Och

iTrader: (3)

Recently my 94 GS300 with 125,000 miles developed a problem. When cruising at 40+ mph, it starts to shake violently, the shaking is felt throughout the whole body of the car, especially the steering wheel and the shifter. The shaking usually starts when crusing steady, but remains and progresses as the speed increases. It eventually gets so vilent that everything in the car starts to shake, the stuff inside door pockets, glove department, etc. It goes away at around 25-30 mph, and wont happen under 40 mph.

I dont believe it is engine related, because the engine sounds and feels steady, the RPMs remin steady. I tried redlining in 1st, the engine sounds healthy, no misfires, no shaking.

I also dont think it's the transmission, because while the car was shaking i put it into Neutral gear, it kept shaking, put back into drive and it also kept shaking.

So it's probably something else in the drive train - what do you guys think it could be? There no mechanical noise to go with the shaking, at least i couldnt hear any. Also, it probably doesn't have anything to do with the tires, because the shaking doesnt happen all the time, and the tires seem visually ok.

johnee78

iTrader: (4)

you may want to have your tranny mount checked and possibly replaced..The part and labor isn't that expensive and considering the mileage that you have on your car, it wouldn't hurt to change it..Also have your alignment checked and balance your tires..Hope this helps..

bridge4d

Depending on how violent it is, I'd have to guess the tires and/or shocks. If you have a tire out of balence then it would start to shake at higher speeds. Lexus' are very sensitive to inproper tire balencing. If you feel it in the steering wheel first go have your tires balenced and rotoated. You might have thrown a counter weight. Any curb hopping lately?

Och

iTrader: (3)

Nah, the tires are OK i believe, if they were not the car would be shaking all the time at high speed, but this only happens randomly, and all the weights seem intact.

Also, I doubt its the shocks, because the shaking feels side to side, if it was shocks, it would probably feel more up and down. And the point where shaking feels strongest, is the shifter, so I think the shaking comes from the drivetrain.

Madasian87

i actually had this problem a while back but mine was accompanied by a rattling. i took it in and it turned out that my drivetrain had shaken a bolt loose! that was all. mechanic put one back in and its been ok ever since...

BrianH

I experienced the same problem in mid-november on I-5 and noticed it starting over 60 mph in mine. if i went up to 65 it would start, and at 70 it would become a "violent" shake. one thing that i noticed is that its only on the freeway. i went over 60 a few times (shhh) on highway 99 and a few other places and didnt notice the shaking.

LB Lex

That's pretty scary

Like everyone here said, I would have my tires rebalanced. You should also check the engine and tranny mounts.

Have you checked your lug nuts? Maybe they're loose or not tightened properly. Take the wheel off and clean any rust/debri on the mounting surfaces and then tighten the bolts in a criss-cross pattern.

bmoon_007

I had some sort of the same problem, if i was cruising or going less than 45 mph then the car would drive fine. But between 45 and 60 was horrible, so i took it to discount tire for a balance and they showed me that one of my wheels was bent (a little) and that's why i had that problem. After 60 mph or so the car drove fine and the discount tire guy told me that after a certain speed the wheel centers out and that's why it would drive ok after 60 mph or so. So i had to replace the wheel and now it drives smoothly!

Och

iTrader: (3)

Allright, my wife brought the car to the shop yesterday, because the shaking was unbearable, it started even at 30 mph, here's what it was.

Front left had broken brake line, broken caliper, damaged brake pads and loose steering linkage.
Front right had almost cracked brake line.

Replaced everything, and resurfaced the brake pads (they were bran new, just replaced 3 weeks ago), cost me $400 with oil change.

Suprised these idiot mechanics didnt see the problems coming three weeks ago when they worked on my brakes.

LB Lex

Glad to hear you discovered the problem, but how in the heck did all those parts break at the same time???

jpw

Hey Och,

Did you take any of the front wheels off to take a look b4 your wife took it into the mechanic ? Maybe you would've seen something out of place.

The idiot mechanic probably broke it 3 weeks ago....