Charlie627

I am experiencing a very rough ride (feeling all cracks in the pavement or small indents) during city driving, but it is smooth on the interstate highways. I have Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires, 17 inch with 33 lbs. pressure. I have owned 3 Lexus vehicles, 2 LS models and one RX, and none had a ride this "busy", I can feel way too much on city streets, and the ride is "busy" if you know what I mean. I think maybe I should take 3 lbs. or air out of the tires, I did that on my Camry and the ride improved remarkably. I don't care about tire wear or gas mileage, but I can no longer be happy with the "ride" quality that is less than a 2005 Camry. Any one have any suggestions? Thanks

bc6152

Make sure that the tire pressure is accurately measured. Aside from the TPMS I would use an external measurement tool. Then I would start by reducing the pressure as you say.
I can't think what else it would be...

st1800

Tire gauges can vary widely in accuracy. The one I used on my last car consistently read low, I wore out 3 sets of tires in the middle due to over inflation.
Consumer reports rated the Accutire MS-4021B Digital Tire Pressure Gauge as the best for accuracy based on their tests against a high end scientific gauge.

Poppa

Charlie... did you just recently purchase the car.. If not has the ride been " busy " from day one or just started riding rough. It seems that you have the wheels ( 17's ) and tires ( Michelin ) that should give you the best ride.. how's the tread on the tires.. as they wear down the ride will stiffen. If all of that is good to go, then I would suggest just taking a little air out of the tires.. try dropping them all to around 30 psi but I wouldn't go any lower than that. My es had a terrible ride at first but that was because they came with the roughest riding tire I've ever owned ( Bridgestone Turanza's )... and I have 18" rims... also when I drove my car home from the dealership the day I bought it, I discovered the tires were at 40 lbs psi... I dropped them to 30 or so and that helped a lot. Hope releasing a little air helps with the issue. Good luck with it.

Roland

Charlie627

Thanks, I will order that gauge right now ... you are a great friend

Charlie627

try dropping them all to around 30 psi but I wouldn't go any lower than that. My es had a terrible ride at first but that was

THANKS SO MUCH... I just bought the car off lease --- and it was smooth on the test drive, 2017 model, but once I started driving around town, I hear and feel little imperfections in the road way more than my 2005 Camry or my old 2001 LS 430 (which I wish I had back). Glad to know that over inflation will cause tire wear, I didn't know that. I will drop it to 30 PSI and see if that works. I had a similar problem with the LS 430 one time when the tire shop put on new Michelin tires and inflated them to what must be the prescribed pressure. And on the way home from the tire shop I had way more bumps and road feel that I did going into the shop. I dropped the pressure a few pounds, and that solved it then. I have a cousin who works as head of QC for Michelin (they make the tires here in Columbia, SC I think). and he said I could drop the pressure some -- he didn't specify how much. But he said that wouldn't significantly affect safety.

Charlie627

I just ordered your recommended (CU recommended) tire gauge, many reviews, all 5 star on Amazon. I think it is wise to have a very accurate gauge. Thanks again for pointing that out to me. Accutire MS-4021B Digital Tire Pressure Gauge

TechNut

This is good advice. As an interesting note, I just traded our 2015 ESh in for a 2019 ESh. We have only had it for 8 days and are still learning all the differences. Anyway, they STILL use the Bridgestone Turanza tires and in our case they inflated them to 41 PSI. This was also on 18" rims. Odd since the door panel calls for inflation at 35 PSI. Anyway, I lowered the pressure to 36 PSI and the ride is very good. My 2015 had the same 17" wheels as your car but it did use the Turanza tires. We found the ride to be very good even with those tires, but then we are comparing the ride to our small crossover which cannot compare in ride quality. I still believe that part of the challenge with the ride is often based on comparisons to other vehicles, or even simply expectations. It is really hard to evaluate a rough ride without taking a ride and getting that "seat of the pants" impression.

VinnyN

So I'm following this thread hoping you find an answer or fix to this.

I'm having an eerily similar experience.

I leased a CPO 2015 ESh earlier this year and have been noticing similar ride quality issues at low speeds feeling the road to topping out at 40-42mph giving a pulsing feeling in the front of the vehicle or just under the driver seat. The vehicle only hit 30k miles recently (lease started at 28.8k miles).It has the 17" Michelin Primacy MXV4s in good shape. I've read many of the clublexus threads about this generation of ES having a rougher ride, the Hybrid being rougher due to different suspension, etc, but there haven't been any clear answers.

(1) I had tried lowering tire pressure varying amounts. Checked against built in TPMS and two external gauges. I've kept them as low at 30psi, and as high as 35psi. No difference.
(2) I took it to a dealership. They tried a road force alignment the first time. No serious issues seen, only a minor .25oz adjustment in one wheel. No difference.
(3) I went to a third party place for another opinion. They felt it but didn't have any good ideas what it could be. They thought could be engine flutter, we also tried resetting the ECU and rotating the tires front to back. No difference.
(4) I took it back to the dealership with these suggestions. They felt it during the ride along and were nice enough to try swapping out the wheels+tires with completely different ones for a second ride along. No difference. They chalked it up to normal ride characteristics.
(5) Tried some BG44k in case it was just an underdriven engine with buildup causing that fluttering/pulsing feel. No change (does feel like it has a lot more throttle response and pep though)

I've tried to ignore the jiggly/rough ride but its always noticeable to me. I don't recall feeling this in a previous 2015 Lexus ES 300h lease. Or even the other CPO ES 300h's I test drove before going with this one (which of course I didn't notice anything usual with during the test drive). My wife's Ford Fusion is a smoother (but stiffer) ride with 18" continental tires.

I've wondered if it's just worn engine mounts that I'm sensitive to (the pulsing is almost a forward and back motion). But that doesn't seem plausible at 30k miles. I've also suspected it's just the struts, shocks, and bushings. Perhaps the previous owners drove on a lot of bad roads or flew over speed bumps daily?

I've read that bushings are supposed to absorb the minor vibrations or bumps while driving. And supposedly bushings can wear out quickly even at 30k miles. I'm in central TX (and the vehicle originated from here too) so it goes through a lot of hot days.

Charlie627

VinnyN .. thanks for your very fine explanation of the problem, which seems similar to mine. I made your reply into a WORD doc and printed it for future use. I cut the air pressure back to 31 from 33 (cold morning readings)... and the ride improved remarkably, but the roughness is still there to a degree, it is not as smooth as my 2005 Camry XLE with 70,000 miles on it. The Camry also has Michelin tires but I took a few lbs. out of them. They have nitrogen in them, I am not sure the Lexus 2017 ES 350 has nitrogen, the used car dealer said it did, but none of the caps are green. So that might be my next effort --- replacing the normal air with all nitrogen.

I have gone back to driving the Lexus now that the tires are 2 lbs. down from 33, but before, I was avoiding it and using my backup Camry. But would still like to refine the ride more. I keep the digital dash now set on the 4 tire pressure read out, and in the morning, all 4 read 31 on the monitor, but as I drive in town (93 degree days) it quickly reaches 33 to 34. I will soon go on a road trip and see if it ever goes above 34. I was shocked that the on dash display was precisely what my high quality external tire pressure gauge was reading. I bought the gauge that was recommended on up the thread, since Consumer Reports siad it was the most accurate.

Every now and then, one of the 4 tires will read one pound of pressure higher than the other 3, but then, eventually they all read the same as I drive a little bit more. I guess there are wireless transmitters in the tires, I don't know how that works, and works so accurately.

Charlie627

THIS IS THE GAUGE I USED

Tire gauges can vary widely in accuracy. The one I used on my last car consistently read low, I wore out 3 sets of tires in the middle due to over inflation.
Consumer reports rated the Accutire MS-4021B Digital Tire Pressure Gauge as the best for accuracy based on their tests against a high end scientific gauge.

bc6152

Save your money regarding changing the air in your tires from "regular air" to Nitrogen. The air you're currently breathing is 78% Nitrogen... Will make no difference at all except you'll be poorer for it... And don't let the dealer tell you it's better. Pure BS...

MichaelLG

They are built on a truck chassis and able to achieve a ride like it has. I was concerned about the long miles driven as opposed too shorter. As you my back gives me trouble when over a couple of hours. Thank you also for the tire pressure knowledge has that changed the ride on my ES 350.
We did drive the RX and I felt it was rough for me.
Still a bit lost on which to go. I do feel they are willing to trade from the prices I have been given. I called the DFW dealers as not much in Lubbock.

Slider I as you have been through too many and wanted something I could feel better. Someone mentioned as I feel I don't like falling into the ES rather than climb and slide into the seat

Thank you again for your input on the ride and experiences.
Michael

claypool0

How you think the 2019 compares to 2015 in ride quality? I had a 2008 and now have a 2016. I found the ride quality to be better on the 2008, while the 2016 has better handling, the 2016 is a little stiffer and "sportier". I was considering getting the 2019 or 2020.

TechNut

Most people will say the 2019 handles better, but I would argue that it also depends on how you drive the car. I can’t really tell much difference based on my relatively sedate driving style. If you are interested in more spirited driving, I would recommend the FSport model. The 2019 with 17” wheels definitely absorbed bumps and road imperfections better than the 2015, but I cannot tell much difference with the 18” rims. Changing rim size also means I can really compare apples to apples...