jimisbell

OMG, thats not vibration!! Mine is 10 times worse than that!!! If mine was that smooth I would not be complaining!

Bgw70

I didn’t see where you previously mentioned having aftermarket wheels…are they indeed non Toyota/Lexus wheels?

khuong

I did leave that off, I have 19" wheels on for summer - staggered setup, it does it for my OEM Wheels + Winter Tires as well -- not as pronounced.

Going to do a check on bearings and everything tomorrow when I'm able to jack the front and take it all apart.

Harold57

Glad yours is getting better Jim.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer beyond what I've already said to both of you. I have seen this before in Toyota vehicles so maybe if you can find a Toyota specialist and describe what is going on, they can tell you whether or not they can help or actually tell you how to fix it.

Bgw70

if you have OEM wheels, they do not require centric rings, at least my 2002 and 2007 didn’t have them.
the 18” OEMs could be bent…also, if you are running spacers, take them off.

try to get back to the most basic situation…remove the variables.

khuong

Yeah, I'm not sure if its the rings, because my winters (OEM Wheels + Tires) also produce the vibration -- not as pronounced.

I've also had the rings for my aftermarket wheels remeasured/replaced twice now while trying to troubleshoot, Wanting to get the car in proper shape for the wife, because I drive my other cars more now than this one -- but she's a timid driver and will not be-able to handle the vibration.

After I take off the wheels and rotor (i know rotor doesn't need to be removed, but I want to see how bad they are and if any rust has formed behind the it and check the bearing as the car was sitting for roughly 1-2 years in my garage being only driven a handful of times)

Wilson2000

If the vibration continues despite rotating the wheels front to back, I suspect one of the two front rotors may be unbalanced. You can rotate the rotors on the hub, two studs, and see if that changes the vibration (or, if they are worn, just replace them). If you rotate them, mark their current position before removing them so you know how put them back in their "shifted" orientation.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

The likelihood of a rotor causing a vibration due to unbalance is extremely remote. The mass is too close to the center of rotation.

Wilson2000

I'll admit I'm reaching here, but after all of the OP's troubleshooting and parts thrown at his problem thus far, the culprit is likely to be something "extremely remote" causing the vibration.

What's your guess?

oneround

I had a somewhat similar problem on my old LX470. Had tires road force balanced, checked ball joints, the hydraulic suspension was working, so shocks seemed OK, etc. Turned out is was badly deteriorated lower shock bushings.

Here's what led me to it. A old fashioned way of checking ball joints. Jack a tire up enough to get a crow bar or 2X4 under the tire. Have someone pry up on the tire and see if the suspension starts to move without a corresponding shock movement. It basically allowed the tire to make small movements without any shock absorber damping - hence the vibration.

No idea how this would play out on the SC430 suspension, just offering another thing to check, and one that's free.

khuong

Update to the thread...

So after diagnosing it tons, my suspension will need to EVENTUALLY be redone.. I have all the parts.. just need to find the time to do the complete front replacement (I live in canada so some parts are a bit ugly/rusty.. but everything is tight like a tiger)

I replaced... all the rotors + pads (even though they were all fine... like stated before car was sitting for about 1-2 years with very little movement)..

The back of the rotors were super rusty... and stuff.. new ones are great... and guess what.. Vibration is 99.99% gone.. I can feel road movement more than vibration now.. so Rotors guys.. friggan rotors.

Wilson2000

Congrats on getting to the bottom of this Khuong, and thanks for updating the thread!

Since rust is often uneven, I see how it could lead to an imbalance in one of your rotors.

If the rotors weren't warped, as you said in your original post, you may have gotten by with just turning them.

It's interesting that your mechanic didn't see the rust while inspecting for the vibration issue.

khuong

Honestly lol I don’t think any of them took off the rotors, the rust was only on the inside part where it mates to the hub.

it was definitely rusty and crumbling. I decided to replace it with coated rotors this time front and back (black) to match.

Hopefully won’t happen again, and now that I’m driving it more it should be fine.

I still have the rotors in my trunk, I’ll take pics if I remember to before recycling them.

even the outside edge was rusting,

Wilson2000

The outside edge rusting is typical, and usually not an issue. I'm glad you clarified that the rusting responsible for the vibration was on the mating surface, hidden from an inspection. This may help others in searching for an uncommon cause of a vibration such as this. Whenever I install rotors, I always coat the mating surfaces with anti-seize. It prevents rusting, and makes them easier to get off during the next brake job! I also give a light coat to the mating surface between the wheel and rotor, as well as the wheel lugs.

khuong

that’s the exact steps I do as well, copper anti sieze on the hub, anywhere metal to metal contact really but ya makes life easier.

Unfortunately I didn’t do the brakes the last time, I had a shop do it - was lazy when I got the car.

But now I got more time, so I’m trying to take care of all my cars before the wife flips out at me for having so many cars lol.