nccareer

My RX300 has 77,000 miles and is a Certified Pre-Owned so it is still under warranty. I am noticing that when I hit slight bumps, especially when I am starting out with the car turning at very low speeds I often hear a "creak" or "pop" which appears to come from any of the the front or rear suspension components. Could this be the struts going bad??

Any suggestions as to what is happening here?

HarrierAWD

Could be the struts. It could also be just the strut mounts.

I don't know if the CPO warranty covers wear item such as strut. So ask first if you want them replaced.

Lexmex

I get this, too and have a much bumpier situation here in Mexico City. I traced this back to the rubber support mounts on the top and bottom of the struts. Bought new ones, cleaned out the area with soap and water, put some WD-40 in there, and very little squeaking.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I have the same thing - my case, it's "sticktion" the strut piston rod sticking to and rubbing against the seal. The shock absorbers themselves are working just fine but the seals stick a little and so do this. My car is out of warranty so I'm just living with it

Swing913

iTrader: (1)

Your Strut Mounting Plate in the fronts are going bad, they have to be replaced. Do this soon before your struts shoots out to the hood. Your front struts should be replaced as well.

Horta

My 99 RX300 had the same problem. I was out of warrenty but I do ALL my service at JM Lexus. I had taken it in for service several time and complained about this issue. One time the right guy test drove it and replaced the strut mounts. By my next service the sound was still there so this time they actually replaced the mount againt and the two front struts themselves. The car ride like new with no popping sounds now. This was done at my 70k service and the dealer covered it under there "Good Will" warrenty. I was blown away. My RX now has 83k miles and I could not be happeir with it.

Todd

http://www.alldata.com/TSB/74/99740513.html

Above is a link for all 99 RX300 TSB's. In it you will see a reference to shock noise. I complained about our 99 300 since day one. It took two years for Lexus to admit to a problem and then finally determined a cause some time later. It was a cracked shock tower mount if I recall right. My noise was more like a rattle or "thumping" when hitting even small bumps.

Anyway there is a fix and since you have a CPO vehicle they should fix it. Let us know the outcome. I am interested if Lexus stands behind their CPO program. I may use it next time.

flipside909

This was also a problem with the RX's platform mate, the MCV20 aka ES/Camry/Solara chassis.

-Sith-

I own a 1999 RX 300, and have recently had the same problem.
The right passenger front makes a loud clunk whenever i hit
a bumb.
I took the car to Midas and they gave me an estimate at
$1,097.24. I was blown away!
They said it was the Struts and Mounting, and that
the dealer charges twice this price.
Being a little bit skeptical, i decided to wait and get
let the dealership take a look.
After reading this forum, and looking at the Recalls
it did point out the noise problem if the front suspension.
I was wondering if this strut problem is covered under
the recalls, and if there is some sort of time limit for me
to bring in my car to get that fixed. I dont really feel like
dishing out 1k for a problem that seems to effect a lot
of RX 300 owners. Im new this car owner thing so
any help and advice is much appreciated. thanks.

Fern

I get a clicking and popping sound coming from the front wheels and rear wheels when movimg at slow speeds ans suspect it is from the brake pads shifting.

See TSB- BR003-00 Brake pad clicking noise...

If your getting a strut sound in the recently mild weather we have had, then I would suspect a strut mount has failed, which is a common problem.

-Sith-

Got my car to the dealership.
Tech said its the mounts that cover the top and bottom of the strut.
He also said that this is actually a common problem in the '99s.
To replace the rubber mounts and the metal plate that covers
the top area, total $467.
Not too bad i'd say.
I took it to Midas before that they gave me an estimate at $1,000+,
and they also lied to me saying that the dealership will charge twice
as much. This goes to show, taking your Lexus to a
Lexus expert is definitely the smart way to go.

Oh, and also, i got a 2004 ES 300 as a loaner...
damn, i wish i could keep it! haha!

rx300s415

After 3 months of putting up with all the clanking/bumping/banging noise coming from the front suspension I recently have tried to diagnose and solve this problem. Read through many suspension issue threads such as this one and found this one to be closest to my problems. I posted on another thread that a IS300 owner told me that he had the same noise problem and it was because he forgot to tighten his struts when he put on his aftermarket suspension. So tonight I took a 24mm(I think it was this size...I was doing this in the dark...borrowed friend's tool set and just did it on the street because the noise got way out of control) socket ratchet to it and tightened both sides. I realized my driver's side strut was really loose. Ran over some bumps and lane margins, the noise is gone! Hopefully this can help some people out! If anybody needs pictures just tell me so...I'll take them tomorrow morning.

jimmouse

My problem showed up a couple weeks ago. The noise only come up when car is coasting @ ~40 mph or higher. It will disappear if I push down gas paddle or slightly heavy braking. Anyone here has same experience?

Lexmex

I have a somewhat different problem. When I come to a stop either when stopped or just immediately after I hear a pop from underneath. Then when I hit the accelerator just slightly forward, I hear another pop. This has been going on for some time (many, many months), but I need to get it up on a lift where I can let the wheels roll (type of lift where wheels stay in the air) and run the motor as I have a hunch it is a bolt or mount.

thomas1

The struts are approximately $104 apiece. The mounts $45 apiece for the front ones. That would equate to around $500 in parts....