Hello,
I have a 2006 ls430 and it's making an awful grinding sound from front left tire area when I apply the brakes. I had mechanic look at it and the noise was gone. The same night I drove about an hour without the noise but it started up again. The mechanic took all 4 tires off and checked the brakes, they were done a couple of months ago...he said pads were also fine and also replaced recently. Any idea what could cause a grinding noise only after the car has been driven a while?
thanks!
Pam

 

Mine is currently at a local independent garage having it's front wheel bearings replaced, both sides.
The noise from the front left was so nasty that I didn't even want to drive it the 7 miles to the garage, but I gritted my teeth and did it.
All I can suggest for yours would be to jack up that corner and spin the wheel by hand. If you can hear any sort of grinding noise then the bearings are shot.

On mine it sounds like a busted coffee bean grinder and it stops almost as soon as you stop spinning it.
The right side just has that "whisper" of the brake pads dragging slightly and spins freely but I'm having both bearings replaced anyways.
Since we drive on the left here the left side hits the majority of potholes/drains/kerbs.
They have survived 137k miles so have actually done pretty well.

 

Yes. A busted coffee bean grinder is what it sounds like! Its annoying but doesnt do it all the time or when car is cold...so, how much do wheel bearings cost? Scared to ask!
pam

 

I paid around $65 for the pair few years ago but just looked on ebay and around $80 for pair now. These are very easy to replace after you get the tire off if you want to do yourself. The rear are more involved but front is easy with only 4 bolts and tap with a hammer to break loose.

 

It's gonna cost me £1350 for both, but that is 2 new bearings from Lexus (£420 each) plus fitting.
If I could do them myself then I could order them from eBay for about £80 each, but I have lower back issues so I'm paying a garage to do it.

 

Yeah I know when I did mine I saw Lexus was over $400 each and I opted to buy aftermarket for total of $65 for 2 for the whole hub assembly. The hardest part for me was putting tire back on as my back isn't perfect either.

 

I need to have it diagnosed to be sure but I bet that's the problem. It has over 200k miles and it's been such a dependable, great car...the Lexus dealer so very expensive. I always have them service car, oil change, checkup, etc for peace of mind but fixing bigger things like brakes is always too much for me to afford so my son in law can do those for me. I dont know about wheel bearings though.
You all know our fancy double cup holder in our 430s? The right side of mine broke...lexus quoted me $480 to fix it..I said well, i guess I will live with the one sided cup holder...i was curious and looked on ebay, found one for $80...watched YouTube video and fixed it myself! That was a miracle. However a super easy fix. Unscrew the gear shift and raise the console bit up...youtube is my friend!😀

 

As previously mentioned just jack up front and spin the wheel. As for the wheel bearing it is not like it used to be by knocking out the races and packing the new bearings. The hub comes as a sealed unit and attaches with 4 bolts. Tell him to look at one on ebay and he will see how easy it will be.