My wife and I purchased our first Lexus this Saturday (in LA). However she noticed an oscillation in the front end during the drive back to San Diego. I comfirmed the descrepency the next day along with a ticking noise from engine. Really concerned...

I noticed a review speak about: quote from C&D Mag

"Top up, the cabin is quiet; top down, the body is fairly stiff for an easygoing ramble on good pavement, but even then, we could still feel some steering-column shudder. Softer springs, shocks, and bushings sponge up more bumps than in the sedan, though this weighty ship rolls and porpoises a bit more."

Help...

 

if it sounds like a sewing machine its normal all IS sound like that . I used to have one

 

Yep the ticking is normal, all IS do sound like that and if you want a more stiffer ride and lower stance get some coilovers

 

If the 'ticking' noise is from the engine, and is much louder when the engine is cold, then its probably the normal Toyota engine valve-ticking noise.

What do you mean by "oscillation in the front end"?

 

This is how my wife describes it. (She drove a '99 Solara until now).

1. Car rides very rough as if on square tires. Can feel every bump in road.
2. Front end shifts and is shaky at 60+mph.
3. Steering is sloshy (not stable)

She is taking it in today. We'll probably regret selecting a dealer 75 mi away.

 

Well, the Solara is a touring car with plush tires that were 205/65-15" or 205/60-16". The IS is designed with a "sport" suspension with low profile 225/40-18". The ride will naturally be stiffer than the Solara.

#2 and #3 seems to be a real problem. See what the dealer says.

 

OP: I went from the IS sedan to the vert, and here's my thoughts.

First of all, like others said #1 is probably due to the sport nature of the car, vs the more plush nature of the solara (which is a 2 door camry).

My question: is the shake/sloshy feeling with the top up or top down. I don't know if you've owned convertibles before, but almost (if not all) convertibles have cowl shake due to design. Some just have it worse than others.

Coming from the sedan, I will say that with the top up the vert is almost identical to the sedan with regard to road feel, if not *slightly* firmer, but that's probably due to having 20000 miles and 4 yr newer car. Also, top up, there is almost no cowl shake at all IMO.

With the top down, there is a little bit of cowl shake. But, compared to other verts I've driven (most recently an 05 mustang gt vert, traded in with sedan for the IS-C), it's *relatively* minimal.

Yes, there is *some* cowl shake, but again that's almost inevitable with convertibles.

For this quote: I don't think I agree with the second half of it. To me, the vert seems almost the same as the sedan, with not much porpoising at all. The car seems pretty stiff to me.


Now, with regard to sloshy steering. I can't really help you there. ALL IS's have a good amount of understeer, which can be relieve with a set of sway bars. But, sloshy steering is not the same as the car pushing. So, if it's not a "push" feeling that you are describing, then it may be something else.

These cars do have an electronic steering rack, and thus, IIRC the "resistance" has to be set. So, it's possible it was set wrong at the factory

 

Im not trying to be rude here, but I dont understand this at all. Didnt you reserach the car and test drive it and etc? Sounds like the dealer is going to regret selling the car. I went from the IS sedan to the vert too. I admit, on turns it does lean more than the sedan, but what did you expect? Coming from a Solara though? I have driven many Camrys before and they feel as if they are going to roll over on turns. Plus, my car is lowered. Geez, my 98 SupraTT would lean a lil on curves. I mean its not an F1 car. sorry, I am just a lil confused.

 

Ah the good ol sound of direct injection

 

anHey gang thanks for the all the help, remarks, and advice. The service dept basically said the tires were overinflated. However, it appears the ride is much better now. I think the dealer did not disclosed all of what he did but as long as my wife is happy.

One thing that is pondering in my mind is,
I basically drive a standard shift E46 M3 which causes me to occasionally wish I had pushed my wife towards the 350C model but gas mileage was more important to her. Which leads to the question is there any real performance gains with F-Sport accessories for the 250C?
I'm not talking about unrealistic gains but enough performance increases to justify the investment.

 

^^^

It sounded like a tire or alignment issue when I started reading the thread.



As for the F-Sport accessories, which ones are you considering? The upgraded brakes and sway bars truly help handling. The air intake and exhaust are not spectacular; you get better outcomes on the 250 than the 350.

 

fsport performance mods are not worth it Imo. If your wife already is having issues with the firm ride, then no on anything other than maybe some sway bars. stock brakes work very good for casual driving, no need to waste money.

 

Thanks I'm going for the sway bars then.

 

im getting them on my 350 sedan, ordering them on friday worth the moeny welcome to CL btw