Hi my es350 with 37k miles has a vibration on the highway, more noticeable on smooth blacktop type highways. Notice it getting around 70-80mph+. Had new Michelin primacy mxv4 tires installed by discount tire. Same tires as my OEM. 17in rims. 3 times they balanced, each time seemed better but still had vibration. Took it to Lexus. They roadforce balanced and inspected, no vibration or faults found by them. Discount tire then replaced the primacy’s with another set of primacy mxv4. This set, you feel more of the road, not as isolated as the first set. Went back again for balance, it was greatly improved on certain roads but still there on the highway. Took to Lexus, car was there for 3 days, no abnormalities found in suspension, brakes, steering or drivetrain. They rebalanced but the vibration is still there. They can’t reproduce it, which I confirm with the test drive with the tech. Any tips or help? Discount said we can try another set of the mxv4 or a different brand. No torn boots or anything under car, Lexus said they can’t fix the car if not broke.

 

I have the same issue, got new wheels and tires even. Still have that slight vibration on the freeway and it increases when going around a bend on the freeway. Any fix yet? Old thread i know.

 

I had a similar issue around 40,000 miles with original tires. vibration start at 70 or 80 mph

Tried alignment first and didn’t work. Took it to Costco to balance tires then vibration went away

 

I have swapped aftermarket and factory wheels and tires on many vehicles. When installing a different set my routine is as follows if a vibration is encountered regardless of how new;

- Have them rebalanced. I always road force balance except my work trucks.
- If vibration still exist, swap front and rear positions. Front will shake steering wheel, back will be drivers seat.
-- When I have the wheels/tires off I always look at the mating surfaces (vehicle hub and back of wheel) If any rust, build-up, dirt etc. is felt or visible I will clean/sand the surface. These surfaces must be smooth.
-- I always hand torque my ES 350 and 4 Runner wheels

Lexus and Toyota can be notorious for vibrating in the 60-80 range after new tires, rotations etc. Almost all of them use a hub centric design with flat washers on the lug nuts. This design is very strong and tight, but the surfaces must be smooth and torqued correctly.

Hope this helps.

 

That’s great info. Sometimes it’s the simple and obvious stuff I forget like cleaning a hub. My new wheels have that centering ring so I absolutely should be checking for rust or buildup. Thank a lot man I’ll get on it and pray to the Lexus gods it fixes it.

 

here’s what I have done so far. New wheels and Continental Tires, balanced twice with road force, rotated every way possible, alignment, resurfaced rotors (they are under a year old), cleaned and polished all 4 hubs and mating surfaces on rotors and wheels, trans service with new filter (unrelated but noting), full suspension steering shakedown no loose parts. Still vibrates like a beast 70-85mph. Initially I found 2 bent wheels which is why I replaced all wheels and tires. Don’t know what to do anymore.

 

Did the nature of the shaking change when you rotated front to back?

This is how I would approach it: The vibration is likely caused by a rotating component that is out of whack. If it is a single tire or wheel, you should be able to tell by rotating front and rears, and getting different types of vibrations, i.e. front wheels will cause steering wheel vibrations, whereas rear wheels will shake the whole car, and the vibrations will be more pronounced in the back seat. If the front to back rotation does not change the nature of the vibration, then you have to look beyond the wheels: brake rotors, hubs, bearings. If it's not that then suspension.

 

Did you check wheel bearings?

 

Finally figured it out. I got a bad wheel or tire brand new out of the box. I rotated the tires as many ways possible and finally found a pattern in the vibration narrowing it down to one of the wheels. The shop is looking at the tire and wheel as we speak to determine if the wheel is messed up or tire. Both brand spanking new. So much work done just to have bad parts out of the box. Frustrating.

 

Wow, this one is being very difficult. My next step would be to put 1 known good wheel/tire in every position (1 at a time) until isolated. Even the tiny spare may work.

Has there ever been any work done around the front axles? I had a bad front axle cause a vibration on a Honda Accord.

Is the vibration always in the steering wheel? If it stays in the steering wheel after front to back rotation it may not be wheel/tire related.