shlbrn

I met with the service advisor and a tech today regarding the steering wheel vibration. They are going to take the car in next Tues and do work on the driveline and possibly the u joints. They expect that they may have to machine them to reduce the "tightness" in the driveline and u joints. Well at least they are trying and I will repor on the fix next week.

By the way, I was talking to another service advisor while waiting and she had "never heard of this type of problem" . That makes the salesman I bought the car from, the general manager and now the service advisor sitting next to the one I am talking to that deny any knowledge of this problem. Gotta wonder.

As yet unsatisfied customer.

w4rjd

The Service Manager at our local shop knows only too well about the problem. He says Lexus is working on a fix. They did fix the clunk by replacing the drive shaft. It took several hundred miles for the new shaft to 'run it' and now it is gone. Give them a chanc e.

Johnny Mo

Guys,

at first I thought I had the vibration issue too, but what you guys are all describing seems very pronounced, at least compared to what you are all describing. The vibration I am getting is no where's near as bad as a wheel balancing issue, I'd equate it more to the steering wheel feeling like an electric toothbrush on it's lowest setting.

Anyway for some of us that are "in the dark" still on this can you be a little more descriptive on the issue, I mean I've had vibration issues for instance when my tires are flat-spotted from sitting for a prolonged perid on my GS where you can actually see the steering wheel bouncing, but it goes away once the tires heat up and re-shape...is the vibration you guys get that bad?? Or does it feel like an electric shock thru the steering wheel? Just trying to better understand the concerns.

shlbrn

The vibration I am experiencing seemed to be the same type as a wheel out of balance. It begins a steering wheel shake about 55 and continues through about 65. Most common on the highway at constant speed without significant loads from accelleration. It goes away above 65. It seems to sometimes initiate from an irregularity in the road surface, and other there is no difference in road surface. It is not a constant problem, that is what moves me away from an out of balance position.

According to the tech, the entire driveline system it too tight. Without getting technical, which I can't he described the interface between driveline and transmission as moveable. There is an evident pressure that builds up in the meshing of the gears that creates the vibration. That is why they are suggesting a removal and possible machining of the driveline and u joints to reduce the tightness of the fit. I am certainly skeptical of this solution, and wonder of its overall effects on the power train over time.

The comments I see regarding the rpm range can coincide with the speed given the conditions I described above. You will be at that rpm at that speed on a relatively flat surface. The shimmy in the steering wheel ranges from about 1/8" to 1/4" in the worst condition.

Hope this helps, Shlbrn

modelaford

Johnny, It feels like an exhaust pipe is touching the steering column(grounding out) and only does it from 1700RPM to 2200 RPM, does it in all the gears but on highway at 65-70 in 5 gear is the worst. That is the first vib. the second is when driving at slow speeds 15 MPH to 35MPH the whole vhical shakes and jumps, you can really see it on the 4x4 lock lever in the floor also goes crazy when it happens. It is not tire related as it does not do this at higher speeds. The second lower speed one I beleive is a drive shaft or u-joint problem.

krisoph

I was told yesterday by Lexus service that they still recognize the vibration as a problem and are continuing to work on a fix.
I noticed that the 4X4 shifter vibrates at a pretty good rate all the time while the engine is running and especially while driving. Is that normal for all the GXs?

shlbrn

Dealer has had the car 3 days now, "still testing". Evidently they have done machine work on the second set of drivelines, not sure what else. Tomorrow they want to do several tests changing tires, different manufacturers. Claim it is better, but the residual shimmy now could be tire related.
Shlbrn

morgt0

Well just got my GX back from the dealer-had it in for the vibration issue. I had the same problem as everyone else-slight shake in the sterring wheel around 55-65. They removed the drive shaft, cleaned it and reinstalled it. They said they will replace the drive shaft once it comes in (a few days). Well, now the shake is gone in the sterring wheel but the sterring is very tight now (tight to turn), there is a constantvibration in the floor(even at idle!!).

Has anyone else expierenced this after service??

Needless to say, I am not a happy customer right now I am about to take it back to the dealer-I'm sure I'll get the usual lines of-"we can't find anything" and "it is a truck-it is supposed to vibrate a bit!!"

Keep you all posted!

177mph

Hello all,
About 6 months ago I started a posting called "anyone notice vibration" after noticing the vibration most of you are experiencing. It seems to have snowballed and I've done the same things everyone else has (called lexus, reported to dealer, etc) without much success. Well guess what? My GX now has 9800 miles on it and the vibration is almost gone. Somehow - it has lessened to the point where I really have to concentrate to notice it. Hope for the rest of you? maybe. Maybe mileage is the cure....

177mph

Hello all,
About 6 months ago I started a posting called "anyone notice vibration" after noticing the vibration most of you are experiencing. It seems to have snowballed and I've done the same things everyone else has (called lexus, reported to dealer, etc) without much success. Well guess what? My GX now has 9800 miles on it and the vibration is almost gone. Somehow - it has lessened to the point where I really have to concentrate to notice it. Hope for the rest of you? maybe. Maybe mileage is the cure....

shlbrn

The dealer has now had my car for 1 week. I will get the complete report tomorrow and post the remedies they have attempted. The final alteration was putting a new set of Michelin's on the car today. Traffic was too heavy to go on the freeway to the 60-65 mph range so they will road test it in the am. I will give you the results tomorrow, hopefully the problem will be resolved. My only concern is the last statement from the service advisor is that we have got it as good as we can.

Shlbrn

modelaford

I have Michlins and still have the vibration.

Cessna172

I second that, I have the Michelins too and still have the vibration also. I also have a slight pull to the right under acceleration. They have checked the alignment and swapped tires and still have pulling issues.

shlbrn

Well finally picked up the car from the Dealer, who has been very communicative during the whole process. He had the car for 8 days, evidently communicating with Lexus engineers the problems and possible cures. I did not have time to go through the specifics with the service advisor, but it involved driveline work and ultimately new tires (Michelins). The car came with the Dunlops.

Only drove it about 3 mi at freeway speeds last night, but no evidence of the same steering wheel shake/similar to a wheel out of balance. I did get some tire vibration when crossing irregular surfaces/seams in the concrete/asphalt but they were almost undetectable. So far, so good and my compliments to Lexus and the dealer for staying with it to solve the problem.

I will continue to update the permanence of the repairs, keeping my fingers crossed.

Shlbrn

DRCOOL1

Guys,

I too had the vibration problem. Lexus balanced my wheels twice but still could not resolve the problem. Last week I put 22" chrome wheels on and when I took my son back to school I had no vibration. As a matter of fact, the ride was noticebly smoother. Got it up to 90 mph with no vibration. Go figure.

2003 GX - Loaded
Rollin on 22's