Rough Riding Ls460l

[RFeldes]

I also, could not agree more...Having owned a 90/400 and 02/430..The ride and handling are much crisper on the 460. Good point 460lex. And I can't begin to tell you how much better the M/L stereo sounds as well as the seating comfort. Two of my quirks on the 430.

[TSB]

I think many of you are missing the point of this discussion. You are saying that Lexus HAD to change the suspension to better compete with certain high-end European brands. Actually, Lexus Japan offers the same great ride in the 460 as in the LS 430 but Lexus USA does not offer it in the LS 460 SWB in the United States. The option I am talking about is Adaptive Variable Air Suspension (AVS). In the US it is only available as an option on the LS 460L and as standard equipment on the LS 600. Lexus describes it as “enhanced driving comfort.”

Several months ago, I drove a 2007 LS 460L with AVS. There is a rocker switch with three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. In the Comfort position the ride was very similar to the 430 if not better.

Many of you blame the rough ride on the tires or tire pressure but you’re wrong. Just adding AVS to the car results in a great, comfortable ride. BTW, AVS is standard equipment on the LS460 SWB in Great Britain!

[RFeldes]

Sorry, Buy buick!!! ;) All discussions are open and I don't know your history. A little history on your experience would help or I apologize if I missed it. Great Britain, lets take a look. Roads for sh**t and left hand drive. I have a concern with that as I spent 12 years of my early life there in Europe. Really, buy a floating Citroen, if they make them anymore. The 460 is like your wiener used to be. Stiff. Get over it. Sorry STB but we like the ride and so does "Consumer Reports"..best Luxury car 08. Read it. In all reality you need a soft car. As i said Buick or Caddicrap. Hemroids?

[460LEX]

I think many of you are missing the point of this discussion. You are saying that Lexus HAD to change the suspension to better compete with certain high-end European brands. Actually, Lexus Japan offers the same great ride in the 460 as in the LS 430 but Lexus USA does not offer it in the LS 460 SWB in the United States. The option I am talking about is Adaptive Variable Air Suspension (AVS). In the US it is only available as an option on the LS 460L and as standard equipment on the LS 600. Lexus describes it as “enhanced driving comfort.”

Several months ago, I drove a 2007 LS 460L with AVS. There is a rocker switch with three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. In the Comfort position the ride was very similar to the 430 if not better.

Many of you blame the rough ride on the tires or tire pressure but you’re wrong. Just adding AVS to the car results in a great, comfortable ride. BTW, AVS is standard equipment on the LS460 SWB in Great Britain!

Hi TSB

I believe that your stating that the LS 430 has a better ride is subjective. If you did a pole with the owners of the LS you might find not all think the softer ride of the 430 is necessary better. Some may want a stiffer ride. In fact if you have read the reviews on the 460 they still talk about the floaty wallowing in corners handling. AVS is nothing new to cars. You can buy a similar system for the older LS's they sell the shocks with a control box to adjust the damping. while not active you could adjust for a softer ride ie less damping in the shocks and you would have more control and mimic your 430 ride. Also these shocks bought with out the control box can be manually adjusted. In time they will be available to outfit the LS 460 if you like. The air ride is deceptive. Air springs were originally put in to keep cars level when the trunks were loaded or a full gas tank. The air bladders take the place of springs, they allow raising and lowering of the car which is more important to some than there actual function. They have a optimal range to give a designed ride. The problem with air bladders is that when used within the designed range they are quite linear in their operation. with a spring you can design them to compress within a certain range and then increase at another point, in a non linear manner. This gives the designer a wider design parameters with which to design the automobile's ride. If you are willing to wait there will be more options in the way of springs and shocks as time goes on. You can pretty much design you cars ride for what suits you. This is more than most want to deal with, but asking Lexus to design or add options for your tastes might be asking for to much. Test driving other cars or keeping your old one might be a better option for you. Also tire pressure has a lot to do with ride. Simply airing up your own tires to 40lbs and dropping to 32lbs you will note a big difference. I have a few engineering books on suspension design but the upload limit is to low to give to you. You may want to search one of the torrent sites if you wish to learn more details. The Automotive Chassis: Engineering Principles is a very good read.

[RFeldes]

After reading my post, I may have been a bit harsh on you and our sister country, our roads suck as well. I feel like Simon on American Idol, 460lex has brought up an interesting review and commentary which I find quite appropiate. Anyway TSB I hope you find an accomodating (sp) ride. ;)

[2008ls460]

Hello all. I am new in this forum and a new owner of LS460 and LS460L. When I bought the LS460 I found the ride to be very sporty comparing to the ES300 that I have with adjustable suspension. Everybody has his/her own ride preference. I like to have a more comfortable ride than sports. The LS460 has a sporty ride. I called the Lexus service manager couple of times and even test drove it with a service man at Lexus dealership to see if it was normal. The mechanic told me it is normal and Lexus has stiffened the suspensions on these cars a little to get a better handling. But the LS460L with Air Suspension is much more comfortable. I found that the Sport mode of the air suspension is almost exactly the same as the LS460's ride. And the Comfort mode of the LS460L is way more comfortable. It provides an extra extra smooth ride and comfort on local streets and highways. It is so smooth that it feels like you are sliding over greasy road. Don't think me wrong about handling of the comfort mode. It still has a great handling. But one thing I realized "as someone mentioned it on this forum before" that the LS460L is better quality checked than the LS460. And I find that to be somehow true. The LS460's engine sounds (or at least mine) like a very quiet Diesel engine. I called Lexus to report the problem and the service manager told me that "tick tick tick" sound is normal. Also stopping at a light the engine was not dead silent. I can feel the tiny vibration and a very silent engine sound in the cabin. But the LS460L is DEAD SILENT with absolutely NO VIBRATION. It might be true that Lexus is trying to push people more towards LS460L with at least $5000 extra cost comparing to LS460 with standard options. I love my LS460L in comfort mode. It feels like my living room is on the road while I am listening to super fine ML soud system, soft, lexurious, delicate, plush, comfortable, gorgious, rich, very well put together and beautiful interior and the last but not the least fine, soft and super touch feelings of the steering wheel. Bottom line: If one wants to have a comnfortable ride go with LS460L air suspension and you don't have to get the Touring package with that. One can get just the Air Suspension with 18 ich wheels which makes it even more comfortable. By the way this is what I have. And if one likes a little stiffer ride then go with LS460 and as I said at least $5000 cheaper. But the LS460L with air suspension can give you the touch of both world to select at your finger tip, Sport or Comfort. I love my LS460L. I cannot keep myself away from it and I hope everybody else does too.

[Lisat]

FINALLY got resolved the rough riding. Initially Lexus gave me 2 new tires, Dunlop. It didn't help. Also, my other problem was 5 front wheel alignments in 1 1/2 yrs. Called Lexus Customer Service and basically said suspending payment until this gets resolved. Took it in, they looked at it, my husband huffed and puffed....4 new Michelin tires. The car drives perfect. My husband also with the Mgr test drove a same year/model to show him the difference. Also, with Michelin the wind noise was reduced.

[fasoul]

Today Lexus installed Michelin HX MXM4's all around after doing a full inspection of the running gear. We've only added 50 miles so too early to tell but they seem quieter although that was not the issue. We'll know more after a few days of driving and update all. Apparently Michelin is their answer to ride issues across the product line.

To early to tell???? You mention in your original post that you've had the vehicle in 3 times in 400 miles so you should know immediately whether the vehicle is riding normal or not. Before your third visit, you should have insisted on driving another vehicle to see of the problem was present and if not, the service dept should have done a wheel swap allowing you to eliminate the problem being wheel/tire related. It's doubtful you had developed flat spots from the vehicle being transported or sitting for any length of time since this sort of issued generally takes much more time to develop. Lastly, the LS460 is one of the finest driving vehicles in the world and is one huge step above your older LSs for both comfort and ride quality. Good Luck

The Michelins have 100+ miles on them and they chase after every crack in the road. Wear marks in the highway are a scare when changing lanes as the car goes where it wants to. While the ride is somewhat softer, the car's stability has been adversely effected. The sidewalls are so pliable that the car wallows. It's going back again. It is our expectastion we'll drive several other 460L's to compare. It may be that we are no longer destined to be Lexus drivers and will have to go elsewhere, but I hope not.

[WhitSTer]

The service manager is guessing flat spotting from the boat trip while the dealer's sales side is saying that's how they ride when equiped with the 18" chrome Telius wheels.

Yeah...it's just gotta be the Teleios wheels. ;->

Tell ya what, being's I'm in a great mood I'll swap you those rough-riding Teleios wheels for some brand new take-offs from my '08LS460. I'll even pay the shipping both ways.

Howzzat? ... such a deal!

:D

Whit

[Streamliner]

I have LS460 with about 2300 miles and a very rough ride. Include me in your "class action";

maybe there will be a fix for my car as well. If any resolution is achieved with your car,

please pass it on.

thanks,

richard hirsch

tampa

On March 15th, I posted that I had just taken delivery of a new, 2008 LS460L with air suspension and that it was the smoothest, quietest of all my six, previous LS's, all of which had air suspension.

I now have almost 6,000 miles on the car and I must agree that there is a problem.

On the highway, the cabin is silent and the ride so very smooth. However, around town, where there are bumps, small pot holes, etc., there is a distinct "THUMP" when the car hits anything. This thump is sent into the cabin as both a noise and a vibration and it is quite annoying.

When I took the car in for it's 5,000 mile service, I complained about this to the dealer, but I got the old "unable to duplicate" note on the repair order.

To anyone who is not familar with the ride of a Lexus LS, they might not even notice this problem. That said, it would appear that the suspension does not adequately buffer the bumps and road imperfections, as did my '97 LS400, with 16" wheels, which was "THE," all time, best riding car I have

ever owned. As the wheel size increased and the aspect ratio declined, so has the ride. However,

my '05 LS430, which had 18" wheels, had a harsher ride, but DID NOT have this thumping noise or vibration.

I would be most interested to hear from anyone as to what we might all do about this problem.

One last thing: The Mercedes S550 does not have this problem. In a brief bit of insanity, I considered another Benz. Thank goodness I didn't go down that road. My LS460L may thump, but EVERYTHING else about it, not the least of which is the dealer network, is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much bettet than anything that comes from the 3 pointed star.

I have heard stories of dealers leaving shims installed in the springs during shipping in and it causing a rough ride situation once the car is delivered. I'd say that no, this is not safe since the car is not designed to be driven with those shims in place. My guess is "removing the tires" is dealer code for "we removed the shims that we should have removed prior to delivery"

Latest news - the factory is sending in a rep to examine the car. The dealer's service folks are not exactly proud of that, particularly after they're top suspension man and best trained tech sayt he car rides rougher than it should. "Definitely not the Lexus luxury we'd expect."

The dealer now has 3 460L's exhibiting the same issue to some degree, one worse than ours, one slightly better. They're hunting for Michelin tires to retrofit but there is a shortage in this area. They've done one of the 3, not ours, but have no owner feedback as oif yet. It is beginning to feel like they (Lexus) have a real issue here and that our car is on the tip of the spear.

The dealer still contends the issue is only with people that have a lot of Lexus experience and are familiar with how they are supposed to ride - that makes me feel good all over and sounds pretty ironic.

Anyone else out there with a "rough rider"?

[fasoul]

Add me to the list of rough riding Lexues.When I miss the ride I use my 1992 LS and it rides better.The 4 bridgestone tires were changed after 500 miles due to defects.Now the car pulls to the right.After 3 alignments and steering adjusments it still pulls to the right.Any ideas.This is not the car I am used to.and I loved the 92 and 99 models.

[woppenhe]

Add me to the list of rough riding Lexues.When I miss the ride I use my 1992 LS and it rides better.The 4 bridgestone tires were changed after 500 miles due to defects.Now the car pulls to the right.After 3 alignments and steering adjusments it still pulls to the right.Any ideas.This is not the car I am used to.and I loved the 92 and 99 models.

I brought the car in for brakes at 14K, and they were needed--they turned the front rotors, rplaced the pads, and then noted that the car pulled to the right, so they did an alignment. When I picked up the car, it did pull to the right, and drifted to the right even if I did not brake. But when I did apply the brakes, just before stopping, it was most apparent. However, over the course of the next day, the problem seemingly resolved. I attribitue this to working in the brake pads for a more even grab, side to side, even though I know the hydrolics are supposed to do that. The steering still drifts, but sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left which I think is related to the tilt of the roadway. I have not had a chance to take it on the freeway to see how it tracks at higher speeds, but I am planning to do so.

[Alex Patel]

I presently drive an LS430. Looking to buy either LS460L AWD or LS600HL. Based on your experience, would you reccommend 460 or 600? Appreciate your contructive response regarding this.

Raj

hey buddy change all tires you will be happy, make sure is lexus recommaned one not the sports tire, i had same problem i got fix this way. good luck buddy

[HankJ]

My 2010 LS600hL rides rough as well. I had a 2008 LS600hL that was smoother than the 2010....I just swapped the Bridgestone's out for Michelins with minimal improvement.

The 2010 is a CPO so it still has warrantee, but the dealer tells me that its to spec.

any suggestions on what to do?

thanks,

hank