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Hi guys - from over the pond!
LS's are pretty thin on the ground over here, when my '04 LS was at my local dealer with failed height sensors (and the jacked-up bouncy ride that comes with it) couple of months back they said they'd had three in that week!!
Apparently it's a water ingress issue causing corrosion of the electrics, and affects RX and Toyota 4x4 as well. All the LS430's over here have air suspension, strange as the LS400 was only sold with coils here. The garage replaced my sensors under warranty, but 2 months down the line both rear shocks have failed, and as I've done 60990miles Lexus will only pay for the parts. Anyone else had shocks fail soon after the height sensors, seems to much of a coincidence to be unrelated. And any of the UK guys had any joy out of Lexus over labour for 'just-out-of-warranty' stuff?
Cheers
Peter
You are talking about it like everyone knows this haha! I am so happy that you confirm my problems. I really understand whats going on now.
Since the hight level sensors are pretty expensive and I dont see any errors I really would like to know how to detect the broken sensor.
Does anyone happen to know with a UL if the dampeners can be adjusted in Techstream? I'm looking for the float ride so softest but hear they are set to hardest setting, 17
Does anyone happen to know with a UL if the dampeners can be adjusted in Techstream? I'm looking for the float ride so softest but hear they are set to hardest setting, 17
I have the same problem and with a good modern diagnose tool you must be able to set it to 1 and comfort but I can't set it because of a problem wile I have spent about 10k on the new suspension + 4 new ride hight sensors but its locked in setting 17.... the only thing I can think of is my ride hight controller which is messing things up... Ill have to check that once but still this system is quite odd and doesn't look complex but it really is... Even Lexus mechanics don't like these systems.
You are talking about it like everyone knows this haha! I am so happy that you confirm my problems. I really understand whats going on now.
Since the hight level sensors are pretty expensive and I dont see any errors I really would like to know how to detect the broken sensor.
Atleast with Techstream you can monitor the height sensor data and one sure sign of sensor failure is no height data or data is very different than other sensors have. Height sensor data should be quite close to each other.
I have been chasing a shimmy in my front end, 2004 UL stock suspension. At 40-65 MPH if the car hit bumps the front and steering wheel shimmy then smooth back out. At speeds above 65 it starts to fade and is nonexistent above 75. So I had a my local mechanic who specializes in Asian cars and has himself owned a 430 go through everything in the front end and he found zero loose or worn. Not tie rod ends, a arm bushings steering linkage nothing, the only thing he sees is some minor oil seepage on the passenger strut.
So I ordered one from Impex and was going to install it. However when I pulled the top off the shock I found the electronic shock damping control (What is it called?) thing was not attached to the shock. I also see oil under where this device sits, see photo. Now I am sitting here wondering if that is the problem, what do you all think?
Guess I'll put it back together correctly and see but the retaining clips were loose and one dropped into the engine somewhere, can't find it so
I'll need to buy that.
BillDrah, I have 2005 UL, similar shimmy at 55-65, esp when car is cold, on some pavement. Does not depend on hitting a rough patch. Dealer blamed my Vredestein all-weather tires, and car has had this since I had them put on, but perhaps before as well, if not as regularly. I do not think it is tires. My other car has same tires and the steering wheel is flawlessly smooth. I am trying to next get wheels road force balanced (alignment, supposedly needed, did not help). Wires/control to the strut were disconnected, you said? May toggle the firmness, doesn't sound good, but not sure that woluld caus shimmy. I wish I could help on the oil question but I cannot. I would replace my front struts when needed, but not until diagnosed... very hard to confirm. As long as the shimmy is not a bad wheel bearing or something likely to make the wheel come off I'll live with it for now, or rotate tires at next oil change or when I have them rebalanced yet again. (I once over 20 years ago had a rear wheel essentially freeze and basically detach on I80 due to dry bearings in the back that had needed to be greased/repacked.). Car just passed inspection, so I assume they checked bearings for excess play. Good luck and let us know.
The oil is leaking out of the shock, which confirms it's bad.
Originally Posted by BillDrah
I have been chasing a shimmy in my front end, 2004 UL stock suspension. At 40-65 MPH if the car hit bumps the front and steering wheel shimmy then smooth back out. At speeds above 65 it starts to fade and is nonexistent above 75. So I had a my local mechanic who specializes in Asian cars and has himself owned a 430 go through everything in the front end and he found zero loose or worn. Not tie rod ends, a arm bushings steering linkage nothing, the only thing he sees is some minor oil seepage on the passenger strut.
So I ordered one from Impex and was going to install it. However when I pulled the top off the shock I found the electronic shock damping control (What is it called?) thing was not attached to the shock. I also see oil under where this device sits, see photo. Now I am sitting here wondering if that is the problem, what do you all think?
Guess I'll put it back together correctly and see but the retaining clips were loose and one dropped into the engine somewhere, can't find it so
I'll need to buy that.
I have been chasing a shimmy in my front end, 2004 UL stock suspension. At 40-65 MPH if the car hit bumps the front and steering wheel shimmy then smooth back out. At speeds above 65 it starts to fade and is nonexistent above 75. So I had a my local mechanic who specializes in Asian cars and has himself owned a 430 go through everything in the front end and he found zero loose or worn. Not tie rod ends, a arm bushings steering linkage nothing, the only thing he sees is some minor oil seepage on the passenger strut.
So I ordered one from Impex and was going to install it. However when I pulled the top off the shock I found the electronic shock damping control (What is it called?) thing was not attached to the shock. I also see oil under where this device sits, see photo. Now I am sitting here wondering if that is the problem, what do you all think?
Guess I'll put it back together correctly and see but the retaining clips were loose and one dropped into the engine somewhere, can't find it so
I'll need to buy that.
Yes your shock is broken. You need 2 new ones. I found them on Aliexpress for cheap but I dont know anything about the quality. Has anyone here any experience with these?
Yes your shock is broken. You need 2 new ones. I found them on Aliexpress for cheap but I dont know anything about the quality. Has anyone here any experience with these?
They are junk. Need to order OEM for around $650-$800 each out of Japan.
Yes, they are exactly the same as a Lexus dealer. Have used them on multiple cars.
Last time I paid $665 USD shipped on 48010-50110 which is usually around $1600 from any "discounted" Lexus source in the states. $755 for 48090-50110 and 48090-50120. I paid $190 shipped for a charcoal canister 77740-50092 that's usually over $300.
Fedex charges us around $20-$40 per set for import duty, shipping is free to the US. Impex and wherever else are more expensive and they charge shipping. I have several private sellers that offer deeper discounts. PM me and I can share their info.
Note that Arnott air strut warranty decreased in July 2023: "Parts purchased before 7/1/2023 - Limited Lifetime. Parts purchased on or after 7/1/2023 - 24 Months." I would bet they were losing a lot of money doing warranty replacements since several people have reported that they don't hold up well.
RockAuto also offers a brand called FCS/FCSAUTO/FCS Automotive International/fcsautoparts.com which has a "Limited Lifetime" warranty.
My 2002 LS430's air suspension components holding up so far, 197,000kms and 22 years old. I recently detached the front left air line and took the whole air cylinder out in order to replace the front left upper control arm. Seems to be holding air after reconnecting, didn't replace any o-rings or any other parts.
Once you know how to disconnect the air line, changing the front cylinders out at home is easy. I would still go with factory Lexus air cylinders just to maintain the originally-designed adaptive height and damping control, as well as the 10-20+ year longevity.
and how did you disconnect those air lines @StanVanDam ?
RockAuto has FCS fronts and rears as coil overs and i am thinking i'm going to just dump my air as it's causing issues. Strutmasters are $1000US which is crazy and Suncore are $300 that looks exactly the same product. They all look like FCS shocks.
