Vansibel

Just came back from a ride and since it's getting pretty warm here I decided to drive with open windows. At low speed I noticed a unusual squeak coming from the rear passenger wheel when I got over small potholes. This part of the car seems to shake really fast a few time before settling. I can also hear a drum like vibration in the car coming from that corner. I can feel an unusual bounce which take time to settle when it happen. I'm no expert but from what I read the usual suspect should be either a defective shock of broken control arm ? I'll get a nearby garage to take a look next week. Gotta admit, like some members pointed out, I'm surprised to see those kind of issues on a car which didn't even broke the 45000 miles mark yet... And that's for a car that I take really good care of and not used as a daily driver.

Vansibel

Just did the simple shaking test as shown in this vid:
And the rear side which the noise come from is MUCH easier to shake than the other side. So I guess I need new shock. Would I need to replace them in pair like that guy recommend or just the problematic one ? Any idea on the cost I should expect and I'm guessing I'm better going with oem ones ? Thank you very much for any inputs you guys can provide. I'm not a mechanic but it's always interesting to learn new stuff.

Edit: Is there any special procedure on changing those on the ls600 with air (like adjusting some parameter trough odbII port) or pretty much any mechanic will be able to do this ?

Lextrician

If it's air there pretty spend plus depending if you rear seat recliners it's more time to get those out to get to the strut nuts to remove them.

Vansibel

Air + exe pack so recliner and yes it's on passenger side. So you're saying that the seat need to be removed to change the rear shock ?

Lextrician

yes i believe so. other with air can chime in but i think this is the case.

greg3852

Removing the rear seats is like 4 bolts. It's extremely easy. I have reclining rear seats and have removed mine to get to the top of the strut tower. I found it harder to remove the rear deck than the seats. Total time to remove the first time is like 10 min. If that.

Not sure how much different it is for executive seat vs reclining.

Vansibel

Thanks for the input, I thought at first that removing the seats would be a more complicated endeavor.

On another note I noticed is that the rear driver side of the car sit lower about half of an inch than the passenger side. I could swear thought that the sound and vibration was coming from the passenger side. Maybe it's just a consequence for the opposite side that sit lower ? I tested the air suspension (pressing the button "height" and the car lifted correctly although the driver rear side was still lower). When I shake the lower side the car barely move compare to the other side. I'm a bit puzzled, would a lower side indicate a worn shock (although the other side is shaking more) ? Is there some kind of adjustment that need to be done on those car regarding the default height for each corner ? I tried to put my hand on the shock while the wheel were still there and they don't appear to be leaking (I'll confirm tomorrow when I get the wheel removed at a nearby garage).

enoch861

I've noticed that my rear drivers side sits about an inch lower while the drivers side sits about half an inch lower than the corresponding sides on the passenger side. I don't have air suspension, but I've been puzzled as to how one side can be lower than the other.