jmcraney

You should consider the inflation pressure in the tires. The next time you start your car first thing in the morning, before you drive, make a note of the tire pressures that are displayed in the Multifunction Display in the dash and tell us what those numbers are.

Chuckwagon

Does your car have the air suspension? I looked through the thread and didn't see any reference to air, so I thought I'd ask. I have a 2007 L model with air suspension, and your description of how the ride feels is very similar to what I've been feeling since I had the front control arms replaced. I don't know if it was behaving poorly before the work was done and I am only just now noticing it, or if tightening up the front end has made it more obvious. But it certainly seems different now, and much like you describe.

It just seems a bit too unsettled for a car this nice. And at times, after going over a more pronounced bump, it feels as though the tires are skipping along, the whole car seems to shudder. It's like there is no damping at all for any sharp bump, but the suspension seems to be working otherwise. It rides level and at the correct height, it doesn't go all bouncy when you put weight on a fender, and it doesn't drift all over the place. On pristine asphalt it's nice and smooth, even at 80-90 mph. But it gets very unsettled if the surface isn't like new. I'm baffled.

If your car doesn't have air suspension, then I'm not sure why the behavior would be similar. But I'm certainly going to be watching this thread to see if you make any progress figuring this out.

Good luck,
Charles

Devh

Sorry I just don't buy it. The manager needs to show you not tell you that their brand new line of cars is defective. Ask him if you can quote him on what he said.
We can argue about the level of ticking the engine makes as it is there but what you are describing is unacceptable and not a feature of this car, it is clearly a defect that most of us don't have.

waynedog

Cold pressure is 34 psi. Goes up to 38 psi when hot.

wanderer99

waynedog - are you coming from 10 years of driving an LS400, or from a mix of a 400 and 430?

waynedog

Charles - my car does not have air suspension. But, the control arms were replaced as part of the CPO inspection process (done just before I purchased it). My car does behave like yours - when I hit bumps, the car jumps like I am driving a truck with a solid rear axle. The more I think about what I am experiencing, it is more like some kind of suspension issue. It does not get bouncy like you say, it just seems like the suspension/shocks/struts do not absorb small or large road undulations or imperfections very well.

waynedog

LS400 for 4 years, LS430 for 4 years, LS460 (2007) for 2 years. All of them rode much better than this 2009 460.

jmcraney

Seems good to me. Are these numbers representative of all 5 reported pressures?

Devh

I have a 2011 RWD without air suspension with none of the issues you are experiencing. It soaks up the bumps well and it is composed. The only issue I had was a slight harmonic hum at 55mph with new tires that went away after 500 miles.
It is possible that the installation of the new control arms was not done correctly. I would have them inspected and every bolt re- tightened with a torque wrench.

Last year I had a hard jarring suspension on my other car that felt like my rear end was solid which I could not locate. I thought it was a bad strut but it turned out to be that one of the bolts holding a control arm walked and caused the issue but i would not have noticed it until I checked all of the bolts.

waynedog

The spare is 39 psi all the time.