peterb

Gentlemen,

I bought a 95 LS400 with 73k on it about 3 weeks ago and here is the problem. I hear a thud when I hit a speed bump or when I brake hard at high speeds. It doesn affect the way the car handles or make it pull or anything it just makes a noise that you know is not right. I know the car has not been wrecked and I am thinking it sounds like a strut. It does however seem like a Lexus should get more than 73k out of a set of struts but age may be more of it. The car is seven years old now. Any suggestions?

Peter

BTW this is my first post here. Hope it is as helpful as twinturbo.net (300ZX Owners). I was on that board for 3 years and the members were great.

additude

Hey peterb,

I'm not going to speculate at what your problem might be, but I'd be concerned that something bad might happen when your crusing at 70 mph....I'd have it checked out. If you bought the car from a dealer or broker I'd take it back to have it fixed while you still hopefully have some warranty on it.
Look under the car and see if anything is loose. It might be something simple that isn't tied down and moves when bounced or braked.
Welcome to the club, I know there are some real "Lexus Techies" around here that can probably answer your question. I'm just not that person.
I'm sure one of the people here will know what to do.

Erfan

Hi Peter,

Nice to meet you. Your LS400 may have some bad bushings in the rear sway bars, have it checked out, it shouldnt be anything serious at all, just the bushings are rubber and they dry and crack and make noises when they are moved up and down hard. May be some lose stuff in the trunk that is moving around, empty your trunk first and then see if it comes back.

peterb

I'll go ahead and answer my own post as the dealer took care of things. The lower control arm bushing was shot. He said that he fixes 20 a week on the 95-97 LS 400's. Mentioned that it was a poor design and one of the few in the car. He said all of them go out between 80 and 120k one bad pothole can accelerate that.

Erfan

Twink,

How much did it cost?

additude

Cool,

Good info. Thanks for passing it along. I guess I have 30K to go on my 97 before I find that problem. But I'll know what it is.

Thanks!

What did they charge ya for it? or was it a warranty repair? Do you know how much it would have cost?

peterb

The part was 206.48 and they charged me 1.5 hrs @ 80/hr to put it on. Not to bad.

Erfan

That is a good deal on that labor cost, as long as you are happy is all that matters. And your baby is feeling better too.

Supra94Red

I've got the exact same problem on my 93 LS400 with 72k
miles.