Historian1

Hello, I am a brand-new owner of a used 2006 ES with 135K on the car. It's only been a few days but I'm already freaking out about two things and maybe you all can help calm me down and answer some questions. I don't know anything about car parts or automotive stuff, so please go easy on me and be kind.

1) I have cervical spine instability and got a Lexus because of their reputation of buttery smooth rides. I didn't notice this in the few minutes that I test drove the car from the private owner, but now that I own the car I'm finding that the ride is much less comfortable for my neck than I was anticipating. I can feel every bump and dip on the road and my neck, back, and ribcage are aching after only two days of driving the car. The seat is comfy for sure, but I feel like all of the road imperfections are being transferred up into my body, and the way the car moves around on the road after going over the tiniest imperfection is quite painful. I've read through this forum and noticed (unfortunately after I bought the car) that the ES is known for body roll, which may be what is causing me to feel jostled around in the car. Do you all have any recommendations for how to smooth out the ride and ease up on the body roll? Where would a good (and inexpensive) place to start be before tackling more expensive fixes? Since trying to help my poor neck and back out was the primary goal of buying the car, I'm feeling pretty let down and could use some helpful options to either modify the car to fit my needs better, or even suggestions on what I should buy instead if I give up and sell this one.

2) This is weird, but as I am driving, I notice that my ears are clogging up in the car just like they do when car windows are rolled down, yet all the windows are rolled up, the doors are all shut, and the sunroof is closed. I'm only driving around in my city so there's no elevation change happening. I think there's an air leak coming from somewhere. Have you all experienced this in your cars? How should I begin investigating what's going on? I feel a little silly taking the car to a mechanic with the issue and thought I'd start here.

Thank you in advance for your help! I thought that some fellow Lexus owners could calm me down and help me out.

ilkinandr

To resolve the body roll you'd need stiffer stabilizer bar, but that makes the ride a little stiffer. As for feeling every bump it could be worn suspension. Like strut mounts or if someone replaced struts with aftermarket. Also depends on tires that you have, PSI, etc.

As for ears clogging up, sorry cant help you. I have 190k miles on mine and ever had that issue and i do have leaking weather strip around door as i can hear air a little at highway speeds.

FromFL

I've had my '04 for a couple of months and I too am disappointed with the ride quality. Not "buttery smooth" as I was hoping. My boss from way back when had a '97 Camry which rode like driving a cloud. As far as rolling in corners, mine handles as if on rails, which was a (pleasant) surprise.

I'd did replace the rear struts with aftermarket ones (Monroes) which have a reputation of being soft, but they don't seem to be. I am aware that were I willing to spend the money shocks from Lexus would be the way to go.

Historian1

Thank you so much of your reply! I'll do some investigating on the suspension and see if adding a stiffer stabilizer bar would help. But first I'll start out by checking to make sure the tires are at the correct PSI. I poked around the car over the weekend and discovered that the weather stripping above one of the doors has separated from the window - I think that's what's causing air to get in. That seems like a pretty easy fix.

Historian1

Thank you so much for your reply! I'm sorry that you, too, are a bit disenchanted with an older ES. I think that I wasn't prepared for how much it sways like a big boat, and how jarring it is going over bumps. I'll check with a mechanic to see how much it would be to add rear struts or a stabilizer bar. After a few months of ownership, are you getting to like your car better? Do you think you'll hang on to it for a while?

FromFL

I'm inclined to just sell it or at least list it for a crazy high price to see how the market reacts. It wasn't my first choice, but I had to pick something to drive back home (Maine). They had an '06 Camry, manual, which was my first choice. However, it was just as rusty as what can be found here and I sure as bleep didn't go through the expense and trouble of going to Florida for a rust bucket. Having said that though, I have the car refurbished to the point where it's where I want it to be so it's a bit hard to just let it go.

Oro

From what I can tell, what you are describing is simply a worn-out rear suspension. That is really common on these because they were sprung pretty softly from new.

There is a thread below very recently, "are these parts genuine" or something - a person found a somewhat reasonable price for factory rear struts. Many of us in the past use KYB Excel shocks; same units though valved slightly stiffer (for less rebound; the spring is what really sets ride characteristics, keep in mind). It does sound like your springs are the real problem when you say "sways like a big boat." A few of us have used Moog cc273 springs with happy results; factory ones may cost a bit more dear. If you try to fix your rear suspension with shock cartridges only and no new springs, you're likely going to be pretty unhappy again really soon.

As to your window gasket - that is not uncommon. It happened to us c. 13yrs old/220k miles. It was a much bigger problem on Corollas and some other other Toyota models. IIRC, at that time, the gasket ran ~$125; I was lucky and found one on ebay for $65. You can pull the old one out and put the new one in, not difficult. Just lubricate it heavily to get it in (Sil-Glyde is better, dish soap can work, too - look up what windshield installers use). If you lubricate the gasket channels (I believe Toyota calls it the "window run channel") one every year or two, this won't happen again (again, Sil-Glyde is your friend).

Re: ears/pressure change - not normal, unless you have allergies going on at the same time (happens to me some times of the year). If you have the cc in "auto" it should manage pretty darn well. You might have a vent valve in/op - I have not had it happen but have seen reports about motors on valves behind the center console needing to be lubed - usually people say they whine if not working correctly). If you do some searching on that you may neck-down the problem.

Hope some of this helps your issues. Nothing you describe is odd; normal wear and tear for a car 12+ years old.

Historian1

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! This is all very helpful and straightforward information. I think I will take it to the mechanic and see how much it would be to replace the suspension parts that you mentioned. I bought the Lexus to replace a 2004 Chrysler Sebring with a worn suspension, so I do find it a teeny bit irritating that I may have to do suspension work on this car too - but hopefully this Lexus will be more worth pouring money into for the long haul than the Sebring was. I'll also get the mechanic to check to window gasket. I looked at it earlier today and the weather stripping has peeled away from one of the windows, so I think that's how air is getting into the cabin. I have a rare neurological disorder called psudeotumor cerebri that makes me extra-sensitive to pressure in my ears, so I do need to get that fixed ASAP. Anyway, thanks again for your very thoughtful and detailed answer! I feel like I have some hope to make things better.

FromFL

OP, have you made progress with the ride quality situation ? As I mentioned, I replaced the rear struts. I thought I was in the clear on the front ones because they passed the "bounce test". However, I gradually came to the realization that there was a lot of squat from the front and it would clash into the bump stops. I replaced the front struts with Monroes and also the disintegrated bump stops. It made a dramatic difference in the ride quality. It's still does not ride like it's gliding down a golden highway, but it's an area worth looking into.