LexieLS

First of all, i have a 95' LS400 equipped with electronic air suspension. i have about 130k miles on it.

the first problem that i have just noticed is that when the car is parked, engine shut off, the car is not even. it seems like the passenger side is about 1-2 inch lower than the driver side, is that normal for the car that is equipped with air suspension??

my second problem is when the car is going about 40-60 mph and the transmission is gettting ready to shift from 3rd to 4th (i believe), it sometimes jerks so hard ... not once but couple times. seems to me like the computer is ordering the tranny to shift the gear but the tranny doesn't want to (or couldnt' .. i dont know). does anybody have to same problem??

third, when i drive on rough surface road, it has noise coming from the front suspension. i don't know what's wrong with that. i have read some previous posts and you guys were talking about the "shock" of suspension. what is that?? does it need to be replaced or repaired??

last, this problem probably involved in the front suspension as well. ok, when i go over speed bump (real slow) i can hear a really weird noise when the front wheels are in motion of going up and down over the bump. i can't explain what the noise is but i hope someone would understand what i'm talking about.

BTW, i'm going have my car checked for 130k miles at the lexus dealer. how much do you think they are going to suck out of my wallet and what do you guys think about what needs to be changed at 130k.

thank you guys

SharpLS-96

Its not normal for the car to sit uneven when your car is parked unless ur parked on an an extremely uneven road. I think your passenger side air suspension bag is either no good or you have an air valve leak somewhere along the line. It could be a computer problem as well. I would have the dealer check out the entire air suspension! When you hit your switch does the car rise when your running it parked? Those bags when they go bad can be a royal pain in the *** and very expensive. If you need new ones there was someone selling a pair on this site a few weeks back but I am not sure if he sold them or not as of yet. Look in the classified section in this site.
You know from Sport/normal etc?

The noise your talking about when your driving over speed bumps is either your bushings or air struts!

In regards to your tranny when was the last time you had a tanny service? Drop pan, clean filter and added new fluid? Sounds to me that it is happening once the car goes into overdrive at around 50 mph. I think your overdrive gear is shot in your tranny. In order for them to fix it they have to drop the tranny and its an expensive job but you have no other choice if thats in deed the problem. Have you checked the fluid level with the car running to make sure its full? If your low on fluid it will cause the the tranny to slip!

Your 130k service can run any amount depending on what they find wrong with your car. Sounds to me that they will find a few things wrong with it. I don't know what has been serviced on it and at what miles. Service history is everything!!!!! Its hard to out a $ figure on it. If its just routine crap like a tune up, oil change, radiator flush with new hoses, new belt, brakes etc it can run 3, 4, 5 bills or more depending on your car but I am not sure what your car needs! If you walk out spending less then 3 bills I would say your lucky

LexieLS

SharpLexusLS400,
i took the car to the shop this morning and found out that the bushing of the front suspension is bad and that's why it makes noise.

about the car is not even, there's nothing they can do about it. so i guess i have to live with it. it's not that bad tho.

for overall check at 130k. they just do the regular tune up and stuff like that.

so the bill came with the total of somewhere around $500. a lot less that what i expected. But i havent had them worked on my tranny yet. i think i'm going get it done sometime in the near future but just not now. so if anybody has any idea what would be the reason that makes tranny jerks. give me some ideas so i wont be ripped off my the dealer.

Thank you

SharpLS-96

LexieLS

I pretty much figured it was bad bushings.

Lexus couldn't tell you if you had bad air suspension shocks? Those retards! It could just be a computer problem as well. They could have hooked up your car to one of there software laptops to see if a code came up( for computer related problem) They will tell you they can't do that but there full of crap!

As far as your tranny goes.... I am almost postive that its your "OVERDRIVE GEAR" where the problem is! It's called the "OVERDRIVE BAND" which usually causes the problem at that speed! The only real way to tell is to open your tranny and look at the band or have a transmission specialist drive your car. He should know if its the band or not.

Pyrotech

i also own a 95 LS with air suspension. you said that your car has 130k on it. if you are still on your original set or air struts then you may need new ones. next time you go into your dealer, ask them to inspect the air suspension. they typically fail around 100k. i just passed 95k and my fronts are really bad. my car wanders a lot and the front tires are really rough (worn). also, it is very bouncy and all road uneveness is felt throughout the cabin.

the front air struts are VERY expensive to replace. about 1000 a piece at the dealer. backs are around 600 a piece. irontoad has them for a little cheaper. about 750 for fronts and 550 for backs. i am no auto expert but with that many miles on it i would definitely consider replacing the struts or at least putting money aside for it each month. if your tires are worn and there is a vibration/shimmy within the car it may be indirectly related to the suspension from alignment problems. hope this helps.

= pyro =

LexieLS

actually i had my suspension system checked both front and back by the lexus dealer. they checked and it came out that all of them are still fine. i dont know when i'm going to need to change those tho. the town i'm living in is Springfield, MO and every road is in great condition. i mean there is no patholes or anything like that more than a few days. whenever i go out of town in my car, i feel so sorry for my car cuz the roads in big cities are so bad.

i think that might be another reason to consider of as well. as far as the roads are in good condition and the way i drive.

thank you for your opinion

SharpLS-96

I use to have a Lincoln LSC and know what a royal pain in the *** that air suspension can be thats why when I got my car it was fully loaded except with no air suspension! I didn't want it! Plus LS has a great enough ride without it ! I also never load up the car with too much weight so I didn't need it. Felt it was a waste of money!!

Pyrotech

i know this. my next lexus if i get another LS400 will not have the air suspension. i have never ridden in one with the standard suspension but since the air suspension is so "uncommon" in older models and there are so many praises about its ride, i can only assume that it rides just as nice. just seems really dumb to put that much $$$ into a car every 100k miles or so. i especially feel for those people with the 90 or 91 who have to get the replacement when their car may only have a value of $7k or $8k and they're pouring in $3k or so for a new suspension!!!