26 replies to this topic

[gserep1]

Hello,
I have a 99 GS400 with the stock 17 inch wheel and tire combination. The tires are brand new, with less than 100 miles on them so far. They are the Bridgestone RE-730's, and the first thing I noticed about them is that they are NOISY in comparison to the stock Bridgestone RE 030 tires.

I also notice a distinct vibration at 55 to 60 miles per hour, and it disappears at about 80 on the high end. It does not vibrate at any speed slower than 55 or 60.

I have heard that there is an adjustment to take out excessive slop in the rack and pinion, but can't remember where it is I saw it. I wished now that I had the 16 inch wheel and tire combination. It is not as sporty looking or handling, but the ride is supposed to be smoother, and tire life is supposed to be considerably longer. An website called www.aaarims.com is supposed to have the stock 16 inch wheels in stock. I might just buy a complete set of these to augment the 17's I have on the car now. I called a local Lexus dealership, and the service department did NOT know of an adjustment of the type I described.

I would appreciate any comments or advice that anyone can give me in that regard.

Thanking you in advance,

GSEREP1

[Cosm]

I also have the same problem with the steering colum shaking while going high speeds. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way I have a 98 gs400

[Rodders]

In my experience, this is nearly always a wheel balancing problem. My advice would be to take the car to quality independent tire shop and get the front wheels checked.

[evese]

I have a 2000 GS400 Platinum Edition. The Plat Edition included the 17-inch spoke wheels and Bridgestone tires. Within the first 3 months the dealer replaced all of the tires twice and the two front tires once more. I had a vibration in the steering column at 60mph. The tech said that the tires were "out-of-round", but was puzzled as to why this occurred so quickly. So, the dealer replaced the tires with Eagle GT's. (The dealer didn't charge me for any of the tire changes.)

The Eagles are rougher riding, but I haven't had any problems per se.

However, I have experienced plenty of other steering problems since. The steering in the GS has the same reported problems as their other models. The dealer tech "can" make an adjustment, "tightening up the rack", to reduce steering vibration and body roll. He can also increase your tire pressure that make a difference as well.

This is the only problem that I have with this model, but when BMW releases the 2004 5-Series, it'll be gone.

[gleininger]

I've got a GS400 that has a vibration between 58-65 - road force balancing and allignment hasn't helped much. I heard there was a bulletin to dealers on this - can anyone help me out?

Thanks,
Greg Leininger

[evese]

Did you check to see if the rotors are warped? ...mine were.

[gleininger]

The Lexus dealer went over the car thoroughly(6 hours) the 2nd time I brought it in. They checked suspension and rack & pinion components. They didn't mention if they checked the rotors, but it isn't a braking issue, and my pads aren't wearing like they would with warped rotors (normal life and even wear). Thanks for the suggestion though.

I stopped by the dealer yesterday to pick up a bulb, and one of the techs told me about a problem he thought was in a bulletin - something about a component in the r&p steering that was flawed in design - and they had a fix. I'm not so sure he 'was supposed to be talking' about this, so I'm going to ask about it later with the service advisor(I don't want to 'tell on him' and give him a bad rap for being honest)

[Larry M]

For what it may be worth let me tell you what a service manager told me.

We were talking about the steering and suspension on my 2002 GS300 and he volunteered that earlier GS300s had a steering vibration or shake problem. He said the problem was worse with the 17 inch wheels. He said that Lexus changed the design of the steering pinion in 2001 which fixed the problem. The new design stopped the transmission of vibration from the wheels to the steering wheel.

Thats all I know.

Larry

[evese]

Thanks! I'll ask my service advisor next time I'm in for an oil change.

[brettwarren]

I've have a 98 GS300 that has a vibration between 60-65 - I have had in the shop for balancing and allignment hasn't helped. I also had to put new tries on it 2 times now nothing seems to help any ideas.

Thanks

[Jay]

just had that very problem corrected , by tire balancing........
The problem ocured at 70 mph.......
Jay

[MrSypher]

just had that very problem corrected , by tire balancing........
The problem ocured at 70 mph.......
Jay

That's what I was gonna say.. That or alignment..

[gslx4s]

I have also found that the factory wheels are some times not perfect. This come directly form the Toy/Lex copr. offices. When i first had my GS i had this same problem. I went through the multi inspections, then the head at the lexus dealer i go to had an idea of looking at the wheels. Sure enough, one of the wheels was not completely round. They replaced my wheels and the problem was solved. Hope this helps.

[MrSypher]

One of your wheels weren't round?? Damn now that's a mishap.. Atleast you found the problem and had it corrected...

[gslx4s]

One of your wheels weren't round?? Damn now that's a mishap.. Atleast you found the problem and had it corrected...

Ya, it was the strangest thing i have ever had to encounter with in the automotive industry. The service guys were trying to give me a bunch of crap of how my driving style would cause this and all sorts of things. Ispoke to the service Mgr. about that and he said he was sorry. Oh, after the last post i checked to see how long i had the car befor noticing the porblem.. 2 weeks...But long story short the replaced the wheels and tires at no charge. and i lived happly ever after...lol