jdinco

Car is an '07 with 45,000 miles on it. I've read a lot and did searches for most of these items but would still appreciate any up to date info that may help me. Most of these issues are really minor aggravations. Except for the first one..

- The suspension, on smooth roads, it's fine, but hit a dip or bridge irregularities it throws the car, with the condition of our roads these days, you better be holding on and be prepared! Feels like I'm driving a bobble head. My questions would be..are there better shocks I can install that will improve control? Are coil overs the answer and do they cure this type of thing? Which ones? I know with short side wall tires, the ride won't be Cadillac level, but it needs to be improved.

- Dash glare....whoa! Ordering a dash mat, any particular brand or style that you are happy with?

- The nav system gave me fits, I got most of it figured out, but wish the passenger could make inputs and wish I could dial phone numbers as well as receive them. Seems silly to use the cell to dial, then the hands free system takes over. Am I missing something here? And is there really no way to enter phone numbers into the phone book without transferring them from my cell?

Don't get me wrong, LOVE the car, if i can improve the suspension it will be hard to beat!

Thanks for any input!
John

LexBrett

Do you have run flat tires??? That's the first issue to address. The car will feel like it's running on stones! On this forum we all get rid of them!!

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

I enter phone numbers directly all the time. I have an 06. I did not transfer from the phone because my phone would pair with the Bluetooth but would not sync the address books.

Harold57

+1 on the run flats, especially when they get worn. After they are worn, they go from bad to horrible.

JohnnyCake

Yeah, its the run flats. Changing them is the best money you can spend on an SC.

See my signature line below -- I have disabled most of the annoyances including those you mentioned. If you search, its all in the forum and DIY.

If you get the right cell phone, you can transfer all contacts. Its kinda trial and error. I used my wife's phone to transfer all my contacts so they are loaded into the NAV for one touch dialing.

jdinco

I'm sorry, I should have added that I have new Pirelli P7's on it, and you guys are right, replacing the worn out run flats was a major improvement. I don't think it's a tire issue that's bothering me now though, It's suspension. Bad tires will give you that bad ride, but the bobble head effect I am feeling isn't from the tires. Thanks for the replies.

Also, I was able to transfer my cell phone phone book with no problem, it's adding individual numbers that wasn't working.

Bon

My mantra is "replace the ball joints". My '06 has about 60K miles and it's the last thing that I suspected as my problem. I mean, it's only 60K miles! Apparently, Toyota/Lexus designs many of their cars with highly stressed (I'd say undersized) ball joints and they wear quickly. My RX330, Toyota Sienna, and SC430 all benefited from their replacement. The steering was awesome afterwards. When I was removing the old ones I was thinking I was wasting my time. They didn't have any of the classic symptoms such as looseness, grinding, groaning, squeaking, nothing. But the impact on the suspension tautness and precision was rewarding. Unfortunately, for me, it was the LAST thing I did to make my steering feel accurate, responsive and not pull on every road irregularity. It began to drive like a, well, you know, a Lexus.

Bgw70

Did you only change the lower ball joints or all of them?

doodles714

iTrader: (1)

Check rear struts. Replaced mine after 50k and it made a big difference in control.

kjcole

Jack up the front end. Grab the top and bottom of the tire/wheel and try to rock the wheel back and forth (pull towards you with the top hand while pushing with the bottom hand - don't be gentle). You can do the same with your hands at 3 o'clock and 9, but gently.

Do you feel any motion??? If so, yeah, start inspecting suspension. My '02 is rock solid on crappy roads, so I'd also be looking for loose anchoring bolts, or even something broken. Also check that the front torsion bar hasn't loosened at its anchor points. Really sounds like you should put it up on a rack and give it a thorough inspection. Something isn't right.

Some people have upgraded the bushings that hold the steering rack (not a bad job, and cheap - see threads on this forum) and reported less wandering and better steering response.

Your symptoms sound like worn suspension parts somewhere.

Harold57

jdinco, can you be more specific about your "bobble head effect" means? What are you observing? Is the steering wheel wiggling back and forth? Are you feeling major vibration from one (or more) section of the car (like a wheel bouncing)? Is the car following road grooves? Is the car bouncing up and down more than expected on bumps? (Each of these has somewhat specific root causes.)

mpezely

Hi John, when you say "bobble head effect" are you saying the front end kind of FLOATS at highway speed? My wifes 06 with 51K has that feel. My other 2 cars (german) feel very planted at higher speeds, actually feel much safer for that reason.

Bgw70

My '02, 65k miles, felt this way until I changed the tires and had the front end aligned. It drives nice now but I am REALLY interested in the "weak" ball joints.

How do I know when the ball joints need to be changed?

Are the upper and lower ball joints weak?

Bon

The upper ball joints are not loaded. The lowers are. For this reason I'd expect the lowers to go first. I thought about just doing the lowers but decided to just do all of them as as the alignment cost would double if I did it in stages.

jdinco

On flat smooth roads the car handles and corners well, but if you are cornering (at normal speeds) and hit a bump the car will give you a side to side motion. That's what I am referring to as "Bobble Head motion" Most bridges around here are pretty rough, if you hit them at 65 MPH the car is tossed around badly, again a lot of side to side motion. It's severe enough that I would not be comfortable with my wife driving when hitting a rough stretch of pavement. And she's a pretty good driver.
It does follow road grooves too, kinda all over the place when hitting grooved pavement where they are getting ready to repave. There are no vibrations or pulling. The suspension (springs and shocks) are not that firm, but I don't think it bounces abnormally. When stopping quickly, it may bounce one extra time.
Also, I had an alignment done when the new tires were installed. The front camber is around -1.2, can't remember the rear. I used the specs suggested on this site. The alignment shop got it very close.
I'll get it inspected by my local mechanic. I did have it inspected before purchase, I specifically asked to make sure the ball joints were fine. Nothing was noted.
Are there any spring/shock options available that are better than stock? Or is the coil over setups the only option?

Thanks for all the replies! Very much appreciated and they give me a lot of thought for a plan.

John