I just recently got the steering shaft primary and secondary (due to a clicking sound suggesting play in the splines) and they also replaced the lower control arm bushings, all under CPO coverage... my wander is completely gone now! Finally a solution was found and I love the car again! Hoah!

 

My 2002 LS430 with stock 16s runs staight too, no pull or wander in either direction. 80,000 miles and the alignment had never been touched and tires wear evenly.
I am running 225/60/16 Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires.

 

I had this exact same problem on our last 2004 LS430 UL. It was pretty good around town, but above 70mph the wandering was bad enough that I noticed it because my left thumb would begin to hurt over time from constant corrections. So I can assure you wandering is not limited to '01s. There is something about the way these car's suspensions are set up that makes them easily prone to this wandering condition. I never did look into it further before I got rid of the '04, but I definitely found this thread interesting.

I should also note that that car had near new Michelin Primacy MXV4s, so it's not just tires. That car also had the rear control arm and air spring replaced some time in its history, and whatever caused that to happen OR whatever the techs did replacing it may have contributed to the problem.

Suspension voo-doo is really an amazing thing and extremely varies in the impact different parts have from car to car. On my E38s, Range Rovers and other large BMWs, worn control arm bushings will set up a condition similar to what one would assume is a tire balancing problem. Of course it comes and goes which is one of the key indicators that the bushings are worn, and not the tires or wheels.

 

Viper did meant you inner and outer tie rods?

 

I can not offer you a solution but will let you know that you are not alone. My 01 ultra luxury seems to have a very very slight wander as if it is a very windy day when it is not on the highway sometimes (pavement smoothness affects it I think) at speeds over 70. I have had it to the dealer but they can not find anthing wrong. I have made peace with it and have gotten used to it. It is not that bad and I am not going to spend lots of time and money resolving this.


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Nope, my inner and outer tie rods were mechanically tight, as was my lower ball joint (check these first with wheel off ground and suspension under 5-6 inches of compression for the ball joint test). I had lower control A arm trailing bushings replaced. And if it were me and I had this issue outside of CPO, I would absolutely replace these bushings. My service rep in CT says they do this all the time and it cures this issue, including mine. I got multiple things done at once, but I attribute the fix to these bushings hydraulic fluid filled bushings that seem to go bad with age/miles.

Sewell
48655 4865550012
BUSHING, LOWER ARM, NO.2

less than $70ea with club lexus discount! Do it man!

 

Has anyone replaced the lower control arm rear bushings themselves and if so how difficult was it? Any pointers on doing the replacement? My car suffers from the wandering and my local dealer quoted me over $1200 to replace. Suffice it to say I will most likely doing it myself or trying to find a good local indy to do it for me.

 

I had my lower control arm bushing changed by my local Lexus dealer in Dec 2012 and the cost was $817.

 

Wow, that was just the bushings and not the entire control arm correct? That's a lot of money!

 

bushings cost about 100 each from the dealer the old has to be pressed out or burned out and new has to be pressed in as far as removing the bushing from the car its very easy. My wifes LS suffers same issue i replaced these bushings and it made the car ride better but i still think something is going on. I hear a clunk while turning the wheel all the way to the left while backing out of a parking spot. I have checked this car inside out, tie rods, bushings, we put load on the control arms on the lift and check ball joints and front bearings everything looks good. Next thing to replace i guess would be the steering shaft u joints, i have this issue on our GS and theres def. play in the shaft itself and not the rack.

 

That's interesting. I'm in a similar situation with my SC. How hard is it to replace those U joints?

 

My bushing were replaced because I had the clunking at low speed turning like you mention. This solved my problem completely. Labor is the greater cost in replacing the bushing. I have a UL, with air suspension, which means they have to be checked and adjusted after the repair.

 

i've never replaced them but my guess from looking at it, its not that hard

 

I have the same problem but have found a different reason for the "wandering". The car is designed so well that the drag coefficient is a .26 for the regular sedan and .25 for the air suspension model. This is an extremely low number for a car this size and there are very few cars that come anywhere near close (same as the turning circle diameter being small). Because of the low drag number the car is suspectible to all kinds of winds and dirty air from other vehicles. Follow an 18 wheeler for a little while and the car with wander, pull out and pass it and you can feel when you break out of the dirty air. Hope this helps.

The low drag number is also why these cars get such great gas mileage.

 

A low drag coefficient means the vehicle is less susceptible to external aerodynamic forces.