doug_999

My car is STILL at the dealer - they did mention that the fix for my knocking was to lube the strut mounts - or something like that. I'll get more info if and when I get the car back - which I half hope is soon and half hope is not. The ES330 loaner I have has more problems than my GS430!

koreanpers

seattle, was it rattling or a solid clunking? the dealer here said that if its a sway bar bolt, that it would be a rattling sound...they replaced the strut mount, and it is still clunking...grrr

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

My best description for the broken bolt for the sway bar link was a quick, solid "knock" for EVERY bump that I went over, or if I was to move my steering wheel quickly to the right and left about 90 degrees (like doing a slalom manuever).

It wasn't rattling at all--if I were you, I'd have them check the sway bar bolts nonetheless. Are all of your front suspension bolts tight? Another thing would be the ball joints--how does your car drive otherwise?

koreanpers

the car drives fine...its just hella annoying when i hear that clunk. it doesnt happen when i steer quick rite/left. only happens over some bumps..not all...seems like when the car is twisted over a bump it clunks

Red Baron

Today I took my '03 GS 300 for the front clunking and oil change.
14 months and 9500 miles when it apperared.
The tech rode with me and in no time he said: "it's the strut and we just have to put 2 new front shocks and strut caps. Lexus does not know why the struts are loosing gas and that what's making the noise. It is an easy fix".
Well, I had no time to leave it but will be fixed next week.
As always the service at Sewell Lexus in Dallas was excellent.

JPI Racing

Usually the bolts that hold the sway bar come off. I've seen a lot of bad shocks on the GS.
JPI

Ex996

Well, well, well- the old clunking syndrome. I took my GS430 in today for the THIRD time for this. I have had brakes removed and put back on, the sway bar tightened, everything. I had the shop foreman from Santa Monica Lexus ride with me to reproduce the sound, and I was able to in a minor fashion. I mentioned the TSB to him and told him about this site- heck maybe he's reading it now! Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Walked into the showroom to see if I could put a deposit down on an '05 GS430 but they're not taking money yet. Ended up driving the GX470 and was very impressed...

So Doug_999, you and I got our cars at the same time and we've both been *****ing...

Tim

doug_999

Yea, I'm not too impressed with the reliability/build quality on my GS that's for sure. I will say that now that my engine tick is fixed, I like the car a lot better.

My knocking was fixed by lubing the upper mounts - at least that's what I think it was. Tim, if they can't figure it out, have them call Arlington Lexus in Palatine IL and talk to the service manager - reference me (oh and they know me alright) and they can tell your guy exactly what was done.

Ex996

Thanks Doug, I'll do that.

BTW shouldn't you be in bed by now?

Blanco

iTrader: (8)

Can you discern where the sound is coming from?? I had a similar problem, but my noise was from rt. front. The culprit ended up being the lower ball joint on the rt. front wheel. The boot wasn't even split, but when removed it was stiff, an had loose metal shavings in the lube under the boot. Was very strange, but that's what fixed it. Let us know how it turns out.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

That exact thing happened to my GS about a year ago. Fix was trivial fortunately, although they have to tediously take off the plastic cover under the front to get to the bolt in the box the sways mount to.

Ex996

OK, got the car back last night. As usual, clunking is gone. The question is how long will it stay gone? I actually printed out this entire post and faxed it to the service advisor, so thanks for your input everyone. BTW Fernando Carrion at Santa Monica Lexus deserves a plug for working closely with me on this.

Tim

JunctionGS

Funny how I found this thread today. I am having my suspension upgraded and when the tech got under the car the other day he told me that a few bolts for the sway bars were gone? I was like man, at first I blamed myself for not taking care of my car. I never had this "clunk" that you guys mentioned however? At least now it seems to be a chonic problem for a few of us, and not really a spur of bad luck.

DJC

First, a shout out to all that participated in this thread. I recently installed L-Tuned springs and Bilstein struts in my '01gs430. After a couple of months of blissful driving the front end began making a horrible squeaking noise under normal driving conditions. At first the shop that services my car thought the noise was coming from the Bilstein struts, but after taking the components apart, discovered it was actually the strut caps making the noise. They placed the caps in a vise and moved the centers around with a screwdriver and were able to duplicate the noise. They installed new strut caps this morning and problem solved. The front end actually feels a little tighter as well. So, advice to those who are having noises from the front end or are changing out your springs - check the strut caps!

DJC

GS408

i have the exact same problems described here! Funny i noticed this thread because my car is scheduled to service this friday. I will mention the TSB and all the points you guys mentioned. I will let you know what my dealer says....