97 Es Avs Electronic Suspension

[as97es]

My 97 ES has the seemingly rare AVS suspension option. The car dirves fine on the highway, but in bumpy city driving, the rattling of the suspension gets rather uncomfortable. My mechanic checked out and said that what he saw was so complex, he wouldn't even know where to begin.

For all intents and purposes, the AVS is pointless. I could definitely do without it. Is it possible to replace the AVS struts with regular struts? I've looked through some older posts, and the result doesn't seem to be too clear. Has anyone succesfully (and relatively cheaply) replaced the AVS struts? The only place that seems to even know how to fix the system is Lexus themself, and they'd charge around $2-3K for it - a BIT out of my price range. If anyone knows much about disabling the AVS system and replacing the adjustable struts with regular ones, I'd be VERY grateful!

[Eric Cheung]

My 97 ES300 is also with adjustable suspension. I was told that the regular suspension will fit.

I think there is no need to disable the adjustable suspension, the adjustability will just cease to function if the new regular suspension does not support the function.

For your information and reference, there is such a thing as the "Power Cushion Buffer" to remedy an old suspension. I installed it in the rear suspension spring of my 97 ES300 and the rear of the car rises by 3cm or so. Also, the rattling sound afrter driving through speed bumps are now gone. I'm thinking of installing for the front suspension as well. If you want to install it, please do your own research on the subject to see if it is justifiable for the money.

See the link below for the picture of a Power Cushion Buffer.

http://ttc0999.en.ecplaza.net/product.asp

Hope that helps.