gtung99

Hey guys,

Just purchased a very nice and well maintained 2008 LS460 this weekend. It has 110k on the clock but it has been serviced religiously at Lexus dealerships all the way up to 100k. New control arms for the front and back, front wheel bearing replaced, spark plugs was done at 60k, trans/diff flush at 70k. Drive belts at 60k as well.

I've owned many Toyota/Lexus' in the past so I have a couple of questions I wanted to ask. I feel the steering is a little heavy. Toyota's and especially Lexus' have really light steering. To the point where people think its too light. On my LS460, I feel like i'm turning the wheel of a BMW. Its tight and takes a lot more than a finger pressure to turn especially at low speeds. Is this normal? I know on the new LS460s with the sport package it makes the suspension tighter but I don't believe my car has that.

Second question is about the transmission. I can feel the car shift in the first second and third gear. It very subtle but noticeable. Its worse when the car is cold. Again this is not usual behavior on the Toyota and Lexus' I owned before. The car is not in PWR etc, when it is the shifts are even more noticeable.

What do you guys think? Is this normal behavior or should I have the car checked? There is no hidden settings somewhere that can control the steering or transmission shifts right? The local Lexus dealership changes $280 for a trans flush which they said only takes a hour. Not sure if the power/electric steering needs to be checked.

Advice? Thanks!

R Z

Greetings and welcome. Gratz on the 08. I also have an 08 and I'm not sure I've noticed heavy steering. Are the tires inflated properly? I'm no mechanic so I couldn't begin to help you there. As for shifting, sometimes I can sense the shift, but it's not always noticeable.

Did you notice any of these issues while test driving the vehicle?

gtung99

Yea the tires are actually inflated to 36 PSI for the winter. And plus this happened before I swapped to a winter set. Def not the tires. I mean I have read how in the LS you can basically turn the wheel with one finger. I def cannot do that, it takes some effort to turn the wheel.

I was kind of too excited during the test drive but yes I did notice both things. Not sure if they were normal or not so I didn't really question the sales person. Anyways I picked up the car at GMC dealership so they wouldn't know anyways.

tbilisi79

Just got my 08 myself.

Steering wheel is very light at low speeds. I can turn the wheel with a finger easy,

And tranny, I have the same thing going, in the morning the shifts 1-2-3 are more noticeable, but that changes after a few minutes of driving .

Wondering if tranny flush is in order.

Have you dine that yet?

Nospinzone

Since the previous owner had the transmission fluid changed that brings up two possibilities to me. The transmission fluid is "lifetime" so unless there was some problem with the transmission it did not need to changed at 70K. (BTW, do a search, there has been a lot of debate in this forum on that topic). So if the previous owner had it changed, maybe he was having a problem, or the other possibility is that by changing the fluid it created the problem. I've read here that there is a very specific process for changing the fluid. It is not unheard of for even a factory trained tech to do something the wrong way.

It probably wouldn't hurt to take it to a Lexus dealer and have them check both the transmission and the power steering. One thing you could do while you are there is ask to test drive a demo and see how that transmission and steering feel to you for comparison purposes.

Oh, and welcome to the Club and congrats on the new car!

R Z

Actually this is the way to go! I highly recommend setting up an appointment with your Lexus dealership. Let them put the car in their system and ask them to look into your concerns. The first thing I did when I got my 08 was take it in for the nav update plus got myself loaded in the system. Now they know which car I drive and what it is all about.

Another thought is go to the Lexus Drivers website, set up your account and load in your vin number. You will find every entry Lexus made about your car's history. I actually noticed on mine, the owner updated the nav in 2011. Had I looked there first, I probably wouldn't have had the new one installed.

Doublebase

My steering feels very light, in fact it's the lightest steering I maybe have ever felt in a car. As for the transmission I do feel the gear change, so I'd say that's normal.

Keep in mind the steering is electric and if it had a problem it probably would throw a code.

I think it's great that your car has had those services done, the tranny service is a hot debate around here (I'm in the get the thing serviced camp).

peteybabes

I'm asking the experts here as well, but could this simply be a VGRS issue within the steering mechanism? (if the car has VGRS)

http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/05/1...or-vgrs-issue/

kalimski

My 07 LS steering feels quite heavy too. Especially in comparison to my 07 Camry. I asked my mechanic and he told me there's nothing wrong with it, but I still do have some doubts. Would prefer much lighter steering driving in Prague....

gtung99

How would I know if I have VGRS? And would it throw a code if it wasn't working right?

I mean I have a Toyota Sienna as my family hauler and it has lighter steering than my LS and shifts are smoother.

I wouldn't mind going for a other trans flush and having the steering checked out but I just want to make sure I'm not wasting money. From the people who replied it sounds like everyone can feel the 1-2-3 shifts but thr steering is toss up.