JimK2

All,

First post here. Am a current GS350 owner looking at moving up to an LS460L. I have seen a lot of discussion regarding the control arms for these vehicles and wanted to get some input on the purchase I am contemplating with regards to the control arm issue.

It is a 2011 460L with with about 50k miles on it. Service records look good. No mention of control arms being replaced. Car was reported as shipped to dealer from factory in January 2011 and received by dealer in February 2011.

Questions:

How likely am I to facing a control repair within the next 150k miles?
During the test drive, how can I test to see if there are existing problems?
What will I hear/see/feel if there are problems?

Thank you for your help.

Rhambler

I'm kind of new here and to this car, but I vaguely remember reading here that 2011 and newer had redesigned control arms?

It was fairly recent in fact and you might be able to find it on the first or second page here. It was buried in a post.

JimK2

Yes, I saw that too. But given the very early 2011 date of the candidate car's production, was worried that maybe it wouldn't apply, given that production changes like this can take a while to work their way through the entire enterprise.

Rhambler

While I'm not a car engineer, I would imagine that if component changes are for a certain model year, it would be present for the entire production run.

It's probably not unheard of car manufacturers applying component changes during a model year production, although I'm sure that's the exception and not the rule. Logistically, it just doesn't make sense, unless it's urgent.

There are a lot of elements and planing needed to implement these changes, component specifications, ordering, production changes, all of which have to be tested and in place well before production starts so I would imagine that they timed these changes to occur at the start of a new model year, which probably means that car is indeed included.

Just anecdotal on my part, but I'm sure others more knowledgable might offer better information.

roadfrog

They did indeed change the design of the newer control arms with new bushings.

That said, there are many here at CL who have over 100k miles without an issue......me included. My '08 just passed the 100k mark and have no symptoms.

R Z

As mentioned the 2011 is the first year they got everything done right on the car. Certainly have a mechanic go over everything before you buy, but you should be fine. My 08 has only 57K and so far no issues with control arms. So not every car has that issue.

Good luck.

Rhambler

Yeah I wouldn't be too worried about.

The car I had before was littered with issues, although my car never experienced many of those that people complained about through ten years of ownership.

The RL had crappy motor mounts, similar compliance bushings (control arms) that cracked, faulty air conditioner compressors (experienced this), and on and on it went.

People tend to emphasize the bad on the Internet. For every one person whining about their car, there are probably ten or more people who have never experienced it and thus never came here to sing those virtues. The Internet is a great place to gripe!

Kennyr44

Yes and no. For instance on a 2007 it seams like they ALL including mine (from the records) had the same problems. Mine were all fixed but the two left for me to do are the water pump and control arms.

JimK2

Any ideas on how would I detect problems during test drive?

sdwtchlvr

iTrader: (1)

Your best bet, if you're serious about the car, is to pay for a pre-purchase inspection. Get it done by a Lexus dealer independent of where you're buying the car.

roadfrog

Such as?

Control arms: Listen for any bumps, knocks when braking or going over rough roads or turning corners.
Brake Actuator: Listen for creaks or clicks when braking. Don't be surprised to hear them, and don't be alarmed either. It is NOT a safety issue.
Anything else is a complete failure rather than having symptoms. For example, the ML amp nornally fails outright. As for water pump, the only way to know if it's weeping/leaking, is to remove a couple of engine covers, and look for a pink crusty deposit around the top (usually), of the pump.

The best thing to do though, (as already mentioned), is to schedule a visit with a Toyota dealer or Lexus dealer that IS NOT selling the vehicle you are interested in.

Kennyr44

You pretty much mentioned them all

Brake actuator
valve springs
ml amp
water pump
my control arm bushings look bad but I have no clunks etc.
wind noise
thats the list nothing other in the 84,000 miles other than maintenance items

Doublebase

I'd say you are going to experience control arm failure sometime within that 150k mile time frame you mentioned, that's a lot of miles.

The symptoms are a pull while driving, a clunk or squeak while braking, vibration on the highway, uneven tire wear.

The only "good news" is that you can replace all 8 of them with aftermarket parts for around $800 dollars. But of course then you will have to have someone install them, that will probably be another $400 dollars. Now people will say you can replace all 8 for $520 bucks, but those are with using some really questionable quality/no name aftermarket parts - I at least like to use a brand name - hence why it costs a tiny bit more. And of course if you buy genuine Lexus parts, it will cost you over 3k.

I just bought 6 control arms for $600 off of Amazon, the brands were Beck Arnley and Mevotech....I'll be putting them in next week...hopefully they are decent.

dal20402

2011 has the fixed control arms -- the change was late in the 2010 model year. At 50k I wouldn't expect a problem (but still listen for any unexpected clunks/clacks when stopping or starting, and look for free play in the steering).

200k total is enough miles that even with fixed parts you can expect one or more bushings to fail. Over that type of mileage they are wear items. I bought my Acura Legend at 185k and wasn't surprised when I had to replace the rear upper arms in that car.

roadfrog

Roger that. FWIW, my 08 has not had any of these issues (except the water pump and the wind noise). And even that (wind noise), I'm not sure my car even had it, but thought I'd do the sail panel imoprovements, "just because". It's been a blissful 100k miles.