Technical things about Air Ride you should know.
05-11-09, 01:44 PM
#16
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Well it could be pretty scary for a guy that don't know much about it, for someone that only knows to bring the car to the dealer to fix anything, if all 4 air struts needs to be replace, my own Lexus dealer wanted $6400 to do the job.
$6400 is a pretty big amount to most of us here, it is 20% of the value of a 05/06 UL now a days.
And if you are really unlucky, that all 4 air stuts fail every 35k miles, the LS430 UL would quickly goes from being the best value used car to the worse value used car to own.
$6400 is a pretty big amount to most of us here, it is 20% of the value of a 05/06 UL now a days.
And if you are really unlucky, that all 4 air stuts fail every 35k miles, the LS430 UL would quickly goes from being the best value used car to the worse value used car to own.
05-11-09, 01:52 PM
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Well it could be pretty scary for a guy that don't know much about it, for someone that only knows to bring the car to the dealer to fix anything, if all 4 air struts needs to be replace, my own Lexus dealer wanted $6400 to do the job.
$6400 is a pretty big amount to most of us here, it is 20% of the value of a 05/06 UL now a days.
And if you are really unlucky, that all 4 air stuts fail every 35k miles, the LS430 UL would quickly goes from being the best value used car to the worse value used car to own.
$6400 is a pretty big amount to most of us here, it is 20% of the value of a 05/06 UL now a days.
And if you are really unlucky, that all 4 air stuts fail every 35k miles, the LS430 UL would quickly goes from being the best value used car to the worse value used car to own.
05-11-09, 02:03 PM
#18
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...endations.html
One of jman-LS430's air strut failed on his car at 35k miles, sure all 4 struts failing at once at such low miles is very rare, but if one fail, it is not impossible for the other to fail too, if you are really unlucky.
Don't get me wrong, the LS430 is my favorite Lexus of all time, I am not here to bash it. But GRAND_LS 4 was saying this air strut thing is not really a big deal, I was just saying it can be a pretty big deal if your beloved UL is disabled and you don't want to pay the ~$6000 bill.
05-11-09, 02:15 PM
#19
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Sorry did not know about "lpcstudent" but agree with GRAND_LS 4 that this problem has been way overblown when compared to the LS430 UL community as a whole. I googled "LS430 air suspension" and got just a very few references.
05-11-09, 02:41 PM
#21
No problem.
A few explaination to that.
Most UL up to this point is still under warranty, it is not an issue if it get fix for free in 2 days.
In general, the air struts don't fail much, and not early in the car's life.
It is getting to be a big deal now for people like us who are buying these cars for $20k~$35k, with mileages in the 30k~80k range. From seeing all the posts, the strut can fail at anytime, and people who spend $30k on a car don't want to pay $1k+ per strut.
I was in the exact same boat, I bought my 05' UL with 47k miles 14 months ago, just like most people, my biggest concern was the air suspension. But I was thinking, it won't fail until at least 80k~90k miles, or if I am lucky, it will last until 120k~150k miles, nothing to worry about for many years right? Sure enough, 61k miles comes around, my right rear strut failed. While I was contemplating if I should buy one new air strut or do the steel springs conversion, the left rear strut failed 100 miles later.
Like the common saying, while it is not likely to happen, it could happen to anyone
Most UL up to this point is still under warranty, it is not an issue if it get fix for free in 2 days.
In general, the air struts don't fail much, and not early in the car's life.
It is getting to be a big deal now for people like us who are buying these cars for $20k~$35k, with mileages in the 30k~80k range. From seeing all the posts, the strut can fail at anytime, and people who spend $30k on a car don't want to pay $1k+ per strut.
I was in the exact same boat, I bought my 05' UL with 47k miles 14 months ago, just like most people, my biggest concern was the air suspension. But I was thinking, it won't fail until at least 80k~90k miles, or if I am lucky, it will last until 120k~150k miles, nothing to worry about for many years right? Sure enough, 61k miles comes around, my right rear strut failed. While I was contemplating if I should buy one new air strut or do the steel springs conversion, the left rear strut failed 100 miles later.
Like the common saying, while it is not likely to happen, it could happen to anyone
05-11-09, 02:49 PM
#22
BlackUltra, you were right, I shouldn't be so negative, I deleted my worse case scenario, all 4 failing every 35k saying.
And again, don't get me wrong, I love my LS430 and won't tell anyone about my air suspension failed. I don't want anyone to think my top of the line Lexus is not reliable
And again, don't get me wrong, I love my LS430 and won't tell anyone about my air suspension failed. I don't want anyone to think my top of the line Lexus is not reliable
05-11-09, 03:50 PM
#24
I did.
My opinion is, independent alignment shop is more knowledgeable then the Lexus dealer as far as alignment goes.
Alignment is alignment, just cambers and toes, is the same from a Tata Nano to a Bugatti Veyron.
My opinion is, independent alignment shop is more knowledgeable then the Lexus dealer as far as alignment goes.
Alignment is alignment, just cambers and toes, is the same from a Tata Nano to a Bugatti Veyron.
Last edited by BNR34; 05-11-09 at 03:57 PM.
05-11-09, 03:54 PM
#25
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05-11-09, 04:10 PM
#26
so a decent mechanic should know how to properly align an ls w/ air suspension? i will stop being so worried then. not that my alignment is messed up at all, i just found that i ride around on 7 more than any other setting so i want to get it aligned at 7 just to be on the safe side. maybe this really isn't necessary since i don't see any uneven wear at all, but by the time i do see uneven wear its already been an issue for way to long
So really, the mechanic doing the alignment don't care what kind of suspension the car has.
05-11-09, 05:10 PM
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BlackUltra, you were right, I shouldn't be so negative, I deleted my worse case scenario, all 4 failing every 35k saying.
And again, don't get me wrong, I love my LS430 and won't tell anyone about my air suspension failed. I don't want anyone to think my top of the line Lexus is not reliable
And again, don't get me wrong, I love my LS430 and won't tell anyone about my air suspension failed. I don't want anyone to think my top of the line Lexus is not reliable
05-12-09, 01:03 AM
#28
I had a PM to help with a supension problem here is my response to him.
OK Here is what I think. I may post this on the forum.
First if you ever looked at a Lexus service manual you will see that just about every bolt or fastener has a torque spec. Do you think that your Mechanic uses that spec or just feels it's OK. When suspension parts are replaced do you think that the Tech follows the OEM instructions to tighten the bolt with the car down and suspension loaded? Chances are not. Do you think that small shim or spacer that rolled somewhere in the shop will be reordered and replaced? In the USA it is all about money and time is money. Sure there are Techs that care and want to do a good job but time is money. I see you have had many trips to the dealers service department. The problem has I see it not all Lexus techs are competent, some are just learning on your buck. No service tech wants to look deep for a problem, it takes to much effort and it is to easy to blow you off by saying he found nothing and charge you for a couple of hours. OK here is the bottom line. You can try to find a competent tech who has the time charges a fair rate uses the service manual (very few do you know) and cares. Now back to reality trade or selling it may be the only way out unless you get lucky.The less anyone works on your car the better off you will be. It it happens that after a repair other problems can be created that don't even show up until later because of something the tech did and didn't even know it. This is why some like to do the work themselves and others are just cheap.
OK Here is what I think. I may post this on the forum.
First if you ever looked at a Lexus service manual you will see that just about every bolt or fastener has a torque spec. Do you think that your Mechanic uses that spec or just feels it's OK. When suspension parts are replaced do you think that the Tech follows the OEM instructions to tighten the bolt with the car down and suspension loaded? Chances are not. Do you think that small shim or spacer that rolled somewhere in the shop will be reordered and replaced? In the USA it is all about money and time is money. Sure there are Techs that care and want to do a good job but time is money. I see you have had many trips to the dealers service department. The problem has I see it not all Lexus techs are competent, some are just learning on your buck. No service tech wants to look deep for a problem, it takes to much effort and it is to easy to blow you off by saying he found nothing and charge you for a couple of hours. OK here is the bottom line. You can try to find a competent tech who has the time charges a fair rate uses the service manual (very few do you know) and cares. Now back to reality trade or selling it may be the only way out unless you get lucky.The less anyone works on your car the better off you will be. It it happens that after a repair other problems can be created that don't even show up until later because of something the tech did and didn't even know it. This is why some like to do the work themselves and others are just cheap.
05-12-09, 01:20 AM
#29
PHCMA i just read both of those, not sure what they hell i'm really looking at, hopefully this will make sense to a mechanic?? what about rear alignment?? if i show these papers for example to a PepBoys or Autozone mechanic will they be able to comprehend and set to proper specs??? thanks,
If they don't run like Hell.
