so i finally took my car to lexus to have the steering noise looked at and turns out it is the rack and pinion that need to be replaced. it was already replaced under the recall in the summer of 09, however the parts only carry a 1 year warranty so im sol . Lexus wants $2400 to replace it which is not going to happen. Does anyone know of a place to get these? The cheapest i found so far was ebay and they were $750 (Lexus wants $1800 for a new one). Also does anyone know if they are interchangable? ie GS350 or even an IS rack work on a 300?

 

IS probably not, GS300/350/450/460 all likely the same. Is the price exactly the same on all of them online at say, Carson? Carson's site doesn't give you the part numbers - which I find infuriating, but price may be an indicator.

I don't recall what your noise was?

 

had a weird creeking noise in the steering wheel and it felt "sticky" when driving. was hoping it was the power steering ecu since theres one on ebay for like $30 lol

sewells site isnt much help either. i checked both 300 and 350 and it calls out a general number for both as 4420. guess i'll have to email them.

 

is the rack and pinion under an official Recall? or TSIB? , or your's was replaced under warranty?

what other symptoms did you have prior to the replacement?

interesting to note that some previous Toyotas (Camry) had recurring rack and pinion problems.

 

there was a recall on it and it was replaced i believe when i had an oil change. the car was under warranty at that time but it shouldnt matter because it was a recall.

thats really the only symptoms i have. creeking in the wheel when turning it and it feels almost like its sticking when i slightly turn the wheel.

 

was this recall for all 3gen models? I started to have a sound turning my steering wheel also but no other issues. last time I was in I forgot to ask about it.

 

not sure if it was all 3GS' but heres what i have

SSC9LC JAN 09 Campaign - EPS Steering Gear Replacement
SSC6LE JUL 06 Campaign - Electric Power Steering (EPS) Replacement

 

I think they did the EPS replacement on my car, so it may be that going again? I never had any noise in my steering wheel until recent. Guess I better take the car cover off and drive it in next week and have it looked at just in case.

I thought if they replaced something under a recall that you were covered?

 

it could be. does your steering wheel making a creek noise when you first turn it after it started?

it is covered however only for 12 months . ive had this problem since mid summer. guess its my fault for not taking it in sooner. i never drive the car so i wasnt really worried lol.

 

yes its a creaking noise and if I recall I hear it mainly when I turn one direction. I thought it might be the plastic cover or something and like you wasnt worried as my car doesnt get driven much. I just went to start it today and my battery was dead again from sitting. Its crazy how fast the battery will drain in this car when it sits.

I hope the dealer or Lexus steps up and takes care of this for you.

 

i already talked to my service advisor. they arent going to replace it unless i pay them $2400. I mean if it has a recall, whos to say that the new one they put in didnt go bad. The car had like 5k tops on it since the last one was changed out. I think they are trying to blame it on my car being lowered.

 

Do u have an extended warranty???

 

i do but its not thru lexus. its been so long since i looked at it that i need to look at it again and see what the terms are for it.

 

I would take it to another dealer and get a 2nd opinion. sounds like BS to me...

 

true but it still doesnt negate the fact that the part itself is out of the 12 month warranty.

i just found it odd that yesterday he called and mentioned they couldnt get to the car and they would look at it tomorrow (today). i said ok no problems im in no rush. He calls me at 8:30 am to say that the rack is bad but they dont really say what on the rack is bad, just the rack is bad. then he started to talk about the car being lowered and that could have possibily caused the problem but he wasnt sure. i have a feeling they put the car on the lift, removed the wheels and saw there was coilovers on the car and automatically just said the rack is bad because of that.

i put a call into him 2 hours ago to ask him some more questions and still no return call.