Originally Posted by DeanGS

Sounds like you are either seeing feathering of the tires which is caused by a toe problem. Out of spec toe can definitely cause wandering. Inner and outer tir rod end wear can cause this problem.
If you are seeing cupping on the tires then that is usually caused by worn struts.

Originally Posted by vwynn

strange to hear how you smell burnt rubber even after an alignment. Do you have the alignment sheet?

are the steering rack bushings worn? (55k is not a lot i know).

Outter Tie rods still good? cant really think of anything else.. besides maybe something is bent. but i dont think it is

Originally Posted by DeanGS

Sounds like you are either seeing feathering of the tires which is caused by a toe problem. Out of spec toe can definitely cause wandering. Inner and outer tir rod end wear can cause this problem.
If you are seeing cupping on the tires then that is usually caused by worn struts.

Originally Posted by milellie11

Hey man, sad to say to this, but i've experienced the exact same thing. Bought my 02 GS430 with 41,000 miles on it, now it has 109,000 with stock 17's. Car has wandered from the get go. Changed all control arms to Daizen bushings and daizen steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings, multiple alignments.....car still wandered. Ended up going back to all stock, OEM steering rack bushings, Lexus Upper Control arms, Lower Control Arms, Caster arms, new ball joints, outer tie rods, shocks, brand new Michelin Pilot Sports A/S tires road force balanced, Lexus alignment....car still wanders.

The steering wheel also seems very disconnected from the road when going over bumps, car tracks every single groove in a bad road like no other. It's almost like i have to fight the car from going off the road on some roads. Listening to some suggestions here will have you aimlessly throwing parts at the car spending thousands just to get the car to drive dead straight and not cause driver fatigue to no avail.

When i read your post, it's a mirror image of how i feel. My wife's Toyota Echo drives better than my GS430. Sad. I don't see how many can say the GS is the best car they've ever had or they love it so much. I've been waiting for 5 years to feel that way and to have a car that doesn't wander. Something is seriously wrong. Or i'm beginning to believe that this car drives like crap with low profile tires and needs fatter tires with more sidewall to compensate for the extra soft suspension.

I would like to see how this car drives with the 16's vs the 17's.
But what's even worse is that Lexus never seems to be able to diagnose issues with the GS. Always seem to be a mystery to them as well. Never heard of anything like that before.

Originally Posted by YviE

Bushings and end links are different things. The end links attach the sway bar to the suspension arms, whereas the bushings hold the bar onto the chassis.

Originally Posted by hmt

Holy ******.....Sorry to hear that....the way you described exactly what I have right now? I know you've been driving it for over 5 years....Have you ever gotten your fixed fixed or figured out? Or you still have to deal with it every day? I agree...It drives worse than my g/f's 01 camry which has 200,000 miles on it....My co-worker has owned 4 GS before and he doesn't have this problem on any of his...his current one is on 16's though....so i wonder if it has anything to do with this problem...

Originally Posted by milellie11

Nope, never got it fixed. After having it diagnosed by different dealerships (who i really think don't have a clue at all) and other independent techs i gave up. After throwing parts at the car because folks say "well it could be this, or most likely it is this" i gave up. If i still owed money on the car i would have sold it by now, but since it's paid off i've just lived with it. For sure i won't be buying another Lexus though.
Just read around on these forums. The GS is notorious for weak suspension components/bad ball joints etc. We're not the only ones complaining. I've seen many on here whine about tire wear issues, wandering,loose steering and driveability. Never seen that on the LS though.
Maybe high mileage vehicles, but on the GS these things start at 50K miles

Of course, i'm sure many will say all of these issues can be fixed with mods. But who has the money to just redo or mod their whole suspension? Why can't it be great from stock?

Originally Posted by HellaG35

if u think lexus is unreliable, wait till you own some other cars

Originally Posted by LuxuryGS3

I hate to say this because just about everyone might go against it, but my car wandered bad when I hit a hard bump or when it was raining and it was slick. Ended up being my REAR toe links that were the problem. Changed those and everything was a-ok. Of course that probably won't fix your tire wear problem, but it could be the reason for your wandering that there is something wrong with your rear toe links. There should NOT be though because you hardly have any miles, but it's just a thought...

Originally Posted by DeanGS

Sounds like you are either seeing feathering of the tires which is caused by a toe problem. Out of spec toe can definitely cause wandering. Inner and outer tir rod end wear can cause this problem.
If you are seeing cupping on the tires then that is usually caused by worn struts.

Originally Posted by lexusben

milellie11, have you looked at replacing your Rack and Pinion Unit? My car does a little bit of wandering and the steering feels a lot less precise than when I first got the car. I am about to replace a number of suspension components but if that does not fix the wandering I will probably look at replacing the rack and pinion.

Originally Posted by milellie11

I have owned others: 2000 Nissan Maxima and 2002 Acura TL. Neither of them gave me as many problems as this.

Also my coworker had a GS. He said it was full of problems. Got an E500 he's had for a couple of years and has not had one issue with it. He said all the knock that Benz gets, his E class has been way more reliable than his GS.

Originally Posted by milellie11

The steering wheel also seems very disconnected from the road when going over bumps, car tracks every single groove in a bad road like no other. It's almost like i have to fight the car from going off the road on some roads. (...)

I would like to see how this car drives with the 16's vs the 17's.
But what's even worse is that Lexus never seems to be able to diagnose issues with the GS. Always seem to be a mystery to them as well. Never heard of anything like that before.