Ls 460 Erratic Steering

[HenryH]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

[dcfish]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

[HenryH]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

Do you have a recommendation?

[dcfish]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

Do you have a recommendation?

Michelin Pilot HX MXM4, This is a good starting point.

[HenryH]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

Do you have a recommendation?

[HenryH]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

Do you have a recommendation?

I have Michelin Pilot HX MXM4s on my 740 for about a year and love them. I assume these will fit the 460. The Michelin Pilot AS is lower profile? Any experience with these?

[SW03ES]

I almost promise its the tires...

[HenryH]

I almost promise its the tires...

Well, I guess I will go tire shopping> :)

[dcfish]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

The proper tire on a lexus makes a world of difference, Try Michelins ;)

Do you have a recommendation?

I have Michelin Pilot HX MXM4s on my 740 for about a year and love them. I assume these will fit the 460. The Michelin Pilot AS is lower profile? Any experience with these?

I had Michelin Pilot Sports on my GS and loved them, The 460 is a different animal, I would think they would be fine.

[PEG460]

My LS460 came with Bridgestone tires. Last fall I bought a set of Michelin Ice (winter driving tires) and what a differance they made in handeling. This week I switched back to the Bridgestones for the summer and back to poor handelling. These tires handle like the tires we had before bias ply or radials. I have never had a problem with Michelin tires so I will be buying the Pilot Sports when the Bridgestones wear out.

[jlawr]

I took delivery of this car a year ago and love everything about it except how it drives. It behaves differently than the demo vehicles that I drove.

The slightest road imperfections cause it to pull one way or the other. I have never driven a vehicle that was this twitchy. We also own a 2007 Camry and it tracks very well. Our BMW 740 tracks like it is on rails. The Lexus doesn't.

I have complained to the dealer and they insist that everything is OK. It is not OK and everyone who drives our Lexus notices its quirks. I would love to hear from anyone else that has experienced a similar problem.

Our car has the Dunlap SP Port Maxx tires and I am wondering if they are the cause.

Probably the tires, but you might want to check this out with your dealer:

http://www.lambros.net/tsib/2007LS/L-ST004-01.pdf

[nc211]

I agree about the tires. One thing that could also be off is the alignment, taking into consideration the lateral force of the tires. I know this might not help that much, but attached is a TSB for my 4Runner that exhibits the exact same thing. I'm sure it's probably magnified by the sidewall stiffness of the tire, but it sure sounds similiar to what you're describing as well. I know Hunter has developed a new machine to be used for this specific purpose. Basically, i think what it is, is when the tire's angle of contact to the road is even slightly altered, the tire's grip is also altered which causes the pull. An alignment on a proper machine should be able to fix this. Run a google search for hunter tire machines to find their website and read about something along the lines of "straight track", or something close to that.... Dealers aren't the only places in town that have this equipment these days. If you click on "find a hunter machine", you can zero down to locations around your zip code that have these machines too. Mostly tire dealers, like Just Tire, etc...

TS_ST005_01.pdf