CapeCodder

I will TRY to make this short...
My 2003 IS300 sedan (with @150K miles on it; I am third owner. The car has the standard "paddles) started a rubbing/rubber-squeaking type noise (not popping, not clicking, not a fan belt noise) when I turn the steering wheel to the right (and now turning left too--but not as pronounced) The noise happens when going both forward and backward. Going straight ahead /driving I hear no noise-- as of this week, the right front tire makes a "bouncy" noise when going over potholes/uneven pavement (like a spring? I just had the rear Eibach spring replaced in December--noise is similar to what I heard when the rear spring needed to be replaced, but much less of the noise in the front right tire area) .

The noise is loudest inside the car on the driver's side,
but can be heard outside (front passenger/right wheel area). The noise gets worse as I drive and have to turn; when I get in the car and begin driving (for the first time of the day/night and for a few miles, the sound(s) are usually, but not always, there but a lot quieter--the noise gets progressivley worse as I drive. I would guess/it feels to me that it is related to steering wheel more than the tire(s). I also feel a STRONG shimmy/shake in the steering wheel when I approach 58-60 mph, but not under that speed or over that speed.


The steering does seems to be feeling "different"...a little harder and not as responsive. The car goes straight if I let go of the wheel; it doesn't seem to pull at all to either side. I had an oil change and fluid check/add last week so it isn't the power steering fluid (I was hoping it was that easy to "fix"). I have not yet had an alignment since the rear spring and rear driver side tire were replaced (my mechanic said the spring damaged the tire). There is a post (?) missing on one of the tires (the metal post that would hold the lug nut for the tire) and I need to find someone to weld a new one on so the guys at the tire place with do an alignment and switch the tires around (?!?)

The weather here on Cape Cod has been really really bad--as everyone knows--another 8 inches of snow today--which I am sure hasn't helped my car. I realize the car is NOT a 4WD/AWD SUV, but there is no way to avoid all the snow "bumps", icy roads, backing into snowbanks, having to rock the car to get it "unstuck", etc. I LOVE the car, and hope I not "hurting" it too much--there is no convenient bus service here, so I have to drive.

******The STRANGEST thing is that the noise seems to TOTALLY disappear if it is driven in the rain or melting snow (or puddles)!! The noise eventually comes back, but it can "disappear" for a whole day of driving if it is wet out!!******


Any suggestions/advice? I hope to find a good honest local mechanic to see what I can do--but I am asking the Forum for help/suggestions/advice so that I have an idea of what the problem might be so when I find/go to a mechanic, I won't feel so "at the mercy" of someone who may or may not be knowledgeable about my car or willing to look beyond the fact that it is a LEXUS so he/she can charge a premium. I am happy to pay for good work--I know how difficult the job of a mechanic can be. But I am one of those people who believe everyone is as honest as I am, and I have been hurt financially by crooked mechanics in the past...

Thanks!