Hi all,

I just got a 2013 GS Fsport today (preowned for about a year with 12k miles). The car is in pristine condition, and I tested it for about 10 miles and everything felt pretty good. I had tested a luxury before and really liked it and so I decided that I wanted a GS. I did some research and found that I could probably get a new GS at 4-5k below MSRP but this one comes at about 13.5k below original MSRP so I felt it's a good buy to save an additional 8-9k and let someone else take the first year depreciation.

I did feel that the F sport ride is harsher than the luxury but I really want both a sporty and luxurious car so that's OK for me (particularly compared to my current car, a infiniti G37 which has much harsher ride quality).

However, on the way back from the dealership (a very long drive across states, different kinds of roads and much freeway), I noticed that the car seems to pick up very small bumps or small unevenness on the road (which exist everywhere for most pavements) to cause fairly consistent small but constant vibration... It felt pretty annoying... Strangely I didn't feel much of it during the 10 mile test drive before I bought the car (maybe i wasn't focusing on it as much, not sure)... Towards the end of the test drive, the tire pressure warning light came up because today is a strangely cold day compared to the last week (maybe 15 degrees lower than last week). The salesman told me that they put more air into the tires and they all measured 35-36 when I drove off with the car.

It was raining and temperature continued to dropped as I drove into the night. Maybe after the first hour and half of driving, the vibrations started to get better and tire pressure appears to have dropped to about 34-33. Either vibration got better, or I started to get used to it.

My question is, is this vibration, which appears to be suspension or tires picking up very small bumps or even tiny unevenness on the road (which is everywhere on any road of course), normal for the F sport? Other than this, when going over larger bumps, etc, the ride quality of the car is far superior to my current car. Can this be due to tire pressure being too high? Did I get a bad car? Has anyone else experienced this before? Are there ways to alleviate this?

Thank you for any comments or tips.

 

I'm pretty sure it's normal. I've noticed while going over uneven pavement the car has a vibration that you can feel. I chalk it up to the firm suspension. Once I press the gas and hear the engine roar I quickly forget about it though.

 

The vibration will be worse in Sport +. Our roads in Dallas are bad, so I always drive in Normal or Sport. In those modes, it seems pretty smooth to me.

If you picked up the car with 12k miles, it may also be close to time for new tires.

 

I had the exact same problem you had with my F-sport AWD last year. I noticed that fine vibration from the road surface felt in the seat back and it was irritating.It is from the crappy bridgestone tires that I had. I switched to the Michelin Primacy MXM4 94 V tires and my lexus rides smooth and planted to the road without any of that vibration. Its not only just the car but the tires and road surface. WIth the Michelins, the car does give a much superior ride with some road feel but the vibration is only 5-10% of the feel unlike the 60-70% of the feedback feel I was feeling at high speed with the Bridgestone EL400-2 tires. It was driving me nuts. Now I am a happy owner. I suggest you switch out your tires. I keep my pressure at 32 PSI cold for the best ride with the Michelins. The Bridgestones are very firm and a poor tire for this car and the review are terrible. Even so for the Dunlops on the F-sport. These tires will transmit more road vibrations on the highways.

 

The tires look completely new... not sure if they are newly replaced or not but they have what look like completely new or almost completely full threading.

On Sport +, I feel the ride quality approaches, but still is much better than the G37. At this point, the vibrations are in fact not as annoying as it begins to feel harder...

In normal mode, the kinda weak but frequent vibration is kinda annoying... Just wondering if I am just over sensitive or something... Or just need time to get used to it... After I got home, I drove the car to local supermarket and the ride felt very nice... maybe we just have better roads here...

 

I had a G35 coupe before and did not feel any of this. I owned BMW 3 coupe too and no vibrations like this. I could not get used to it and the tires was the problem. They are horrible and will not get smooth no matter how much you drive, what pressure you have, and how you try to break them in. Let me know what tire brand name you have right now. I can say 100% that Michelins are the best and will suppress all that road vibrations even with sport + mode. The car will feel planted, quiet and very smooth.

 

Ya I meant to say that the G37 doesn't have vibrations but really firm sporty ride. That I am OK with as I have had the G37 for 3 years. I wanted still sporty but more luxurious, with better ride, better quietness so got the GS.

I just checked I have Bridgestone Potenza on the GS front and back. They really look completely new... Err I feel like I don't want to waste 4 new tires and spend another 1000+ to get other set of tires... But I somehow feel the difference may be worth it...

How long did you wait before you changed tires?

 

1 month!!! I drive on the highways alot and like you I only drove the F-sport for a few miles before buying it and I did not feel or payed attention to that vibration from the road until I got the car and drove it more on the different highways. It was irritating and i could not ignore it. I had to do something about it. To make you feel better, you can find others that will buy these tires for other cars so keep them for sale on clublexus.com. Go and get the Primacy MXM4 in size 245/45/19 94V rated front and rear for your GS. I promise you it will make a huge difference. Another owner sydtoosic did that same thing for his GS F-sport last year and he thanked me hundred times over. I now have 14,000 miles and I LOVE THIS car. Its perfect now. I would not torture myself with those bridgestones.

 

I've run Michelin pilot super sport tires also on another car. 30,000 mile wear warranty I believe and is phenomenal tire. Put around 10,000 on my last set before I got my next car. Amazing tires.

 

tires and road imperfections are the cause...

 

Do some research on tires. Most of the ride feel depends on the tires. Of course you slso want to compromise ride quality a bit, to get ghe performance you want for your driving style. If the tires are new, the previous owner may have chosen tires that resulted in an unusually harsh ride.

 

When i first bought my Lexus brand new from the dealer i was happy then i start feeling about two issues , one vibration on the steering wheel + wind noise from the sunroof which was annoying. I went for the first service and i told them about the both issues they changed for me 4 new tires ( because the car was stopped since December last year until March) and the rubber on the sunroof and everything is fine . the tires grab so much noise from the road and what you feel i feel it but i used to it now , when this year ends i will change the tires to Michelin.

 

Alright it's the tires... As I mentioned as the pressure lowered, it started to feel better... I ll give these tires some more time to see if I am OK with this... Definitely getting Michelin for the next set of tires.

 

I road tested the GS and a number of competitors ( E-class, 5 series, M, Genesis, etc), ride was one of my criteria. I thought the GS and 5 series most closely met my requirements.

My car is equipped with 18 in. Michelin Primacy MXM4 and the car does quite well in balancing comfort with road feel. In fact when I run the car on the new stretches of highway, in a straight line, say with the cruise on, I notice a little "float" creeping into the ride. However as soon as I hit a rougher part of the road, or switch lanes or change speed the car regains it's road feel. This seems to only happen in the normal or eco driving modes. Not sure if anyone else has noticed of their car.

Anyways it sounds like your car is behaving as it should. A 13k+ discount sounds like great value.

 

BTW years ago I had a set of uni-directional Yokohama tires on a previous car and I experienced a lot of vibrations despite having the tire dealer check the installation an several occasions. Honest, the car felt like the 'MILKSHAKE EXPRESS" on the highway, mind you lane changes happened at warp speed with the Yokies.

I have not had any vibration issues with Michelin and Bridgestone tires