TSB

I have a 2008 LS460 SWB purchased on 12/14/07 and our area had record amounts of snow this year. I had no problems with the snow and ice.

On my 2008 LS460 I have adaptive cruise control i.e. radar and use an Escort Passport 9500i radar detector. They work together without a problem. RFeldes, where did you hear or read that a radar detector can't be used with "active radar distance control"? Police radar uses frequencies between 10 GHz and and 35 GHz. Adaptive cruise control on my LS uses 76 GHz!

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!

I am curious how your test drive went. I have about 20,000 on my 2007 LS460. I cannot recommend this car to anyone. There have been endless recalls/TSB's. The 8 speed transmission is horrible when it comes to downshifts and highways speeds and on ramps. The navigation/telephone lockouts are endlessly frustrating. The suspension allows too much body roll but still doesn't completely isolate from even small pavement imperfections. The list goes on and on. Try an S class and A8L before you purchase... I agree. I have 600 miles on my 2008 LS460 purchased one month ago. Compared to the LS430, the ride is uncomfortable and you better enjoy feeling every little bump in the road. Lexus USA and your dealer will not give you any help or advice once they have your money. If I could get rid of this car I would get the S-class beauty with the buttery ride!

You already have a digital compass on the navigation screen. Why do you want or need two digital compasses?

Absolutely Lexus makes great cars. I am a huge Lexus fan. However, you have a right to be satisfied with your purchase. If you feel your car doesn't ride like it should they should repair it. Thats why I suggested you drive another LS460 to compare to yours. A lot of people who come on here with issues act like they deserve the moon and the stars and thats too far, but I think you're too far the other way. You're a repeat $70k LS buyer and you deserve to be satisfied with your purchase. A LOT of the Lexus ride is in the tires, its always been that way. A lot of times the dealer and the factory over inflate the tires and that ruins the ride. For instance the PSI on the doorframe for my ES is 29 and it always comes back from the dealer at 37. TSB, what is the PSI on the driver doorframe of youe LS460? The label on the doorframe says that all of the tires should be 33 PSI. When I bought the car on 12/14 the pressure in all of the tires was 36 PSI. Right now they all read 30 PSI. BTW, I just found out that we should not blame Lexus Japan for the uncomfortable ride in the LS460; the problem is with Lexus USA, the distributor of the car in this country. I went to the Lexus USA web site and clicked on Lexus International to find out what options were offered on the LS460 SWB in other countries. All of the LS460’s sold in Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zeeland and “Pan Europe” (that probably means all of Europe) are equipped with adaptive variable suspension as standard equipment. It is also available as an extra cost option on LS460’s sold in Hawaii by a different distributor. I wonder why the distributors in these countries offer adaptive variable suspension as standard equipment on the LS460 if the ride with the standard suspension is so great.

You play rough. You’re suggesting blackmail and that’s not a good idea. Basically, Lexus makes great cars and I loved my LS430’s. Maybe I should get new shocks to improve the ride but that may void my warranty.

You should drive another LS460 now for an extended period to compare the ride to yours. What we're trying to figure out is is yours typical or is there something wrong with it. How do I get another LS640 to drive for an extended time? The dealer will never give me another 70K LS640 even for one day. I appreciate you comments.

Several days ago the service manager reduced the tire pressures to 33-34 PSI but there was no improvement in ride quality. Today he replaced the air in my tires with nitrogen but that changed nothing. I did drive another LS460 before ordering my LS460 but during that short ride I didn’t notice the harshness of the ride. It’s a shame such a great car with perfect fit and finish has such a poor ride. Yesterday, a guy in a Mercedes next to me in a parking lot said that my car was beautiful. That’s a first for me.

To follow up my post from yesterday: I took my new LS460 back to the dealer to try to get my LS430 back but it was sold. They did have a loaded ’07 LS460L they offered to sell me. The car was in great condition, had less than 12,000 miles and was equipped with adaptive variable suspension. The drive was as good as the LS430. Unfortunately, they wanted $77,000 for it (original list price was $88,046) and would only give me $53,969 for my car; they claimed that they would have to sell my car as a used car. A few days earlier I paid $70,655 when I bought my LS460. That’s a loss of $16,686 after driving the car for 60 miles! Any suggestions on what I can do?

Hello Everybody, I’m a newbie to this forum but I have purchased and enjoyed two LS430’s over the last 5 years so I’m familiar with the great ride in that model. Last Friday, December 14, I purchased a new LS460 from Bredemann Lexus in Glenview, IL. Several days later I realized the ride in my new car on less than perfect roads was terrible compared to my two LS430’s. Every time I hit a pothole or other defect in the road I heard and felt it significantly. I went back to the dealer and was told by the service manager that “This is the ride that the customers want.” He adjusted the air in my tires but that had no effect on the quality of the ride. Obviously, I was stupid not to have checked out the suspension more carefully on the demo drive I took several months earlier before ordering my LS460. Recently, I drove my new car on several nearby expressways and could hear and feel every expansion crack, pothole and other defect in the roads. Prior to buying my first LS430, the salesman said that I would love the way the car handles on expressways and he was right. Every summer, my wife and I love to drive up to Lake Superior for a few days. I now dread the thought of making that drive in my new LS460. There is a solution to the problem but it’s too late for me. If you find the ride in the LS460 is as bad as I found it, you can solve the problem by buying the LS460L and ordering the adaptive variable suspension. That combination gives the same luxurious ride as the original LS430. The problem is it will cost you over 12K more than a LS460.