lv2000

i just got a gs400 form a gs300 when i accelerate it kind of trembles in the passenger rear after that its fine. and my gs300 drove smoother ? any reason the steering feels like its loose or something i remember awhile back when there was a thread about loose torsen bar or something it was a known problem and all you did was tighten a bolt ? anybody recall ?

AlphaJZS

iTrader: (2)

Im uncertain if it is torsion bars, but My gf's gs400 had that problem when we had replaced her wheels and you could notice how much it was shaky by looking at the front passenger seat (the headrest really) when no one was in it while drive, It shook and just did not look normal....I later had the car looked over and it turned out one of the wheels had lost its tape weights and that was causing the wheel to become unstable while in motion, especially when accelerating. Not sure if that will help you any but thought I would share that story, maybe its a starting point. Hope it helps.

lv2000

i know its not the wheels had them balanced i think its something different ,noone remembers when there was a bolt that came loose on the frontend and it was connected to steering ????

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

LV:

Before I reply, I'm going to ask you to please title the threads you enter in the forum a little more descriptively. "Help GS400 owners" doesn't help anyone understand what you're looking for, or for people searching through threads later. Thanks I'll update this one for you.

1) The trembling rear wheel is likely because it is out of balance. Like Panda said, when you lose a wheel weight (or the wheel just isn't balanced right) you get a trembling feeling in the wheel that you can localize to exactly which wheel. If your new GS has 17" wheels, it could also be a flat spot in the tire that many GS's exhibit when they sit even overnight. This usually works out within 2- 5 miles or so of driving when the tire heats up.

2) The thing you recall being adjusted is the steering pretensioner. If you try a search you'll find lots of information on it. I had mine tightened and it definitely helped.

lv2000

thanks davegs4 for the input sorry for the lame subjects ill try harder next time !

mooretorque

lv2000, I think you may be recalling the loose bolts on the front sway bar mounting brackets. When loose, they make the front end sound as if the whole suspension is about to fall off. But they in no way cause the symptoms you describe.

doug_999

Can you clarify "loose steering"?

My steering is very loose - by that I mean it takes one finger to turn the wheel (i.e. it is not firm). Makes the car much harder to control. Lexus says that's just the way their cars are - but I know from the other GS's I have driven that is not true.

Doug

PS - it will go to its third dealership this monday with me reporting the loose steering (one dealer at 1K, one dealer at 5K, and now a new one for the 10K service). We will see if this dealer will help.

lv2000

it feels like you said the one finger and very touchy at high speeds cause its sensative my 300 thats the same year but 15k less miles never felt close to that !it kind of makes it not a pleasureable to drive . im going to take it to the dealer this week ,on my journey to find a gs400 i have drove alot of them even gs430 s and this is by far the only one that does that ! i thought it was the wheels when i test drove it cause it had some awful 20s on it that were bent ! i put mine on and the hopping stopped but steering feels really touchy and loose will the ecu upgrade fix it at all i really want to keep this car ! ive been searching for 6 months and are hard to find ! thanks guys

doug_999

Let me know if they fix it and what they do to fix it. I have the exact same issues.

Doug

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

Before I moved to a GS4, I had a '00 Acura TL, and I used to have a "loose steering" phenomenon, and it was all corrected with a quality 4-wheel alignment. My car used to wander and I had to keep correcting the direction until I finally got fed up and had it checked at an alignment shop--which, of course, corrected my issue.

Nonetheless, I recently upgraded from a '98 GS4 to a '99 GS4 (fewer gremlins in the '99), and I had it shipped to me using DAS. Nonetheless, from my 2 experiences with auto shippers, it seems that shipping a car throws the alignment out and also messes up the tire balance. As my car initially wandered and had a really bad vibration (at some speeds it was worse than at others, not to mention some secondary interior rattles caused by the the tire vibrations) and had uneven tire wear in the front, I promptly did a 4 wheel alignment and also had the wheels rebalanced (FYI, Costco balances tires for $4 each (stick-on weights don't cost extra), if you didn't buy the tires there). Rebalancing the tires immediately got rid of the vibrations and assocaited rattles (in the steering wheel, and throughout the passenger cabin--to test vibration, look at the passenger headrest if you're drivng (like someone else also mentioned), or put in a 1/2 full pint-bottle of water in the cupholder and see how much it vibrates while driving).

I hope that you figure out your car's vibrations, and the driving smooths out for you.

lv2000

so all i need is a 4 wheel alignment

doug_999

You should try. I had mine checked out and it was perfect - car is still loose.

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

In addition to starting off w/ a 4-wheel alignment (should help greatly w/ steering and keeping your car straight), and tire balacing (will help w/ the vibrations from the tires and being transmitted to the steering wheel and the car's cabin), have a suspension shop or your Lexus dealer check these two other items:

1. Supension: Lower ball joint (can cause your steering to be a little loose)
2. Steering gear: inner and outer tie rods. if this is loose/damaged, the car's steering is thus affected, so a tire will wander, even if the steering wheel is point straight. It requires CONSTANT correction to go straight.

To check the above, if you have the time, jack up the front end completely. Then grab a tire on the sides and wiggle it side to side--it shouldn't have any movement or clanking sounds. If the tire moves, the other wheel should move as well. Have someone brace the other wheel and try to wiggle the tire side to chekc and make sure that there is NO wiggling at all (listen very carefully for any subtle sounds)--if you can, it's your tie rod (there's 2 per side, an inner and outer--it's pretty hard to figure it out unless you have help (and also have the car fully up on a commercial lift). Grab the tire on the top and bottom, wiggle it in and out. Again, it shouldn't have any movement when you wiggle it--if you can, your ball joints are out. Check the other side.

My old TL had a defective inner tie rod, and I had to take it to 3 separate dealerships, and even then, I had to point it out to them the problem (even they can't always find the problem). Basically, if you have a bad tie rod, the car wil wander, even w/ a good alignment. But you should still give the 4-wheel alignment and the tire balancing a shot before you do hunting for bad tie rods and ball joints--but if you're taking it in anyways, have them check the above.

Again, good luck.

lv2000

thanks alot guys for all the input i will jack it up tomorrow night ! every day is a new project !!!! i love it

doug_999

Once again, I just brought my car to a different dealership. As I explained to the service manager about my steering being "overboosted" he just looked at me with this "This is a Lexus sir, our cars have no steering feel whatsoever" look.

Of course, the car checked out OK per them.

AGHGHGHGHGRHGHG - this is driving me nuts.