andye39s

Greetings,

We've had our 2002 RX300 for a year now, and we noticed this problem not long after we picked up the car. The vibration happens above around 75MPH. The killer is that it doesn't always do it, but it is happening more frequently now. I'd say 65% of the time it is doing it. This is on the same route, same highway, same speed, and about the same temperature. The buzzing in the steering wheel can get so bad that it starts to numb my hands.

I brought it in for the 5000 miles service and had them look at this. Of course they did the usual tire balancing on all 4 wheels, didn't change a thing. I have 9500+ miles on the odometer now, just did not have the time or the energy to bring it back all this time. Oh, there is this creaking/clicking noise from the front suspension when I make slow turns. Sounds like a 20-year old Oldsmobile. Could this noise be related to the vibration? The dealer's response to this problem was "it's a 4-wheel drive, they all vibrate like this". I gave him the "whatever" look and left.

I'm going to make an effort and bring it in this week. Anyone here experienced this? Another note. This is precisely the reason (exact same symptom with the vibration and creaking/clicking noise) Lexus bought back my first 98 GS400, but I was stupid enough to take another car that had the same problem. Lexus wasn't going to hear it the second time so I traded it.

Thanks for any info.

LexRX

Sorry to hear about your problems andye39s. A problem like that, as well as poor service, can really dampen your lexperinece...er...experience (I amuse myself).

I would suggest trying another dealer. If not that, test the theory that it happens on all AWD RX's. The service department should be willing to back up their claim by showing the problem on another RX, or two. You'll just have to stick to your guns until you get what you deserve.

gteach26

I can relate to steering wheel vibrations...most of my vehicles throughout my life (cars, suv's lux and non-lux brands) have had the problem you describe at one time or another. The problem always creeps up after around 65-70mph, is intermittent, and service reps can either never duplicate the problem or say that it is "within specs". Luckily my wife's 2002 RX 300 has been smooth at all speeds .. my in law's LS430 also feels like silk up to 90mph (I'm too chicken to go over that). It is one of those annoying issues with no simple resolution. Are the tires bad? Tire pressure wrong? Is it an alignment issue? Is it the road conditions? Am I too darn picky about how smooth I want my ride to be? I'm willing to bet that if you take the service advisor out to see the problem it won't present itself. I know this doesn't help your situation but at least know you are not alone in the "high speeds wheel shake syndrome" department. It really saps the pleasure out of owning the vehicle doesn't it? If you come up with a solution please share.

EL218

"Steering wheel vibrations"... I didn't actually read all the feedback from above but through my past experience, I had my brake disc rotored and replaced new brake pads. Problem solved!

Lexmexico

I used to have the same problems on my 99 RX with about 56K, until I changed the PS Fluid to Valvoline synthetic. Much easier to make high speed turns...and no vibrations.

lexina

Keep coming back until they fix your problem. If you are not happy, bring it back. DON'T let them intimidate you. They all make excuses, but if you know for the fact there is problem, stick with it and MAKE them fix the problem. It should not make noise. It is a luxury car, NOT a tank.

andye39s

Thanks for the suggestions.

Since this only happens intermittently, I think tire balance can be ruled out, which I suspect is what they're going to do again tomorrow. I think this is something more serious. My second 98 GS400 was in the shop for I'm guessing 45 days out of the <year I had it, most serious problem was this same thing I'm having on the RX, among other problems. Their last diagnosis was "a suspension-related component needs to be rewelded", I said this car should have been welded at the factory and that was that. I traded it a month later.

I would never be intimidated by the dealer. I'm always calm but firm about things. During the whole ordeal with the first GS400, I received excellent service from both the dealership and the Lexus regional office. The GM at the dealership thanked me personally for being a "gentleman", and expedited the process to locate a replacement car with extra options. This is when the car was just released in 9/97 and was scarce. Had I acted like a total a$$, the situation would have been a lot different.

Let's see what happens tomorrow.

ederny

...please let us know how the dealer handles this one.

To add one more thing to the list of possibilities from personal experience, is the tires. Myabe not in your case with such low milage, but on a 40k mile tire, I've seen this kind of vibration at 65-75, the speed I seem to be at most of the time!

This can be a case of wear, but mostly I've seen this as an internal tire problem with the belts you can't see from the outside. New tires have fixed this!

Usually, in a case where a tire has internally changed (degraded), you can sometimes confirm that by changing tires front to rear for a few days or use the spare, alternately on the left and right front to see if the problem changes. A good brand of tire is worth the investment too. What's on yours?

andye39s

Well, guess what. The rebalanced it once again. They claim the weight came off from one of the front wheels, which I knew about since after they did their thing the first time. I thought they removed it the first time they "balanced" the tire, if it so happens that the tire is so perfect it didn't need the weight.

So far so good. Drove on the same roads I normally drive on, totally smooth going 85. Of course this might just have been the other 35% of the time. I'll keep everyone posted if it continues to be smooth.

BTW, the typical "cannot duplicate" on the creaking/clicking front end noise. It was raining all day so I'll try again another day.

ederny

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andye39s

I'm happy to report that I'll have to eat my word on this one, about the "it's not the tire balance" statement. After they balanced it the second time, so far it has not vibrated, having driven it about 150 miles last week. Not once did it shake, so I can probably say with certainty that this has been resolved. They did this repeatedly on the two GS', tire balancing who knows how many times, a few sets of new tires, couple sets of new rims, etc etc, just could not fix it on the GS.

On another note, the dealer quoted me $75 for an oil change! $75 for a filter and four quarts of regular oil, that's pretty outrageous. My other car (a certain european make, no names mentioned here ), a v8, EIGHT QUARTS of full synthetic oil, and the dealer charges $60 for the change. That's $56 plus tax. I pay for a change in between what the computer says. What is it about Lexus, $75 for an oil change?

Heller615

I didn't even look to see when this was posted. I'm having a similar issue however only at highway speeds taking slight turns. what you are explaining seems like a bad axel/Cv-joint. It'll make clicking sound when making turns, usually louder when turning one way than the other, "unless they are both bad. I would guess it just one of them. Like I said I didn't see when this was posted so I apologize if you've already figured it out and I'm typing for no reason. Lol