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About two years ago the lowers and front upper control arms were replaced under an extended warranty policy with OEM parts by the Toyota dealer where I purchased the car. I was looking for a rattle today and while under the car I notice where the tie rod nut is hitting the control arm. Could these arms be installed on opposite sides than they were intended?
Notice how the control arm ball joint isn't aligned.
Last edited by mdpresco; 02-23-19 at 02:31 PM.
Reason: Add a photo
are you asking if LH was install on RH/vice versa? do you see the same wear marks on the aluminum control arm also? i can check on my old control arms tonight if they have L or LH cast into control arm (thought i remember they did).
I wouldn't drive that car!!! My knee jerk is that we're looking at the Front Left side of the vehicle (from driver perspective). As you can see from the picture below and via this link to Rockauto.com... https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...trol+arm,10401
This is the Mevotech arm for that side of the vehicle and curves in the opposite direction. It should never hit the tie rod. I think your guy has them swapped. I can't tell from the photo, but it may have done damage to the steering knuckle and affected the metal integrity.
Do you realize how much stress it takes to knock a chunk of aluminum out of that knuckle and bolt? You run the risk of steering completely giving way on a tight turn.
But hey, it’s your car and life. Just don’t drive fast or make quick turns. Be careful as it’s on borrowed time.
The knuckle shows the wear of the control arm acting as the stop. It was not due to impact. We could tell the turning radius was longer but I thought it was because of the new control arms. And it was.
There is no indication of abnormal tire wear. I rotate my tires. I don't let the dealer do it because they seem to have lost their torque wrench.
These lower front control arms are mirror images. I would guess end-to-end they are the same length. Three years ago this Toyota dealership probably had not changed many of these, no less the tech that did it. And without looking at the part numbers, screwed up. Im not sure if they are stamped for their location.
I wouldn't drive that car!!! My knee jerk is that we're looking at the Front Left side of the vehicle (from driver perspective). As you can see from the picture below and via this link to Rockauto.com... https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...trol+arm,10401
This is the Mevotech arm for that side of the vehicle and curves in the opposite direction. It should never hit the tie rod. I think your guy has them swapped. I can't tell from the photo, but it may have done damage to the steering knuckle and affected the metal integrity.
wow it looks like the control arm is on the wrong side (curved area should be pointing rearward as the pic above instead of the OP 1st pic where the curved area is pointing forward)...can't believe the car was able to get a wheel alignment in spec! it'll be interesting to know if the OP was able to get decent tire wear etc...
this is the reason why i do all of this myself. and i normally work 1 side at a time so this won't happen!
Here's my car. You can see the L on the control arm. I'm pretty sure you're gonna see R on your part. Can't believe it actually fits on the wrong side!
Here's my car. You can see the L on the control arm. I'm pretty sure you're gonna see R on your part. Can't believe it actually fits on the wrong side!
Thank you for this picture. Dropped the car at the Toyota dealer on Thursday. The called at lunch. While I was eating a carrot, they told me it would cost $1200 to repair!!!! They cited a 2012 TSB and said the wrong parts were installed even though they purchased and installed the lower front control arms 2 1/2 years ago. Looking closer at the arms, the L was on the right and the R was on the left. They were swapped!!
So as the service manager was walking by just as my wife said "WE WERE NOT GOING TO PAY FOR THIS AND YOU NEED TO FIX IT" . With the car on the rack, he could see the interference when the wheels were turned lock-to-lock. He said he would call Lexus and get back with us. The dealer called around 4:30 and said Lexus would pay for the repair and the alignment. The parts will be in next week. Here is a screen shot of the TSB. Thank you to Lexus for stepping up!
Notice the current part number. Four years after this TSB, Lexus was still selling the wrong part number.
Recently had to replace both lower control arms on the front passenger side due to worn out bushings. My car continues to pull right after allingment. I decided to look at the install and realized the newly installed part is missing this threaded rod that is present on my driver side. Can someone help me identify this part
Does anyone know what part this is. can’t seem to find on control arm diagram
Without air there should be one on the rear for the auto levelling headlights, are there any on the rear? Maybe it used to be an air car but was converted...you probably need to replace the other 6 arms.
This also happened to my LS460 once. the worker installed right side lower forward CA on the left side (driver side). It became very difficult to turn right at 90 degree angle (interference). That's how I found it out on the 2nd day after the replacement. I can not imagine driving like that for 2 weeks, let alone for 2 years.
02-23-19, 01:42 PM
Front Lower Control Arms Swapped?
. With the car on the rack, he could see the interference when the wheels were turned lock-to-lock. He said he would call Lexus and get back with us. The dealer called around 4:30 and said Lexus would pay for the repair and the alignment. The parts will be in next week. Here is a screen shot of the TSB. Thank you to Lexus for stepping up!
