Vibration for first few miles
05-26-15, 06:25 AM
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Vibration for first few miles
Owned my 2009 for 6 months now. Ever since purchasing it, car will vibrate significantly at highway speeds when first driving it, then decrease by 90% after a few miles. At first, since I purchased in winter, thought it was cold flat spots on tires. Dealer changed tires 3 times, finally with a new set of Turanza OEM tires. Still does it. Service manager said he drove new 460's and they all do the same thing for a few miles. I have seen other comments on internet from other owners who report the same phenomenon. Don't think it is the tires since we went through 3 sets and it still does it in the summer.
Does anyone else experience this and what else could cause a vibration until the car is warmed up?
Does anyone else experience this and what else could cause a vibration until the car is warmed up?
05-26-15, 06:55 AM
#2
Pole Position
I've had my 08 since October 2014. While I don't drive it a lot, it's been driven 3500 miles which included an 1100 mile round trip drive. I'm not sure I notice any type of major vibrations like you say. One time, and I'm not sure what I did, while on the x-way, my car started shaking. I let off the gas and it went back to normal. Wish I had more info for you, but perhaps someone else can come along with something.
05-26-15, 07:11 AM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Mine does that too
I have EL42s as well - on factory 19s and it does do that as well - it takes about 1 mile to stop but at first it feels like they're not balanced properly.
Those tires are pretty much crap, Lexus should be ashamed to use those as OEM.
Those tires are pretty much crap, Lexus should be ashamed to use those as OEM.
05-26-15, 09:15 AM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
This same phenomena can occur with a wheel bearing that is going bad. I may not be bad to the point that it is making the telltale humming noise, but it can still vibrate.
Drive another LS460 and see if it does the same thing, though something like this does not sound common. Maybe there is a forum member who would be gracious enough to allow you to swap the four tires and wheels from their car to yours, then you test drive it and see if the vibration has disappeared. Or you could test drive one of the dealer cars test verify it does not vibrate, then have them swap the wheels over to yours and test drive.
If swapping the wheel and tire eliminates the vibration, you know you have either bad wheels or bad tires. If it does not eliminate it, you no longer have to pull your hair out about tires and wheels and must move on to issues with the chassis itself, whether it's a bad bearing, tie rod, play in some bushing, a bent axle, etc.
Drive another LS460 and see if it does the same thing, though something like this does not sound common. Maybe there is a forum member who would be gracious enough to allow you to swap the four tires and wheels from their car to yours, then you test drive it and see if the vibration has disappeared. Or you could test drive one of the dealer cars test verify it does not vibrate, then have them swap the wheels over to yours and test drive.
If swapping the wheel and tire eliminates the vibration, you know you have either bad wheels or bad tires. If it does not eliminate it, you no longer have to pull your hair out about tires and wheels and must move on to issues with the chassis itself, whether it's a bad bearing, tie rod, play in some bushing, a bent axle, etc.
05-26-15, 09:54 AM
#5
It's the tires flat-spotting. I have Michelins on the 2012 and Yokohamas on the 2011 and they both do it. The LS460 is extremely sensitive to tire balance and out-of-roundness, partly because of the softness of the shock absorber tuning allowing the tires to move more if out of balance or out of round (my 2011 is worse in Comfort than in Normal or Sport). Nothing to worry about once you know this.
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06-01-15, 06:23 PM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
06-01-15, 08:06 PM
#13
The "problem" is worse if you don't drive the car for a week, worse in winter, and nonexistent if parked for 8 hours or less. It was also a characteristic of the new Michelins on the VW I had, as well as the Hankooks it was delivered with when I bought it. Normal!
06-01-15, 08:25 PM
#14
Lexus Test Driver
No, it's not normal. I have parked vehicles for six months at a time on Michelin and haven't had vibration issues from "flat spots," let alone for a week or a day. Flat-spotting does occur, but not after week let alone days.
06-01-15, 08:30 PM
#15
I travel often and park my car at longterm parking for up to a month at a time. I don't have any issues with my Michelins but I think their tires are less prone to this problem vs other makes. Michelins are fantastic. I definitely will be buy another set when the time comes.