and said the toe-in on the front wheels was off 1/3 of a degree on each side. Thinking that it was off by the amount of toe-in I added in (I added a 1/2 turn each side), I asked how much of an adjustment that it took to bring the front end back into spec. The technician said that it took approxiamtely 3 turns on each side to bring it back into spec. A rough calculation indicates that the toe-in was off by .156 inch total. Could this be the cause of my problems? I hope so, but I'll see when I get it back.
I guess a good rule of thumb is, don't have your tire dealer do your front end alignment. It's like having your oil man tune-up your furnace. The fox is watching the hen house.
I guess a good rule of thumb is, don't have your tire dealer do your front end alignment. It's like having your oil man tune-up your furnace. The fox is watching the hen house.
04-01-08, 04:29 AM
#26
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The car definitely drives better since the alignment was corrected. It's not what I would call perfect for a car with 193K on it. But it's better. I guess I'm going to just accept it the way it is.
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