Bouncy Ride

[Nowie]

We just bought a certified 2012 RX 350 last month. The car has 31,000 miles and in great shape. The tires are also new. We loved everything about the car except the bouncy feel ride especially felt on the passenger's side. Unfortunately we test drove the car only for 10-15 miles and had no issues at that time. We just went for a road trip for 120 miles yesterday and my wife felt the bouncy feel ride more prevalent than ever before. I thought that you do not experience this in a Lexus!!! Granted it is not a brand new car , they do go through the certified car with a fine tooth comb.We called the dealer and they want us to bring the car back so they can evaluate the issue. My sales guy thinks it could be anything from struts, shock absorders and etc. He said there were no known problem with the car but they will stand by their warranty. Any feedback ??? Thanks in advance. Noel

[1990LS400]

Ride quality shouldn't deteriorate a bit in only 31,000 miles - it should still ride like new.

The first thing I would check is to see if the tires are appropriately inflated. Check the driver side door jam for the pressure specs. Tire pressures change on their own by about 1 psi for each 10 degrees of temperature change. I have a thermometer on the wall of my heated garage so I can compute how many psi to add so that that our tires are adequately inflated when outside.

What type of vehicle are you coming from? The wheelbase of the RX series keeps getting longer but the wheelbase of the 2012 it is still relatively short at 107.9 inches. It's not going to ride like a Lincoln Town Car.

Does your RX 350 have the standard 18" wheels and tires? The ride quality that comes with 19" wheels and tires is not going to be as cushy.

If everything mechanical checks out as being OK, maybe the ride is something to just get used to.

[VBdenny]

Perfect point. What vehicle you drove previously has much to do with this. If you come off an LS and go to an RX, you get bounce. High vehicle, short wheelbase.

Many other factors like location, origin, leased? Carfax etc

[LEX-SV]

Yes, first thing is to check tire pressure first thing in the morning before driving.

What brand/model tire came with this particular RX? Tires make a significant difference in ride quality even if sizing is exactly the same.

(Being CPO at 31K miles, they are not the same tires that were shipped on the car directly from factory, so that's why I asked question above.)

[Nowie]

I used to drive a Toyota Avalon Limited 06 with 17" tires. The tires on my RX is the Goodyear Sport

235/60 R18 size.

[VBdenny]

The Avalon Limited you had is a very smooth riding car. Ride is really mainly about wheelbase. My friend has a GMC Denali all big and loaded which to most people would ride like a dream. He thinks it rides "bouncy" but then again, for work he has a 4 door 3500 GMC pickup with 8 foot bed. The wheelbases is as long as Delaware so it rides ultra smooth.

Sounds like maybe you are not SUV people. Neither am I. My wife has a RAV4 which rides like it was made to ride.Put me low to the ground.

[VBdenny]

of course I usually send my wife by plane which eliminates twitching in the car.

You know when I drive alone

I prefer to be by myself.

[1990LS400]

I agree with Denny. A 2012 RX with a 107.9 wheelbase and relatively high seating position isn't going to ride like a 2006 Toyota Avalon with a 111 inch wheelbase and a lower sedan-type seating position.

Among vehicles of its type, the ride quality of your RX is quite nice but might take some getting used to. You might come to appreciate the easier manueverabilty that a shorter wheelbase provides in parking lots. My daily driver is a 2014 Sienna Limited with a 119.3 inch wheelbase - provides a limo-like highway ride but is a total pain in parking lots.

And maybe you will appreciate having a hatchback. You'll be able to carry stuff that you couldn't dream of carrying in an Avalon. (All vehicles should have at least five doors!)

[pj8708]

I've got a little different situation. We have both a 2013 RX350, and a 2013 ES350. I had moved over from my previous 2010 ES350 to the 2013 ES. The RX was our first experience with a crossover. When I got into the RX I immediately noted the ride quality and was pretty convinced that any road trip we took would be in the ES. The RX was way to rough for me. The cabin was quiet and laid out well. But I cringed every time we got near a pot hole.

I love my ES and after trying some different tires, I think the ES is a great, nice, well appointed luxury car and one of the best buys financially in the Lexus line.

My worst fear is that as I get older I'll have to get one of those inflatable round doughnuts to sit on when I'm in the RX!!

Paul

[VBdenny]

That is exactly why I held my wife off from getting an SUV/crossover. I do not like them because of the ride. My wife loves them because of the height. As I previously mentioned, I prefer low. Very low.

[Nowie]

We live in the Buffalo area and we are getting pounded with snow this year but our RX performs well on the road. Just spoke with

my sister today who happens to have the same SUV we have and she has not experienced the bouncy feeling in her car since she

always drive it and not the passenger. Interestingly, she went out to dinner with some friends who happens to drive an RX also last week and was picked up at her house and they rode in the back seat. She claims it was pretty bouncy specially when going over

some bumps. She thought something is wrong with the car (thinking needs new tires) but did not want to comment .

[VBdenny]

My wife works in Rocklland Massachusetts, south of Boston and said her RAV4 AWD does okay. Still didn't ride like a car but I can't say I would call it bouncy at all.

[Nowie]

We just got back from the Lexus dealer today to access the bouncy ride from our RX 350. We asked the service manager to take a road trip with us so he can evaluate the car. He asked us to leave the car with him for a few hours and gave us a new 2015 RX for the day as a loaner. This will give us a chance to compare the difference in the ride since we told him we did not take a new one for a test drive. Our bad!!! Trusted the Certified cars too much.

Took the new RX for a ride and as advertised it rode like a LEXUS, like "butter". Now we know we were not crazy because this is what a Lexus is all about.Granted they changed the "boring" quiet ride of their cars to be more like the the European/German hug the road type of car, it should still be an enjoyable ride. Greg called us a few hours later and said that the two rear shocks are leaking and needs to be replaced. Picked up the car a few a hours later and "Bouncy" rode as good and quiet as the new 2015 RX

he loaned us. Just disappointed that they miss the problem when they certified our vehicle .

[LEX-SV]

Nowie - Thanks for follow up report. Good catch by you.

[VBdenny]

That is great that you got it resolved. Always love a good ending.

Of course I felt like an idiot after I heard what it was. I assumed (yes) that Lexus shocks would never fail. Then after hearing your report I thought back to "bouncy" rides of the past when shocks were terrible. Had a friend "Hutch" with a 67 deVille convertible that the rear shocks were gone. At traffic lights the back would bounce up and down. How we forget the simple and obvious sometimes.

Enjoy that sweet new ride.

[LEX-SV]

Nowie - I do understand your disappointment with the CPO certification and the service department's work

The Lexus CPO checklist calls out for checking as it relates to your issue in the section called Chassis Inspection (and has a place to enter comments and estimate repair cost):

. Struts/shocks for operation/leaks

[JudyAA]

Just purchased a CPO 2012 RX 350 AWD with 55K miles and am also disappointed in the roughness of the ride. The dealership adjusted the air pressure in the 18" tires but found nothing else wrong.  The vehicle's repair history shows that one rear shock has already been replaced due to leaking.  My previous vehicle was a 2004 RX 330, purchased at 55K miles and traded-in with 180K.  During my ownership, the shocks had never been replaced and weren't leaking at trade-in. It had a softer ride. The dealer said the RX's headed in a different direction since my 2004 model. Also told me that the 2012 is built on a Camry frame with the newer versions on a Highlander frame. 

[pj8708]

Hi Judy,

This is my opinion, but to the best of my knowledge,the ES models used the Camry frame for several years, then around 2007, ES went to its own frame. In our garage,we have a 2013 RX,and a 2013 ES. sitting side be side.There does not appear to  any way for the two cars to be on the same frame,

In a nut shell, the RX will always ride stiffer than say the ES. Many different size tires, inflation pressures, and sometimes inflation pressure., that makes a difference.A few years ago I simply changed tire brands to Michlen . The tire style, size, ply speed performance. speciffied for cars like the RX. 

I would suggest going to "Tire Rack".com. they have many technical as well as comments on tire performance and cost. I'm not sure I'v been much help but come back and let us  know how things are going.

Paul

[JudyAA]

Thanks Paul.  I came across this article the other day.  Not sure how much of it could be applied to my vehicle without being cost prohibitive, but interesting...

http://www.ehow.com/how_6304133_can-make-car-ride-smoothly_.html