wayman28

I have a 2009 LS 460 AWD SWB and I'm experiencing a low pitch noise that starts around 55mph and goes away after 65mph. It's a low pitch sound that's like "wom, wom, wom". The best way I can describe it is if you took a crystal bowl of water and rubbed your wet finger around the rim so it makes a low-pitch reverberating sound. It's strange that it only occurs at a specific speed range. There is also some vibration that I can feel from the floor board in the driver seat at the same time the noise pops up.

I had all eight of my control arms replaced and thought that might resolve this noise but it didn't. I took it to my Lexus dealership and their conclusion is that the noise is due to the tires (they rotated and checked the balancing on my current tires and found nothing wrong with them. They are Turanza's which are new and only have about 1000 miles on them). They said the vibration was likely coming from a torn boot on the front right axle.

I don't understand how the noise and vibration could each be caused by two separate unrelated sources when the noise/vibration are heard/felt at the same exact time in the same exact speed range.

They gave me no specific recommendation on what type of tire to get and recommended I talk to a tire specialist about the noise.

Has anyone else experienced something similar that was resolved by changing the tires? If so what model tires did you use or are good for quiet running?

Thanks.

Nospinzone

My guess is it is the tires. The Turanzas have gotten repeated bad reviews on this forum. I had them as original equipment and had no problem with them, but others have. You might try a search of "Turanza El42" in this forum.

As for replacements, I have used Pirelli P Zero Nero which I was very happy with especially on wet roads. I now have Continental Pure Contact and so far so good. Others have been happy with Michelins.

You might have to bite the bullet and get new tires. Maybe where you bought them wouyld take them back as trade ins. Let us know what happens.

wayman28

Nospinzone, thanks for the valuable input. I just bought my LS460 from a Cadillac dealership a few weeks ago and they put the new Turanzas on the car before they sold it to me. That makes it a little easier to swallow changing out brand new tires only 1000 miles into their life.

I didn't know Turanzas had a bad rep and I'll definitely look into the models you recommended. Thanks.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Your dealer should swap out the spare tire with each tire on the car and see if the noise goes away. Yes, this might take them an hour (and cost you $120). Turanzas are not the most favored tires on this board but there is nothing inherently wrong with them - they're an OEM tire on the car from Lexus. Sounds like you have a bad tire. Take it back to the Cadillac dealer or their installing tire dealer - there should be a warranty with the tires.

EDIT: Regardless of the source of the noise, get the torn boot fixed IMMEDIATELY. You don't want to know the cost of replacing the axle!

wayman28

Thanks. I asked my Lexus dealer if I could replace just the torn boot and he said no, the whole part needed to be replaced which cost about $1600 before labor. Is there a way to replace only the torn boot?

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Well, it depends on how long the boot was torn. If it's very recent, you can get away with just replacing the boots ($100 in parts plus labor). Dealers usually don't want to mess with boot replacement but at $1600 plus labor, I'd take it to an independent and try it first. If it's been torn for some time, then dirt and grit will have entered the joint and will be tearing it up, requiring replacement of the axle. If the noise is not coming from the tires, then you may need to bite the bullet and replace the axle.

dlbuckls10

I had the same issued shortly after I purchased my 460. The Lexus dealership said my front tires were "cupping" and showed me the bad wear on my tires plus my tires were extremely noisy. I replaced the Pirelli Scorpion with Michelins mxm4 and the difference was like day and night. Extremely quiet and smooth.

Nospinzone

I agree, find a good independent. It's not only Lexus, other car manufacturers tell their dealers to replace whole assemblies rather than just the broken part. One time my wife's Infiniti J30 had a small exhaust leak. The dealer wanted to replace the whole dual exhaust system for about $2500. I got a good independent mechanic to cut out the small section of pipe and weld in a new piece ..... $125 out the door and the repair lasted the life of the car!

Dlbuckls10, Pirelli Scorpions are truck tires, they should not be on an LS. Who put those on the car, the dealer?

dlbuckls10

The previous owner because I found the receipt from Discount Tire where the Scorpions where purchased. The dealership informed me the Scorpions were designed for a truck or SUV and not a luxury car. The Michelins are so much better.

wayman28

Sktn77a, my best guess is that the boot hsd been torn for about 3 weeks. I'm thinking that's not that long in the grand scheme of things and maybe the boot can be replaced.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Well, then, go for it. Worst thing that can happen is that the noise will get worse and eventually you'll hear the "clicking of death".

bob3636

I had the exact same issue with my 2011 that I purchased in Dec 2013 as a CPO. When I complained a few months after purchase, they tried to do a road force balance but the numbers were so far out the tires could not be re-balanced. I got the dealer to replace the tires. It took them a full week to diagnose the problem and balance the new tires. It appears these LS460s are very touchy when it comes to tires.

wayman28

Thanks. Did the new tires solve the noise/vibration problem completely?

wayman28

The latest update is that I brought my car to my independent mechanic to check things out. Amazingly he said there is nothing wrong with the front axle boot and nothing needs to be replaced. He said the only thing he did was replaced the clamp on the axle boot at no charge. He said the noise and vibration I'm hearing is most likely coming from the tires because he sees nothing that would indicate the axle or the axle boot is causing it. I don't understand why the Lexus dealership tells me one thing but my independent mechanic tells me something completely different. Not sure who to trust here but my gut tells me to lean towards my independent mechanic since he has no reason to lie.

I'm going to change the tires and see what that does (probably going with Michellin). If it eliminates the noise and vibration then I'll know Lexus was full of it.

I'll be on vacation for a few weeks so I'll report back after I've had a chance to get the new tires later this month.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Doublebase

He may have no reason to lie, but I guarantee you he doesn't want to work on the ls 460 - not unless he is a former lexus tech or something - these cars aren't the easiest to work on.