Lexus Lemon?

[Voran]

Need some help and advice.

I own a 2006 Lexus IS350 that I bought new last year in October and have put over 24K miles in 8 months. At about 16K I noticed a slight oscillating vibration (1-1.5 seconds of high frequency followed by 0.5 seconds of no vibration). Mentioned this to the Lexus service and they noted unusual wear and cupping on the tires. Short story, have had the car aligned, replaced and balanced all 4 tires (replaced them with the new Eagle F1's) without solving the problem.

Over the last month it's gotten worse. The vibration/shuddering is first noticeable around 70 mph, but only faintly on very smooth roads. It get's more noticeable at higher speeds. At 80 mph it's annoying and that's about where most of us in the Midwest set our cruise controls on I-29 where I spend about an hour each day.

Have taken it in to the Lexus dealer (Superior Lexus of Kansas City) 3 times. Two times a senior mechanic road in the car and verified what I was feeling. He even suggested it might be a drive shaft that was out of balance. However, and this is where it gets really annoying, the service manager called and said she would refuse to fix the problem since in order to duplicate and diagnose it her mechanics would have to drive faster than the posted speed limit.

So I'm stuck in a catch 22. They'd like to fix it but can't since they won't allow their mechanics to diagnose it.

I think it's a safety issue and am left with a number of alternatives. Take it to an independent mechanic and pay for the diagnosis and services myself; dump the car (which otherwise I love) and buy a car that is designed for highway speeds; travel to other Lexus dealers to see if they will diagnose and fix it; drive it until something major happens (it is getting worse). Or, and this is option I'm least in favor of, seek legal remedy.

Anybody out there in Lexus land have a similar problem or have solutions that'll be palatable?

[bartkat]

Cupping can be caused by an unbalanced tire condition, faulty wheel bearings, loose parts, fatigued springs or weak shock absorbers. Check the condition of the shock by forcefully bouncing the front end of the car several times and releasing it on the down stroke. Failure of the vehicle to settle after two strokes suggests worn shocks or struts.

http://www.partsamerica.com/Maintenance/Ma...ireProblem.aspx

Tire wear problems and vibrations only get worse with time and the symptoms you describe will also get worse as the wear continues.

The dealership can do tests and check suspension parts without driving the car. They need to check all that out and replace or correct parts till the get the problem fixed.

To give them a little boost, perhaps you should be talking to the district service people who can give the dealer some help in solving the problem.

You can do the bounce test yourself to test the shocks.

[raymsixsix]

Hey Voran, sorry to hear of your predicament. I'm sure you've made a point the service manager that you and a senior technician have duplicated the problem twice already, that should merit them looking in to the problem further. If I were you, I would try another Lexus dealership and see if that helps. If no luck there, my next step would be calling corporate Lexus. Not until I've exhausted those options would I seek legal remedy. If you're courteious and persistent I'm sure you won't have to get involved with a lawyer. Let us know what transpires

[gabep]

Increased vibration as speed increases suggests an unbalanced rear wheel/tire.

Bent wheel?

[jomon]

Increased vibration as speed increases suggests an unbalanced rear wheel/tire.

Bent wheel?

i dont think its the bent wheel.... both right side of my wheels are bent.... lexus service manager told me that if i dont change those wheels ill be having a vibration on high speed... i never felt that vibration even on high speed... mine runs smoothly slow or high speed..

[bartkat]

Increased vibration as speed increases suggests an unbalanced rear wheel/tire.

Bent wheel?

i dont think its the bent wheel.... both right side of my wheels are bent.... lexus service manager told me that if i dont change those wheels ill be having a vibration on high speed... i never felt that vibration even on high speed... mine runs smoothly slow or high speed..

Depends on how the wheel is bent, but if it is you can see that when it's on the balance machine.

[smooth1]

Generally speaking, if you have what they call "movement" in your rims, and by the way, just about everyone does, does, spped bumps, pot holes and the likes can slightly bend any rim, depending on how severe that movement is, you may need to have them do a Force Balance on all the tires. Also, you should find out if you have water in your tires. Sometimes if you use gas station air pumps especially, they can have alot of water in their air lines, and if you put that into your tires it will cause imbalance issues. You can usually tell if in the mornings when the tires are still cold, the car feels wobbly, then as the tires warm up it kinda goes away. But later, especially at higher speeds it can come back, or if you stop and go alot.

[EnginePassion]

Day after day, I feel Lexus should review/requalify its service managerss/men. I have no doubt that most of them are incompetent. This would hurt Lexus itself. I'm not impressed by a service person who plugs some computerized tools to my car and say it got no problem; when they test drive the car they do it for a couple of minutes and that's all, see you later. I know some would say other car manufacturers do the same; I say this should be different; it's expenisve car and classified as a luxury vehicle.

[Scott M]

the service manager called and said she would refuse to fix the problem since in order to duplicate and diagnose it her mechanics would have to drive faster than the posted speed limit.

Ugh, I just hate dealerships! LOL

That is complete BS.

This is a "Sports Car" and if you watch the Lexus IS350 commercials, they appear to be breaking a few speed limits as well. This is what sells the car!

If you're not expected to exceed current speed limits, the limiter on the car should be set to 70mph, and not 155 (Is that what it is???)

I just drove through Indiana last week and the speed limit there was 70.

Tell the manager that you were on Indiana roads doing speed limit and the problem exists.

They can no longer drop that crap excuse on you.

[Voran]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. We've pretty much ruled out tires and wheels and are left with suspension (although at 24K and around a year old with 90% highway miles this shouldn't be an issue). The senior mechanic thought it might be a drive shaft that was out of balance and another independent mechanic had seen similar symptoms in a BMW with u-joint wear.

Shocks seem to be fine in that the bounce test is negative. Did some fun manuevering rally-type driving in a parking lot around some cones and response at speeds up to 50 mph around corners was as superb as I remember.

I'm still angry about the refusal to do anything about it by the service dealer. No offer to refer to another facility nor suggestions on how to diagnose the problems. Have spent about $1,100 on new sets of tires, several rebalances and alignments without even getting close to resolving the problem.

Will try another dealer.

[smooth1]

Hey there Voran, I have one more suggestion for you and this will really help your frustration level as well.

I would again talk to the technician at the dealership and try one more time. When they refuse again then ask for the Lexus customer service number. The one that is direct to Lexus. Remember, the dealer is not Lexus, they are just a dealer. And most dealers don't want you going to the manufacturer directly because it makes them look bad, and usually some LExus executive will call some dealer senior and have them "handle" the problem. Don't be detoured by the tech. Get the Lexus number and make sure you let them know your going to call and handle this directly with Lexus then. I found they generally will just at that point say" alright" we'll do what we can to fix it. Especially when you consider that here in Florida there are several Hwys that the speed limit is 70. And there are some in the mid west that are even higher than that.

[gabep]

OR-Ask the tech to do a ride-along while you break the speed limit.

[Levi Q]

Is there a track nearby where there are no posted speed limits? If so I'd tell the service lady to test it there.

[300owner02]

I have never experienced a problem like this with my '02. I bought my car new and since then put about 130k on it. I will, however, offer some advise regarding taking it to an independent mechanic. I for one have a nearby mechanic that my family has gone to for years and they actually honored the warranty. There are places that will do that but you have to ask. They either look it up or call in on it for the info so hope this helps! At least it offers another option to the "pay for it myself" burden. Good Luck!

[JKim]

I think I have the same problem. It's a voooom................vooooooom.............voooooom..............vooooooom sound right? Mine goes away when I turn right like when changing lanes or if I tilt my steering wheel slightly to the right. It starts at about 70mph and you can hear it and faintly feel it in the steering wheel and floor board. My dealer also said it's probaby most likely the tires. They said warranty won't cover it and since they didn't have any IS loaners to swap the tires and diagnose the problem I would have to either wait until my tires wear out and get new ones or I would have to buy new tire and wheels to see if the sound goes away. Have you still been unable to find what's causing it?

[EnginePassion]

I think I have the same problem. It's a voooom................vooooooom.............voooooom..............vooooooom sound right? Mine goes away when I turn right like when changing lanes or if I tilt my steering wheel slightly to the right. It starts at about 70mph and you can hear it and faintly feel it in the steering wheel and floor board. My dealer also said it's probaby most likely the tires. They said warranty won't cover it and since they didn't have any IS loaners to swap the tires and diagnose the problem I would have to either wait until my tires wear out and get new ones or I would have to buy new tire and wheels to see if the sound goes away. Have you still been unable to find what's causing it?

Try to check it with other dealership or an independent shop. Frankly, I'm not impressed by most of Lexus service people.

[JKim]

Voran,

Did you find out what was causing the noise/vibration?

[LexusTech383]

Why has nobody mentioned a driveshaft vibration? This concern has shown up on the GS new models as well. Mention this to your service advisor.

Chris

[JKim]

When I went on the test drive with the shop foreman, I asked him if it could be caused by the driveshaft and he said he highly doubts it because everything in the car is moving at such a high rate of speed. He's saying it was to be the road or the tires. I drove from CA to AZ and had the vibration the whole way for 5 hours!!

Why has nobody mentioned a driveshaft vibration? This concern has shown up on the GS new models as well. Mention this to your service advisor.

Chris

[Scott M]

I asked him if it could be caused by the driveshaft and he said he highly doubts it because everything in the car is moving at such a high rate of speed.

Back when I was young, and in much better shape , I worked as a Driveshaft Technician.

I did all things driveshaft, for every type of vehicle... building new custom shafts, repairing old or broken, maching custom parts, etc.

I can't count the amount of Winston Cup cars I worked on or monster truck shafts I repaired when they came to town..

Anyways... I have never heard such BS!

It could very well be the drive shaft and it has very very little to do with the speed of the vehicle.

Although the vibration characteristics can change as the speed of the vehicle differs, going faster will not remove a vibration.

The only way he'll know for sure if to have the shaft removed and balanced by an experienced person, or to replace it with a new one and see if there is any difference.

I'll say this though.

The odds of a new factory shaft correcting the issue is very slim, even if the problem is shaft related.

Some of the worst quality shafts are factory oem, as they're mass produced and balancing/straightening is often rushed or skipped all together.

I have never looked at an IS driveshaft, but sometimes, just switching an end yoke by 180 degrees or replacing u-joints can correct the issue as well... assuming no balancing equipment is avail to you.

This could be a quick $10 test.

My point is that your tech's comment holds no water.