I have an 04 ul w/air ride. I have a strange noise coming from my right rear strut (or so i think). When i start the car i hear this fluttering sound for like 2 seconds coming from the rear right corner of the car. I almost thought i was coming from the inside of the car. When i am driving i hear a jittering sound coming from the right rear when i go over little bumps and potholes. The strange thing is that this sound comes and goes. It will be present for a few days and then gone for a few. My mechanic states that he thinks i have a dead left rear strut but the the height controls still allow the strut to raise and lower and the strut still remainds at the normal height in normal mode. This noise is really starting to worry me. My first question is WHAT IS THAT NOISE! my second question is how do i tell if i have a bad air strut?

PLEASE HELP!

 

when you hear the fluttering sound does the ride height alter at all? with most digital/electronically controlled air ride systems a fluttering noise is usually the valves or a valve pulsating to fill the bag. if your rear strut was actually shot then you would notice a difference in handling and ride. do you notice any fluid on the strut body or in the surrounding area? a leaking strut will leave fluid and as i mentioned previously, you'll be able to tell if your strut is shot because the ride quality will be very poor. if in fact the strut has completely failed it won't completely alter the characteristics of raising and lowering the car. when you say you have a jittering noise, is it hollow sounding? i would check to see if you have a leaking strut and check the air bag/fitting itself. to check your bag/fitting for leaks spray the unit with a little bit of soapy water and if it bubbles then you have a leak.

 

thank you for that advice. I will do that. Now the noise is gone. but i am sure it will b back shortly. LIke is said it comes and goes. I can't say that is a hollow sound. but you definitly sound like you are on to something......thank you

 

gs4bkny,

I would bet your right rear strut is about to go bad. Pretty much if you notice anything weird about it, make funny noise, change in ride quality, change in ride height, 90% of the time it means your strut is bad.

On my own experience, my shock was blown, the ride height was perfect, the strut body is bone dry, no leak at all. It didn't make any noise either. The only thing was horrible ride quality, it wobble so much that the car was dangerous to drive.

Start thinking about strut replacement.

What's the mileage on your car? And what year?

Also, the right rear strut is pretty much always the 1st one to go bad.

 

To those that have had the strut replaced, did you replace the strut caps and bearing plates as well? My mom's LS needs the strut replaced (non air suspension) and the dealership recommended doing the caps and plates too. Is this necessary?

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...liability.html

 

I have no claims. My 04 UL has 50,000 with no air suspension problems.

 

the car is an 04 ul and has 66000 miles on it. I am going to start looking into strut replacement. I would like to know if anyone knows of an extended warrenty company that covers air ride struts and the air suspension components???