ES 300h Steering and Tracking Issues
 

Hi All,

I purchased a CPO 2013 Lexus ES 300H with 31K about 3 months ago. While I really like the car and appreciate all the thought and innovation Lexus has put into the design, the electric power steering system has been casing me concern.

I can't seem to keep the car tracking straight. Since the steering has no defined center point, I find that I constantly have to keep adjusting the steering 1 degree left and 1 degree right to keep the car tracking straight. These 1 degree corrections tend to stick in place and have no motivation to return to center. This becomes quite exhausting on any drive over 30 minutes.

I've had the car into Lexus twice and they found that the alignment was slightly out of spec and performed a 4-wheel alignment and told me what I was experiencing was a characteristic of electric power steering. I continued to experience the same issue. Next the steering torque sensor was reset. Still, same result.

I'm now out of ideas and would welcome any feedback or thoughts on the matter. I've drilled deep into these forums to try to find an answer, but it does not look like many others have had this issue with this particular vehicle which leads me to believe that a problem may exist with my car.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your thoughts.

Hi Lexus ES300 and welcome to CL. Noticed you are from Maryland....what part? With regard to your question, have you driven any other '13-''16 ES300H either new or demo and experienced the same problem? I have always felt that with suspension issues, including on center feel, the first step would be to check the tires. The OE tires should have been replaced by now since 25-30K is the maximum amount of mileage you can expect, regardless if they are the Bridgestone's or Michelins. If not, they might be your problem or it's possible the replacement tires are not acceptable for this type of car. Also, make sure they are not under/over inflated but set to manufactures spec's. Good luck and I am sure others will offer their opinions. :thumbup:

Hi ES350mark,

Thanks for the response. I'm in Montgomery County in MD. Are you in MD too?

As for tires, I have fresh Pirelli Cinturato tires pressured up to 33psi. I've driven a loaner with the BS Turanzas, and the steering seems to be a little better. Would you recommend I go back to the BS Turanzas or MICH Primacy's?

Thanks!

Yup......live in Owings Mills. My son lives in Chevy Chase and nieces, nephews and cousins in Bethesda, Rockville & Damascus.


Great choice for tires. I put the Pirelli Cinturatos P7 on my Acura TL when the OE Michelins wore out and plan to put them on my wife's ES350 before the winter since I do not like the OE Bridestone Turanzas. Have you driven other ES300's with the same symptoms as you are experiencing?

I've driven others but have not noticed this issue being so apparent as mine. I've experienced the lack of steering feel on other ESs... But this issue of the steering not defaulting to the center position is really bothering me and seems unique to my car. I was hoping I might learn of a possible software update, a more-favorable alignment spec, or maybe a faulty column, or possibly the wrong tires.

I'd get the tires rotated, balanced and aligned. I had the same issue and it went away after going to a good tire shop. Most dealers don't do a good job with tire-related issues.

I had a 2013 ES 300h for 36,000 miles with the original Michelin Primacy tires and never experienced this problem. I now have a 2016 ES 300h, and I don't have that problem with this car either.

Good luck. Perhaps you should call Lexus corporate.

Thanks for the your input jonmanch.

I just ordered 4 new Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires today. Hopefully this helps. I will keep you all updated.

I got lucky and these came on my new Lexus.:D

While the Primacy MXV4 tires are noticeably better than the Bridgestone tires in terms of both noise and tread wear, they still would not be my first choice as replacement tires for the ES. There are tires from multiple competitors to Michelin that have ride and noise characteristics that are, at least, as good as those of the MXV4, that have much better tread wear ratings, and that cost significantly less than do the MXV4 tires.

Where do you find the Tread wear and noise ratings? Thanks

I don't think that you are going to find noise ratings because the noise that enters the cabin is going to depend on lots of things besides the tire, including the design of the vehicle, the amount of sound insulation in the vehicle, etc., but tire tread wear ratings and lots of other comparison information can be found here.

http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Tires+Rating

And that is the same place that it was when you asked basically the same question, which I also answered, in another thread a few days earlier. (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...ml)

Thank you.

Thanks for your thoughts chromedome.

You don't happen to have your past alignment spec sheet, do you? I'm looking at my specs to try to understand why I have a total lack of a stable on-center feel to the steering. It seems very few people experience this issue with the ES, so your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Mine was off-camber on the fronts but I forgot by how much. The tire guy pulled up the settings on his alignment machine, I'd assume they would be similar to Camry or Avalon settings.

Even after rotation, alignment and balancing, I don't get much on-center feel but the car tracks straight. If all that doesn't work, you could have an issue with suspension components or the steering rack. That said, I've driven on rough gravel and mud roads with the ES and I haven't had problems with the suspension.