retrieved the GX from the dealership last night. wife drove it from the dealer last night and today. brake pedal vibration and noise are gone.

the repair invoice stated "excessive clearance causing pump noise in hydraulic booster". master cylinder assembly and brake cylinder assembly were replaced.

thanks guys for your thoughtful input.

 

I can confirm that I have the same rattle in the front passenger seat. The noise is gone if the seat is occupied. It's also gone if I move the passenger seat all the way forward so looks like it's the seat rails.

 

Similar issue here too. Just noticed it the other day.

I've got the rear ent package. Be interesting if thy decide to swap the seat.

 

Heading into dealer today for svc and seat vibration issue. Will post update.

 

So what's the update?

 

getting back to my issue.
the headrest on 2nd row seats vibrate and make noise when i go over a bump.
sounds like inside a school bus, but i guess its normal.

 

I wanted to follow up with you all and see where you all are at with this problem. I too have a 2011 GX460 and have had shaking at highway speeds since hitting about 20K miles. I mentioned the shaking to the service adviser at my 20K service who mentioned I needed new tires soon. I got the new tires, Michelin Lat Tour, at a local tire shop at ~25K miles. I do not do a lot of highway driving, so the problem is difficult to detect at times.

Fast forward to now at 32K miles on my GX. My new tires have been balanced 5 times by the tire shop, using road force equipment and by their "best guys." Both Lexus dealer and the tire shop give same results in regards to balance. The shaking changes in intensity and location each time, it seems but has not gone away. They use the special cone to balance the tires as well. I also had the car aligned at the 30K service, which made the problem significantly worse. This alignment was done at Lexus dealership. I was shocked they returned the car to me with it pulling to the right now (new problem), steering wheel not centered when driving straight at ANY speed and significant shaking at highway speeds. Lexus tech at last appointment (3rd with the issue recently) said he knew what type of vehicle I had when hearing about my problem only. This leads me to believe this is a serious flaw in the GX.

I am now at a loss of what to do. At last attempt to correct the right pull with alignment, Lexus told me I had a bad tire. Local tire shop agreed and replaced the defective tire. Car still shaking, still pulls to right.

My one mistake is not getting the tires at Lexus so I would not be going in between these two places. But the dealership is quite some distance from me, so was trying to save myself a little headache.

I'm super disappointed and not sure what to do next. I saw the steering bulletin from Toyota and will bring that, but the vibration is also in my seats - both driver and passenger. Totally embarrassing when I have guests in my vehicle.

Appreciate any help!

Kathy

 

I am curious to know if anyone has done any research on the limited Toyota 4Runner? Does the 4Runner have the same issue? Seeing that they use the same 4WD comparing the two might help identify the issue.

The tire width of the GX is well wider than the 4 Runner limited, and the GX also uses AVS as well as KDSS. My thoughts are is that this is a wheel and tire size issue as I never hear about the same problem by 4 Runner owners.

 

Sounds like an isolated problem. The 2014 I drove last week felt even slightly better than the 2013 I drove last month. I know Lexus did not explicitly announce any changes/enhancements to the 2014 suspension, but I wonder if they did in fact tweak it behind the scenes. I suppose comparing the 2013 and 2014 part numbers would tell us for sure, if someone has access to those...

 

The 2014 4Runner Limited I drove had some noticeable vibration at highway speeds. Inferior to the 2014 GX I drove later.

 

I don't think there are any changes to the power train or anything like that, it is not the Toyota/Lexus way. There is an inherent vibration from the torsen diff, but that is not what people are referring to regarding this vibration.

 

I had the same issue on my 2010 GX! Had to go to 3 different Lexus service centers with a printout of the TSB in hand to get someone to pay attention to me. The problem is in the rack and pinion pre-load spring. If they tighten the spring the vibration subsides. The problem is this makes the steering harder -- the pre-load spring controls how strongly the steering tries to go to center. If you drive on slanted roads (like I do) you will have to constantly put pressure on the steering wheel to go straight (feels like the car is mis-aligned). So; the choice is either vibration or a car that is tiring to drive. Your choice. I believe this is a problem related to "Premium" models with self-leveling rear suspension.

 

My 2012 Base has had a vibration since day 1, have had the OEM wheels and 2 different sets of Chrome wheels, vibration comes and goes, sometimes smooth as can be other times wheel and passenger seat shakes. It's usually in the 60-70 MPH range where I notice it. Dealer says they can't feel the vibration and I can undertand that as it comes and goes as it wants. I've kinda just learned to live with it, gets too annoying if I think about it.

 

why would that be. everything is same unless you drove one with and w/o air suspension, very different rides in the tow.
they are the same

 

this makes no sense...
why would rear air suspension affect front?
its not occuring on one or the other model. sounds like a random issue.