therocker

After complaining several weeks ago about the harsh ride of my SC430, my service consultant informed me of a new Lexus Service bulletin which helps alleviate the rough ride of the car. I had the free, all day procedure performed today and I am happy to report that so far, the car is driving smoother. So far, since the procedure was completed, I have only driven the car from the service department to my house, about a 10 minute drive, so I should not really be commenting on it yet. But I have to say, I did not feel the bumps on the road nearly as much, even driving off the bump of the Lexus driveway. You have to realize that as long as you keep the runflats, you will always feel bumps, no matter what you do. However, this procedure really seems to improve the quality of the ride. The procedure entails removing the rear suspension and replacing the rear sub frame bushings with new and improved ones. I believe someone on the forum mentioned some of the newer SC430s already have the new bushings. I will give my final opinion on this procedure early next week. Still, I think it can only improve your car.

HighROI

therocker -

After reading your posting (and others) regarding the harsh ride on the run-flats, I wondered if the rough ride I experienced over RR tracks and bumps was due to bad suspension bushings or was normal for the run-flats. The confusing part is our SC430 has a manufactured date of 10/1/01, so I had assumed the bushing problem had been taken care of (based on other postings).

Today, I just had the 1,000 mile/30 day service performed and indicated, to the service department, a rough/harsh ride over RR tracks, bumps, etc.. They checked it out and confirmed what I reported. They ordered new parts and will install them as soon as available. Perhaps this was an isolated case for a car made after June, but I don't believe every SC430 owner should assume the bushing problem was fixed on later produced cars, based on my experience.

Thank you, and others, for informing us of these issues that might otherwise be overlooked or dismissed.

evictor

I also wasn't sure whether the hard ride over bumps was due to runflats or the suspension. I just had my car in for the first 5,000 mile service and had the the service tech drive the car. He concluded that the new bushings were a must and would definitely improve the ride. They do need the car for the day to do this job. My car was manufactured in June.

I also want to thank you for informing us of this issue.

RodF

Thanks. This is very valuable information. When I schedule my next service, I will be sure to request it. Once again, this forum has shown how valuable it can be to us Lexus owners.

therocker

Well, the harsh ride is kinda due to the runflats, but replacing the bushings does cushion the car to create a softer ride. I had the service done a week ago and I think the car drives much smoother. I still feel some bumps, but not as much as before. I hope the service works for you guys as well.

evictor

I just had the rear front subframe bushings replaced, and I feel that the ride is much improved. It seems to have eliminated the thumping sound from the rear when going over bumps.

CyberRuler

Hi Guys,

It is great information that you'll shared. I want to get this done to my car as well, but my dealer said he does not know of any service bulletins. Is it possible for you to tell me what the service bulletin number is or your dealer name/service consultant and a number so I can get this info to my dealer?

Mike

evictor

CyberRuler,
My service invoice described the problem as "poor assembly in rear front bushings" and refers to "TSB SU004-01", which must be the technical service bulletin. The remedy per the invoice was "replaced rear front subframe bushings".

My work was done at Longo Lexus in El Monte, California, and the service consultant was Dennis Pruett (626) 580-6250.

CyberRuler

Thanks evictor and all that helped to give the info. I am very happy with the results of the fix. I can only recommend it. Going over rough roads or bumps feels much more smooth and controlled. Somehow I feel that my steering has also stiffened up, but that could probably be my imagination. I hope they continue to make improvements to this very awesome car.

BTW, if you guys are getting drifting of the road problems with the GPS, they replaced my GPS ECU and it works like a charm now.

TOPLEXS

Yes...I have drifting off the road problems with my NAV. When I am staring at that beautiful display, I often find myself drifting off the road. What should I ask Lexus to fix on my next service...Speaking of service they just replaced the liquid filled high tech bushing with a solid bushing...what a world of difference. No only is the rear "thumping" gone, but the whole car seems more solid and stable. Highly recomend early SC 430's have this free service done. While it was in for this they changed my oil, tightened all the nuts and bolts, and washed the car...also all for FREE.
They also replaced the door strikers and my rattles have dissapeared. Crossing my fingers that the car stays tight.

californiamenis

First off a little background: This is my first Lexus and my first sports car. I just purchased my Indigo Ink Pearl SC430 with Ecru leather interior last Saturday. She is a butte with custom rims. It was a demo having 2000 miles on it, which got additional discounts off of the purchase price. Never having owned such a fine vehicle before I vowed to take good care about it and learn everything that I could about the car. I found ClubLexus and began reading every forum thread related to the 430. In an another thread I read about problems with easily damaged rims and a on this thread I read about people having a harsh ride and that being solved by have the bushings replaced. So the next day I took the car out for a drive I could feel every dimple in the road. If I when over a small road pit the steering wheel would really want to jerk around. Now I was getting really stress out that the people at the dealership might have bent my rims during prior to me getting the car. Keep in mind the car had $4000 aftermarket rims and as a demo it already had 2000 miles on it. So last night I took it in to the dealer and meet with a great service manager who had the rims checked, the alignment tested, balance checked and looked into the bushings and the related service bulletins. (I printed out post from this forum and showed them to her) She sent me off with a free loaner… The next afternoon she called and informed that 1 rim was bent 3 wheels were out of balance and the bushing were the older style that should be changed out. That had to order a new rim so I am bringing back the car in two weeks to have all of the above taken care of.

I want to thank all of you guys who shared this information with newbies like me. Thanks so much for all your post related to this and other issues. As I become more knowledgeable I hope to be able to contribute to this site. I will report back when the bushings and rim are changed out.

When I get my Zanio and have time to detail her I will take some pics and post them.

rscharf

When I was in for the initial free servicing at 1500 miles, I talked with the service manager about the bushings. I told him I assumed that since my car was built in December 2000 it would need the new bushings and that I had heard there was a TSB for it. He said he would have someone in his office pull up the TSB and he would get back to me. When I called him later, he told me that not every car needed it, that it was only needed if you could hear "metal to metal" contact over bumps. He suggested accelerating and then applying the brakes over railroad tracks and that if the "metal to metal" contact was heard that the bushings should be replaced. Well, I can't say I've had that type of sound (I haven't had a chance to try out his suggested test), however, I have heard a clunk or thump from the rear pulling in to my driveway, between uneven slabs of concrete in the driveway. Regardless of what I think of the ride of the car, I'm assuming that any car with the old bushings should get the new parts, especially when they are on the third? part for that rear bushing if I remember correctly.

Thoughts? What can I say to convince the service manager that they should go ahead and install the new bushings?

I'm thinking more about this topic since I'm taking my car in for the roof problem next week. Which, by the way, I thought I could use in my discussion. If my roof problem was caused by a pothole, maybe it wouldn't have happened if I had the new rear bushings (i.e. the pothole wouldn't have jarred the car as severely as it did).

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

Robert

tfischer

When I read the above posts about the bushings, I mentioned t my dealer that I had heard "thunks" from the rear over bumps, and he installed the new bushings. No affidavits, and I was not under oath. (But let's be clear: it was true that I did hear those noises, and it is also true that the new bushings are an improvement.)

I think he is telling you that he cannot do this under warranty unless you make a specific complaint which would put you in the class of customers covered by the TSB and entitled to the replacement under warranty. I gather Lexus will not pay unless these conditions are met.

It certainly won't kill you to play along.

I'd say forget about the potholes and the roof, because you hear enough thunks to qualify.

moseman2020

how do you know if you have the bad bushings?

tfischer

The original bushings were too harsh for most drivers with the run flats. A replacement set was issued, and then a second, newer version of replacement bushings were issued.

You will have to do a search here to get the part numbers, but they are discussed on other threads here, and on the Edmunds SC430 board.

At some point, I think during last summer, the new cars started to be manufactured with the newer bushings. You will have to search here to find out what that date is.

If you do not experience any of the problems, or are not bothered by a harsh ride or some "thunks" from the rear end over bumps, then either you have good bushings or you have the old bushings and your fault tolerance is higher than some of the rest of us. I think that's why Lexus only replaces them if you complain about it. Why replace them all if only some people consider it a problem. (If my AM radio did not work, I don't think I'd notice.)

If you are buying a new car now, you get the new bushings and will have no problems other than the cold weather will prevent you from driving around much with the top down.

at least where I live.