FDD

Hi all,

I own a 2007 RWD LS460 with air suspension and have a challenge with ot at the moment.

I noticed some time ago that the passenger side is hanging 1-1,5 cm lower then the driver side. Also while driving over a speedbump the rear passenger side goes lower then the other 3.

Brought it to a Toyota dealer for a check and they investigated and agreed with what I noticed. Luckily no suspension parts were broke or damaged. They advised me to go to the Lexus dealer for reprogramming and or calibration.

I just came back from the Lexus dealer and they investigated again and confirmed there was no leakage in the suspension and all suspension parts look good. However they also couldnt provide a solution sadly.

Did anyone encounterd this problem already? I can go to a mechanic to work with your ideas, i just want my car to be level again, especially since I just got my new rims and must buy tires, but dont want any rubbing.

Kind regards,
Eric

lwphat66

Maybe the ride height links require adjustment? I have not had to do this, but I recall reading this thread a while ago, and perhaps the photos can be useful to you.
OEM Air Suspension ride height links below car..adjustable? - Page 2 - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

lwphat66

Here is another one with some good info: The Definitive guide to lowering OEM Air suspension - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I just had a similar experience with a Lexus dealer. The problem is there are no parts to upsell you so they are unwilling to do basic fixes, It clear states in the shop manual to check the ride height and if it is not correct adjust the ride height sensor links to bring the car up to it's standard height. Of course the system has to be in good working order and all suspension parts are confirmed good and working. After the links are adjusted then they are supposed to do a height offset calibration which should technically return the car to proper height. There's no money in it for them and it should only take an hour to complete the procedure. They tried to tell me I need new shocks which is BS since I have Techstream and knew that I have no leaks in my system.

FDD

Well this wasn’t easy and sadly it is not over yet
I got the front up to a heigt of 72,5cm (28.54inch) and the rear at 73,5cm (28.94 inch).
Tighten everything and after a short drive there is a difference yet again:
Driverside:
Front: 73,5 cm (28.94 inch)
Rear : 73,5 cm (28.94 inch)
Passengerside:
Front: 72cm (28.35 inch)
Rear: 72,5 cm (28.54 inch)
Also in the back I had to make the sleeve a bit longer to level the rear....
3 Parties now say my struts are not leaking, however I’m getting doubts. Or does the lack of calibration at Lexus yet explains this difference.
Called Lexus and demanded calibration in the hope that this has influence, they will call me back.
Where can I find standard heights btw, meassured from a level ground to the top of the wheelarch? I have the 19 inch 5 spoke rims.

FDD

Well Lexus called me back and stated that european cars don’t need to be calibrated. They mentioned american cars need to be calibrated, since there is a difference. This makes no sence in my opinion, the tutoriall and pictures are exactly the same like mine..

To be continued also, since I need to wait for the bridge to be free again.

Thinking also to call Lexus coorporate The Netherlands, since it is for me hard to believe that european cars don't need to be calibrated and american cars do. Also after playing with the links to adjust the height it is back to the same height difference before. Looks to me still like programming. Really enoyed at the moment with my local Lexus dealer.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

There is no calibration other than the height offset calibration in techstream, but first your supposed to make sure the vehicle height is correct. If it's not then your supposed to adjust the links to bring it within spec. after that you can run the height offset calibration. I specifically asked the service advisor at the dealership to adjust my links to level out the suspension and then run the height offset calibration. They said they could not do it since ALL my shocks were worn and I needed new ones which was complete BS. My suspension is perfectly fine and I told them this to their face. I also told the SA that they need to do the small jobs sometimes and it's crazy how they try to run up the tab whenever someone comes in with an older vehicle.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Some more reading.

MacroP

The other day - I too properly adjusted my suspension as my front left suspension was sagging around 20mm. This caused the rear right to sag a little too. Noticeable sag when approaching the vehicle from the front. Was causing the car to pull to the left and also the steering wheel was off centre.

In the past I've used Techstream for this (using the offset function) but this time I went the mechanical route and adjusted the height sensor links. They weren't corroded but the locking nuts were very tight so I removed all the links and freed them all up to make adjustment on the car much easier. Now all four corners sitting roughly around 725mm (+/-2mm) for all 4 wheels from ground to the top of the wheel arch where the paint meets the thin black strip inside the wheel arch. All go up 20mm when using the high height button. After a drive the car sits around 730mm on all fours but everything settles down to around that 725mm value after a while (maybe the hot air in the shocks cools and retracts?).

I sat the car overnight and measured in the morning and no leaks. Car drive straight again now too.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

What are your readings in techstream for the sensors, height adjust and after height adjust after reset your links? The manual tells you to measure from the floor to the wheel center the measure from the floor to the lower rear control arm bushing at the cross member for the front and the subtract the bushing from the wheel center to see if it's within spec. For the rear your subtract from the notch in the camber bolt to see if it's within spec. I can never get all the wheels to line up perfectly. I've never tried to measure from the floor to the wheel arc. It doesn't help that my garage is not perfectly level either. I'm just curious what your readings are in techstream.

FDD

Well,

Sadly the issue isnt over yet. Something is totally off, since we even had to bend and grind the adjuster plate in the back to get it on the same height as the driver side.

Sadly after 3 hours of effort after a short drive it goes back to the height when I noticed the challenge. It is also no t laying on the wheel and 3 different dealers told me the suspension is oke.

For me it is something which requires a laptop, however the dealer says no and dont provide a solution. Pretty sure they are not even telling the truth, stating that american and european cars have different suspension and therfor european cars dont need to be calibrated.

Mechanical all is done so far, leaves over the option computer work (calibration), problem is that overhere ( The Netherlands) the LS460 is extremly rare. No specialist, no computers with dealer software etcetc...

I will contact another Lexus dealer to see if they are willing to help out, otherwise a big complain will go to Lexus The Netherlands with cc to Japan.

Challenge to be continued....

FDD

Challenge is finally over just to update:

Lexus dealer in Groningen didn't want to do calibration, was not needed on European LS460 according to them. Had several phonecalles and discussions with them all with the outcome NO not going to do it.

Contact a Lexus dealer in Zwolle , which is an hour a drive away for me. They listend to me, I could come over. They found an error regarding an valve erased it didn't came back. Then they adjusted the height and guess what calibrated it. No problems whatsoever, car is fine.

I then send a complaint to Lexus cooperate The Netherlands regarding Lexus Groningen. they swiftly replied and contacted both Lexus Zwolle and Groningen and offcourse myself. Lexus Groningen wanted a meeting with me, however since no excuses were made I didn't feel the need to meet them. Lexus The Netherlands understood me how I felt and they appolligezed for how this issue was solved.

All in all issue solved LS is flawless again.

bfor3

iTrader: (1)

Congrats FDD and I appreciate you replying with updates. I had the same problem with the rear passenger side which was about 1" lower (WITH ME ASKING TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER, they replaced the air shock.) They gave the car back to me and when I measured, it was still 1/4" lower. I started doing the adjustment myself and thought, let me lower it as much as possible, so I lowered all the links to there shortest length. At first, the passenger rear was sitting at the tire (PERFECT). Then in lowering the other side rear, it was sitting slightly higher. I moved to the fronts and when I drove around, the whole car is now HIGH and bouncy as crap!!!! This is crazy as the links are literally as low as possible.

I'm going to put them back to normal and pray that it sits right, if not I'm going to have to pay to get this calibration done.

jdanielca

i have 0 confidence in Toyota/lexus getting treated properly is a crapshoot. I will NEVER buy a new car from them EVER. It is not worth it, the grief one might have to deal with.