LexusFan2

Hi,

I have a 2007 ES350 with 120k miles and the original stock suspension. I've been having a problem the past month where both the front and rear suspension is no longer soft and absorbing but instead is very stiff and jarring when going over bumps and rough road surfaces. It also sounds and feels very loose. Handling wise, the car is fine and the ride is not bouncy as you would expect from worn out struts.

I had my local mechanic perform a cursory inspection during the last oil change and he found no obvious problems. I have Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires set to 32psi for all tires. The problem is present regardless of the temperature outside. I plan on taking the car to the dealer for a more thorough inspection. Any suggestions on what the possible causes may be?

Clutchless

It is probably time to replace all 4 struts and check your control arm bushings and trailing arm bushings for wear. Strut wear is subtle and over the long time as it happens you really do not notice how bad it has become until that one day that you have now appeared to have reached!

12jimmyjam

32 psi is higher than recommended for the car also just as a fyi.

DriveTheL

This issue sounds like me to the" T".

More recently I have had the exact same issue.... Even to the part where on my last old change (@ a toyota dealership). the mechanic said there was nothing that was wrong...

I dont think that if I have become so immune to the ES ride to the point where I think its kinda harsh. I honestly have been thinking that it may be time for new struts, springs and bushings. but I want to go through that if nothing is wrong, my next oil change isnt too far off so I plan on having it checked again.

does anyone have any idea about what this would cost?

Clutchless

http://repairpal.com/estimator/lexus...placement-cost front

http://repairpal.com/estimator/lexus...placement-cost rear

I would get a couple estimates. The only decent strut/shock sources are OEM, KYB (good aftermarket) and maybe Monroe (KYB will last longer). Any shop can do this and you need an alignment afterward.

Blue Moose Engineering

Doesn't the ride get bouncy and soft when struts fail? That has been my experience with every car I've owned

Ride quality and stiffness is largely determined by coils. Struts are not springs and only provide damping, so a worn strut that loses chamber pressure will fail to damp the coil so the spring will oscillate several times before coming to "rest".

Maybe there is something else going on here...?

DriveTheL

Speaking for myself and not the OP, its stiff without the benefits better handling. If anything it feel like a lack of dampening. I would assume that if the springs still maintain some integrity and not shot to hell. It wouldnt bounce like crazy.... the car isn't sagging or anything. But i would say the hand doesn't insire me to drive fast.

Blue Moose Engineering

A coil spring will bounce quite a bit without a damper unless it is VERY stiff. But again, maybe there is something else going on here. An over-inflated or stiff-sidewalled tire will do much more to stiffen the ride. The OP gets it right when he mentions that worn out struts make the ride bouncy.

jkayca

+1. Worn struts == bouncy ride.

You can tell if the struts are worn but pushing down hard on each of the 4 corners of the car. If the car bounces when coming back up, it's time for new struts.

Clutchless

Your worn shocks/struts could also be binding up due to lack of fluid, internal failure and corrosion leading to a very rough ride. This happened in my sister's BMW 328 to the rear struts/shocks, which were not under warranty, although the front ones were. Go figure.

nick415

LexusFan2

Never resolved this issue. Had several shops look at the suspension and none of them found anything obvious that needed to be repaired or replaced. They suggested replacing the struts, even though there are no signs of any of the struts leaking. Plus, bad struts don't result in a harsh, jarring ride like I'm experiencing. At this point, with almost 150k miles on the car, I haven't decided yet if I want to spend money on the car for new struts.

Looking back, this problem has been an extremely frustrating issue. The fact the car's suspension goes from soft and quiet one day to very stiff and sounding like it's falling apart the next day has been baffling. Then after a day or two, it goes back to being soft and the cycle repeats. Not sure what it could be. Maybe a part of the suspension is loose and preventing the full range of motion and is jamming up somewhere. But I would think this would be been picked up during one of the several times I had the suspension inspected.

nick415

I'm in contact with a rather large Lexus dealer in my area at the moment, and I'll let you know what they say. I'll be dropping the car off with them in June, so hopefully we can find some possible answers. The ride in my car is far from what I would call unbearable, but it just seems like it's nowhere near where it should be. I have the same tires you do, and mine are set to 31 PSI. I live in rural Texas, though, so it is possible that the roads here are just really atrocious and beyond what my car can handle.

LexusFan2

Good luck and I hope you end up finding the problem. Please post back if you do. I wouldn't call my ride quality as unbearable either. It's just a very noticeable difference when it goes from soft and absorbing to harsh and stiff. I priced out the cost of replacing the struts and a local shop can have the front replaced for $700 and the rears for $500. But everything I'm reading on this forum indicates worn out struts lead to a bouncy ride, not a stiffer ride.

LexusFan2

Yes, my thoughts exactly. Which is why I'm not convinced the random stiff and jarring ride is caused by worn out struts. If they were worn out, why would the ride quality go back to being soft and normal after a few days?

My guess it that something is preventing the suspension from its full range of travel and as a result, instead of the spring/strut assembly fully absorbing the road imperfections, it is being transmitted to the chassis and to the cabin. This would also explain why I hear a lot of rattles in the cabin when the suspension becomes stiff. What I don't know is what could be preventing the suspension travel.