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2007 LS460 Non-air RWD Either the dumbest or most unique situation ever. Maybe both.
I bought this car about 4 months ago. Rode great when I bought it. Handled perfect. Was excited to own it. Had it for a week and got a wobble. It was obviously a wheel bearing (I normally know what I'm doing mechanically, but they didn't need to know that). Had a warranty, no worries. The car lot had their own garage, which provides mechanical work for the warranty. A week later I got it back. Rode okay for a few days then it seemed like one of the tires was dragging, thought I would give it some time before I took it back to the garage. Then the entire right side would start moving up and down while I was driving. Now me, that has not worked on any suspension like this in my entire life, automatically assumes, like any mechanic that doesn't know this car, it's the strut. Called the garage and they can't do anything to help me for 2 weeks. No big deal. I'm perfectly capable. Remove the passenger side tire to start replacing the shock absorber because thats Lexus's recommendations. Kyb shock and mount. OEM.
Before that I do what I always do. Check around for play in anything. I found some. The brake caliper only had one bolt in it. Correct me if I'm wrong but there's only 2 correct? What moron could have possibly done that? Let's sit that aside (I'm just trying to across the irony of these people calling themselves mechanics and what I'm dealing with) and I install the shock. A lot harder than any strut I've seen. If you have the money, pay someone to do it. Trust me. I did it correctly, torque specs and everything. Two days, still going up and down. I don't have air ride suspension. My car doesn't have any of the buttons in the center console and the struts are definitely not air. After about a week of this it blew the shock on the other side. The right side constantly going up and down has cost me 4 shocks now. I never worked on both sides at the same time and they were usually weeks apart. Inadvertently this made me less likely to notice any of the minute or large differences between the driver and passenger side. Then one day a stick got stuck under my car after a bad storm. Like really stuck. So I had to look underneath the front end to pull it out. Then I noticed. 1 side had a sensor. The other one didn't have that sensor but had the bolt holes for it. I was under the impression that only air ride had ride height sensors. Oh well, you live and you learn. But the real question is, WHERE DID IT GO? I almost feel like you have to be intentionally trying to be that level of a moron. Either way, I'm over it. I work 72 hours a week, it's my only transportation and I live in Oklahoma, which has the absolute worst roads. Pretty sure Haiti has a better highway department. Also I'm tired of playing with kyb shocks. I'm going to buy coilovers. The point of me writing all this is to, besides making you enraged or laugh, ask this. If I install coilovers does it negate the ride height sensors or do I need to buy one anyway? It's $200 used and I'd prefer not to buy it if it isn't necessary but I also don't want to screw my brand new coilovers up. Any insight would be great. Thanks
Those sensors are (used) around $100 on eBay.
I wouldn't mess about with modifying the suspension, no point in trying to turn a 4300 pound sedan into a racer.
Put the OEM Part in.
You might be mistaken on what the sensor is for....
There is a height sensor on the left front and left rear assembly for the headlight leveling feature. It is not on the right front or right rear. There still might be a mount point for it on the right but there is no sensor.
It has nothing to do with turning it into a racecar. I mean the suspension won't make it faster, they make superchargers for that. It's the beating a shock in a BC Coilover can take in comparison to a KYB one. My commute every day is harsh terrain. That's Oklahoma City roads.
You might be mistaken on what the sensor is for....
There is a height sensor on the left front and left rear assembly for the headlight leveling feature. It is not on the right front or right rear. There still might be a mount point for it on the right but there is no sensor.
Okay, does anyone have any clue why it's going up and down and putting the spring on the strut in a bind constantly? I'm positive it's installed correctly. I've done 4 of them. It keeps go up and down and screwing the strut up.
Thank you for that comment though. This suspension is confusing at best. Why would you have them on the same side of the car?
They sense the "pitch" of the car ( front of the car up higher or lower than back). That's why there is one on the front and one on the rear.
I can't speculate on your bind a picture or 2 of what's going on would help. Maybe you're referring to another sensor? The sensor I posted a picture of should pivot freely if you take the lower nut off and move the silver rod up and down. It's a pretty weak part if it was jammed I think it would simply snap off. You'd also likely have an AFS ( adaptive front lighting system) warning if it wasn't functioning correctly.
You need to get an expert looking at your strut install or just keep messing with it watching videos etc. There's no way that many struts are bad if they are genuine kyb. Where are you getting them from? Maybe they are counterfeit I've been down this road using the cheap ebay quickstruts and they are crap. You will feel good once that oem ride is back. Been there.
PS Send bill to warranty place that wouldn't help then small claims them.
It's not the strut. I've been working on cars since I was 12. I helped my dad build my first one. I've replaced tons of MacPherson struts. It's never that difficult. The only reason I said struts on this car are more difficult is because of their sheer size, to get the nut on the shock you have to compress it to the point of it possibly killing you if the compressors let go and I've seen it happen. That spring turns into a bullet. And the springs on this car are not typical, they're overkill. I'm sure I'll be debated on that but there's a reason this year of ls 460 is considered a lemon by many, it ain't just the melting interior. Motor and tranny are great though. Sometimes less is more, like control arms and spring compression ratios. Anyhow, go back and read when it started happening. The passenger side was going up and down before I ever touched a shock on that car. But here's my theory: The top strut nut is only supposed to be something like 35 ft lbs of torque. Don't quote me but it's not a lot, so that spacing washer can turn freely underneath it, along with the mount and shock. when it stays way up in the air, which is where it is more than low to the ground, it's gone as far up as that rod will pull up out of the housing on the shock. This obviously puts a massive amount of tension on the top nut and then nothing turns properly and then you have the bind that sounds god awful and causes premature mount failure which only make the problem worse. Replacing or looking at shocks is pointless till the root of the problem is addressed. But thanks to MikeT000 I think I get what is happening. I don't understand why it was designed that way but hey, it's Lexus. The front left sensor has to be broke, staying low most of the time and causing the car to force the right side up because it thinks the left side is down. That would definitely explain the bouncing, if it's moving around going down the road. I do have an abs light on as well. (Forgot to mention it, I know boooo!). I'll check out this sensor tomorrow after work and give an update. Working 12 hours a day makes it hard to find the time to fix anything. Maybe if I cry they'll let me stay home. Thanks for sure.
It's not the strut. I've been working on cars since I was 12. I helped my dad build my first one. I've replaced tons of MacPherson struts. It's never that difficult. The only reason I said struts on this car are more difficult is because of their sheer size, to get the nut on the shock you have to compress it to the point of it possibly killing you if the compressors let go and I've seen it happen. That spring turns into a bullet. And the springs on this car are not typical, they're overkill. I'm sure I'll be debated on that but there's a reason this year of ls 460 is considered a lemon by many, it ain't just the melting interior. Motor and tranny are great though. Sometimes less is more, like control arms and spring compression ratios. Anyhow, go back and read when it started happening. The passenger side was going up and down before I ever touched a shock on that car. But here's my theory: The top strut nut is only supposed to be something like 35 ft lbs of torque. Don't quote me but it's not a lot, so that spacing washer can turn freely underneath it, along with the mount and shock. when it stays way up in the air, which is where it is more than low to the ground, it's gone as far up as that rod will pull up out of the housing on the shock. This obviously puts a massive amount of tension on the top nut and then nothing turns properly and then you have the bind that sounds god awful and causes premature mount failure which only make the problem worse. Replacing or looking at shocks is pointless till the root of the problem is addressed. But thanks to MikeT000 I think I get what is happening. I don't understand why it was designed that way but hey, it's Lexus. The front left sensor has to be broke, staying low most of the time and causing the car to force the right side up because it thinks the left side is down. That would definitely explain the bouncing, if it's moving around going down the road. I do have an abs light on as well. (Forgot to mention it, I know boooo!). I'll check out this sensor tomorrow after work and give an update. Working 12 hours a day makes it hard to find the time to fix anything. Maybe if I cry they'll let me stay home. Thanks for sure.
Your explanation makes no sense, you have no air suspension. The only way car can change height other than level of the ground is adaptive struts, you don't have those.
Your explanation makes no sense, you have no air suspension. The only way car can change high other than level of the ground is adaptive struts, you don't have those.
And this is why I'm here. I don't understand how it is doing it either. It doesn't make any sense but it does have a ride height sensor, which I thought was an air suspension only part. So notice that what I said wasn't really an explanation at all. It was a guess. I was hoping someone would have a solution. Or at least tell me that installing coilovers, which I'm doing either way, will negate the issue. I just don't want to install them and watch the passenger front coilover get destroyed. I've wasted enough money on my suspension as it is without losing a $350 coilover. If you have any insight, I'm open to it. Ride height sensors are a new thing to me. Maybe it needs calibrated or replaced, maybe that's not it at all but it's all I have to go on until someone has a better idea. I know it isn't the strut 100% but it is blowing the struts. It takes about a month to blow one. It's almost like the front passenger side is being driven off road while the rest of the car is on the highway. I'm not talking about a really slow rise and fall either. It usually rises in a few seconds but when it falls, it's almost instant, like a shock with no fluid. Once it rises it stays there for extended periods of time. It's hard to guess the exact distance but I would say a little under a foot between bottom and raised all the way up. Maybe it's more. It only does it while driving so its hard to measure it. It's eating the tire up. I've replaced the lower ball joint, sway bar link(seemed okay but replaced it with OEM because it wasn't and it was cheap), upper (with preload) and lower control control arms. The only thing I haven't changed are the tie rod ends because they seem fine and they have nothing to do with horizontal movement. I'm trying to give you guys the best info I can. I can't help the fact that it makes no sense. I'll try to video it on my way home. I actually love this car but a part of me is starting to hate it, sadly. I make decent money but I have a large family to take care of. I cannot take it to Lexus and every mechanic I've spoken to is completely clueless as to what the problem is. 2/3rds of them don't even know what the hell a ride height sensor is. I'm saving to do an engine swap on my Acura TL because it finally gave up on me at 325k. So at the moment, this car is all I got. So I'm going to fix it. It's not optional.
That I have not checked. Hadn't even occurred to me to be honest, although it should have. I had a suspension noise on my TL that turned out to be an engine mount. Honda mounts are garbage though. I'll definitely check that out when I get home as well. Thank you sir!
First I've read through all of your replies and can't for the life of me what you're trying to describe. So let's iron out a few concrete facts and maybe you can provide us some clear and concise responses to help determine a path to resolution.
1. Your car does not have adjustable suspension in any capacity. There is no part on a factory non-air ride LS460 that would cause the suspension to raise and lower on it's own.
2. The height sensors you see on the driver's side of the car are purely there for headlight control in your vehicle and have nothing to do with any suspension functionality. It also is not missing any parts on the passenger side.
3. This issue began after you received the vehicle back from the repair shop after which we know may not be trust worthy as they apparently only installed one bolt into the brake caliper.
4. Since your first attempt to repair this you have gone through a minimum of 4 strut assemblies in the front passenger corner.
5. Installing coilovers will not "negate the ride height sensors". They merely check for an equal value between the front and rear to adjust the headlights vertically to attempt to maintain a horizontal beam regardless of how loaded down the rear of the car may be with luggage and passengers.
Now to what we need to know.
1. Which struts are you using specifically to replace those in your vehicle? The only way I could see a non-active suspension raising the vehicle above its factory ride height is if there is an aftermarket shock or strut that is extremely over pressured, but it shoudl be doing this while sitting still as well.
2. Can you take a picture of the passenger side strut installation on your vehicle?
3. Are you certain that the swaybar links are installed correctly and not binding in some way?
4. Has anyone been able to drive beside you and verify this gradual rise and then sudden fall you're describing? Does it do this on smooth roads or only bumpy roads
Take it to a LEXUS dealership and talk to the TOP service manager. They "should" honor your warranty also. Nobody knows Lexus cars more than the dealerships, even though quite pricey.
If you are sure the car came from the factory without air suspension? Only way to find out is enter your vin on Lexus drivers and look at the list of factory options etc. Pls post back? The guy could be like me, switched from factory air to factory non air, decided to switch the centre console because of ocd or whatever. If you are switching from factory air to factory non air people just leave the height sensors there just to mess with as little as possible. Once the air struts are out the car is incapable of making any height adjustments in any situation as far as I understand it, so if they are really left over height sensors they are there for “show” they serve no purpose.
10-04-20, 10:27 AM
2007 LS460 Non-air RWD Either the dumbest or most unique situation ever. Maybe both.
