'96 Gs Stablility Problem

[WindyCityGS300]

I have a '96 GS 300 with 85K on it. This issue is mostly noticeable on the highway. When you hit a bump, the rear end will sway side to side. Also when you accelerate when driving over 50 MPH the rear end will start swaying from side to side. If you let off the gas, it immediately stops the swaying motion.

I can find no signs of anything wrong with the rear suspension. I recently had it in for service at a Toyota dealer and they were completely stumped too.

Has anyone out there had this problem? Anyone have ideas of what is causing it and how to fix it?

I have been living with it for a while now, but my sons are just starting to drive and I feel this could be a dangerous condition in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Thanks,

WCGS

[1sikgs]

I have a '96 GS 300 with 85K on it. This issue is mostly noticeable on the highway. When you hit a bump, the rear end will sway side to side. Also when you accelerate when driving over 50 MPH the rear end will start swaying from side to side. If you let off the gas, it immediately stops the swaying motion.

I can find no signs of anything wrong with the rear suspension. I recently had it in for service at a Toyota dealer and they were completely stumped too.

Has anyone out there had this problem? Anyone have ideas of what is causing it and how to fix it?

I have been living with it for a while now, but my sons are just starting to drive and I feel this could be a dangerous condition in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Thanks,

WCGS

i suggest you check all the bushings. especially the sway bar bushings. also you should check your alignment to make sure nothing is off.

[WindyCityGS300]

I have a '96 GS 300 with 85K on it. This issue is mostly noticeable on the highway. When you hit a bump, the rear end will sway side to side. Also when you accelerate when driving over 50 MPH the rear end will start swaying from side to side. If you let off the gas, it immediately stops the swaying motion.

I can find no signs of anything wrong with the rear suspension. I recently had it in for service at a Toyota dealer and they were completely stumped too.

Has anyone out there had this problem? Anyone have ideas of what is causing it and how to fix it?

I have been living with it for a while now, but my sons are just starting to drive and I feel this could be a dangerous condition in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Thanks,

WCGS

i suggest you check all the bushings. especially the sway bar bushings. also you should check your alignment to make sure nothing is off.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had the dealer check the sway bar bushings last week. the car has been aligned and still has the problem. I think I will take it back in for alignment again this Friday, since I have a lifetime alignment contract on it.

Any other ideas???

[WindyCityGS300]

I have a '96 GS 300 with 85K on it. This issue is mostly noticeable on the highway. When you hit a bump, the rear end will sway side to side. Also when you accelerate when driving over 50 MPH the rear end will start swaying from side to side. If you let off the gas, it immediately stops the swaying motion.

I can find no signs of anything wrong with the rear suspension. I recently had it in for service at a Toyota dealer and they were completely stumped too.

Has anyone out there had this problem? Anyone have ideas of what is causing it and how to fix it?

I have been living with it for a while now, but my sons are just starting to drive and I feel this could be a dangerous condition in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Thanks,

WCGS

i suggest you check all the bushings. especially the sway bar bushings. also you should check your alignment to make sure nothing is off.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had the dealer check the sway bar bushings last week. the car has been aligned and still has the problem. I think I will take it back in for alignment again this Friday, since I have a lifetime alignment contract on it.

Any other ideas???

I finally got a solution to this problem. so if anyone else has it, this is what I found:

I took it to Lexus. They had no less than 5 technicians, including their chief diagnostic guy pour over it for about a week. What they finally came up with was this:

1) Bad wheels bearings on the passenger side, rear.

2) Bad bushings on the driver's side #1 control arm (vertical one)

3) Bushing on the rear cradle that isolates the cradle from the body were deteriorating.

It took them another week to get the parts, then they had to remove practically the entire rear suspension to replace the bushings. The total for parts and labor was over $2K. They knocked 10% off the bill for me since it took them so long to figure it out.

I just got the car back at the end of last week. The problem was fixed. My car is in great shape other than this issue, so it was worth it to fix it. I plan to keep the car for a couple more years. If the rest of your car is not so great, then you have a judgement call to make.

I hope this helps someone. Maybe this can also serve as a reminder that when you find a solution to a problem, that you should post your results back here so that the next guy can use it too.