athenslex

I know my 2001 GS300 is never going to be buttoned down like a German sedan but at especially highway speeds I can move the steering wheel about 1 inch left or right without the car doing anything. The car wanders annoyingly, gets blown around by semis and feels numb. I seem to remember reading something about steering pretensioner??? Any ideas out there? I understand being designed for comfort but this is a little ridiculous.

Should have left that part out. The neighbor is very experienced and has all necessary equipment. He is a "miata" guy though, having built up several. I just wanted to get the opinions of some GS guys since he may not understand our preferences. Don't worry I wouldn't even attempt it!

Own a 2001 GS 300 with 82,000 miles. I have the lexus certification. That would give you some piece of mind. No major problems yet on mine. I am getting some of the creaking and groaning from the front suspension that many have talked about. Probably the ball joints or control arms. Otherwise a solid smooth if not exciting to drive "whip".

PLEASE HELP! Dumb question. Does a 2001 GS 300 use shocks or struts? If either, which is superior? Front or rear? I am replacing shocks/struts and putting on Eibach drops plus new front ball joints. This will be a DIY with my neighbor. Any thing else we should go ahead and do? Thanks!

Shoulda had a V8. Definitely would purchase again but go with a GS 430. GS 300 is a little anemic, but very smooth. By the way with those dealer troubles with your paint, you gotta work em brother. Go in real nice and ask for the manager. Tell him/her you been patient but this is their last chance before you go to corporate , the BBB and the NTSB. They hate that negative PR and will probably respond. Your paint should not be doing that. By the way, anyone in Georgia should go to the dealer in Augusta. They are ranked #1 in service satisfaction nationwide and treat you like you bought a Rolls Royce.

Where are all the big brains out there?

Got to be the tires. GS's aren't the quietest cars on the road and definitely not the quietest Lexus model but should be relatively "serene" on the highway. "Sounds" like those Goodyears need to go. For an inexpensive alternative try Avon or Kumho. They won't last quite as long but they are quiet and affordable.

Hey guys! As I make the decision to hold on to my 2001 gs300 with 80,000miles I am thinking about a few mods (It's bone stock right now): 1) SRT Intake (pretty much a no brainer based on opinions from the forum) 2) Borla Exhaust 3) 18 inch wheels 4) Here's the question: I want to add eibach pro-kit springs, I will go ahead and replace the shocks. So while I am doing this should I replace the ball joints and/or control arms? I am getting some of those creaking groaning noises everybody talks about from my suspension. Would these items be covered under the Lexus Cert. warranty?? Any opinions and comments on any of the above would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again to everyone for input on this forum. It is a big help.

I found this for you. I didn't want to re-type everything so i copied and pasted these from an old post I found. The first is a guy asking about a problem that sounds like yours. The second section is a response that seemed to help. Good luck. I have a '99 GS300 with 103,000 miles that I took in for service recently. I had the timing belt changed along with some other things, one of the things I had done was a 4-wheel alignment. I figured since I've never had it done it was time. After I got it out, I noticed something different about how the car rode.....I noticed when going down the highway the backend would seem to sway right to left when going over large dips. It is not a problem around town but once I get past 70 the car feels slightly unstable when going over a lot of dips. Has anyone else experienced this? I saw where someone one with a previous generation GS (93 - 97) had the same problem but I never saw anyone respond with an answer. I'm hoping I'm a little luckier. I'm going by the dealer ship in a couple of days and I hope to offer some 'suggestions' to him because I have a feeling the 'Service Manager' is going to think I'm half crazy. Thanks for any suggestions you guys can provide. Well, I have good news and bad news for you. You were probably reading about my car. I was just logging on to write an update on this problem. And yes, this can be a really spooky condition. I had this same thing happen to my '96 GS with 85K on it. The Toyota dealer was stumped. I took it to Lexus. They had no less than 5 technicians, including their chief diagnostic guy pour over it for about a week. What they finally came up with was this: 1) Bad wheels bearings on the passenger side, rear. 2) Bad bushings on the driver's side #1 control arm (vertical one) 3) Bushing on the rear cradle that isolate the the cradle from the body were deteriorating. It took them another week to get the parts, then they had to remove practically the entire rear suspension to replace the bushings. The total for parts and labor was over $2K. They knocked 10% off the bill for me since it took them so long to figure it out. I just got the car back at the end of last week. The problem was fixed. My car is in great shape other than this issue, so it was worth it to fix it. I plan to keep the car for a couple more years. If the rest of your car is not so great, then you have a judgement call to make. I would recommend that you do fix it right away, as this tends to get worse and can ruin other parts. I would probably have them check the #1 control arm first to see if that corrects the poblem and then go from there. Maybe you'll get lucky and not have to replace as much as I did. Good luck!

Strange coincidence. I did a suspension search on one of the forums and happened to read about this a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember what it was but I will try to retrace my steps and find out. Bottom line, it is a problem that has been seen and as I recall the guy got an answer that fixed it. I'll try to get it to you.

Sorry I'm new. Did I word the questions wrong?? Is there a better way to get a response?

I've owned a Silver/Black 2001 gs300 for 3 years. I bought it certified used 2/04. My certification runs out 2/07 and I have 80,000 miles on it. I am at that point where I normally sell and move on but I do love my GS. I've been studying all the great feedback on the forum, you guys are a great help. Bottom line, would you keep it? What wear items am I facing? Should I go to the dealer now and give them a list of things to check that would be covered under certification? If so what areas should I focus on? Thanks!