riles3019

Drove a loaner 2011 es for a couple of days while mine being worked on. The suspension is more than just "tweaked". It's terrific. Sorta wished I hadn't had the loaner! It really makes the '07 feel like a wallowing, butt thumping, hood leaping pig.
So the question is; is there anything simple [read min $$] that I could do to the '07 to replicate the ride of an '011-12? Just change struts? My '07 only 25k miles. St Pete/Tampa/Clearwater area.
Thanks. p.s. If I decide to trade, what was the first year that they fixed the '07 suspension...........or was it a "process" where they gradually tweaked it to get to where the 011-12 is? BTW, Lexus service said my struts/suspension OK. CPO car

oldgrump

I could not figure out all the comments/complaints about the ES 350 handling.......when I drove the 2011 demo I thought the handling was close to the car that I was trading in, which had excellent handling for a sedan. Checked your tire pressures recently? The front and rear struts, the springs and the front and rear stabilizer bars have not changed........the Part Numbers are all the same for the 2007 to 2011 models. I cannot speak for the tire specifications (the sizes are the same) but I can't see the tires making a huge difference unless your tire pressures are low. I've increased mine up to 34 psi and will monitor the tread wear for a while (30 psi sounded low to me). Like a couple of other people on this forum when I picked the car up from the dealer I thought that the ride was a little "jarring"......and the next morning I found the tire pressure to be 37-38 psi.......so much for the dealer checking it! Dropped it to 30 psi and it seemed to be too far the other way. You may find that increasing your tire pressure may help your handling. You can check the PNs here: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/index.php#

garsarno

The difference in the ride between my new 2011 versus my 2007 with 58,000 miles, Kumho tires with half tread left was great also. But I attributed that to the fresh struts versus my 58,000 mile struts and the soft Bridgestone tires versus my hard Kumhos. I remember when I installed new struts and new Michelins at the same time on my 1998 Lumina LTZ along with the front end alignment. The new car ride was restored.

riles3019

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I have new Michelin Primacys all around, V rated. The '11 had stock Mich s8's.
Have 32psi front/34 rear.
Just seems like something is amiss.........especially since gentelman from Sewell says all suspension parts from the different years are identical.
Sure seems like I get a lot of hood leap over minor road irregularites

garsarno

How many miles on your 2007?

riles3019

25 thousand

riles3019

you know...... the more I think about it..............the vague, wondering steering, the multiple rattles and the lack of wood in the cockpit [compared to my '04] really take my mind off of the bouncy, wallowing suspension.

LexBob2

I had an early build 2007 and now a 2010. I think there were some refinements made over the model years that improved the car. Nothing dramatic, but the car is a little better overall.

garsarno

Ditto LexusBob2. There were probably more refinements but nothing beats the new car ride when comparing to a car with some miles on it.