Hello CL Family! I purchased my 2002 LS430 2years ago. At that time I noticed the car didn't drive straight but I figured it just needed an alignment so I payed it no mind. My car has a 2 year warranty so I took it to the dealer to see what was going on and the tech recommends to replace the front left and right lower control arms, and the big bushings, the rear sway bar and the links, the front sway bar bushings and the links, the power steering racks bushings, the outer tie rod ends, the front lower ball joints, 2 new tires and a 4 wheel alignment. Till this day the car still drives vary freely, meaning when I hold the steering wheel straight the car will move the left or right and I will have to counter steer the correct the car and keep it straight. It feels like one front wheel is turning into the other because I can feel the front end of the suspension raising and dropping as if I where going in to a turn, and I'm driving straight. The tech says the car is fine and he is clearly wrong! I went though 2 front tires in less then 1year! I'm thinking about replacing the power steering rack?
Are there thoughts on what the problem could be? I really love this car, that's why I'm going though all of this to get this car in perfect condition. Thanks in advance tremendously!

 

That must be the toe on the front wheels I think.

Take the mechanic out for a test drive, show him how it is and then tell him to drive to see what the problem is too. Might also be work getting a second opinion, maybe even get an indy garage to look at the car to figure out the problem if main dealer doesn't know the issue.

 

lol I love the dealers answer, "lets replace every single part and hopefully that will fix it"

If its under warrantee does that mean they are covering all costs?

 

The tech did in fact drive the car and he said nothing was wrong. I don't know if he just didn't want to deal with it(I've see a tech do this before) and said that or he really didn't notice it. I was trying to keep the cost down by avoiding an Indy garage but that's last resort.

 

Yes they covered all the parts listed, I only had to pay $100.00 deductible and 2014 my warranty has just expired! Lucky me right...

 

I would consider both replacing the steering rack bushings and tightening the sub-frame bolts. Do a search on this and you'll see that others have had good results if their bushings were worn out. My sub-frame bolts were loose on my SC430 and it felt just as you describe. They are not typically checked during an alignment or other front end component replacement procedures. It's really simple to check and tighten them up. I had several alignments and lots of parts replaced before they were checked. Amazing difference. Good luck!

 

I have the same problem as you .... for 3 years. I have tried a few "fixes" but not able to fix it to my satisfaction. This Friday I am taking the car to a place that sets up Time Attack race cars for him to try help diagnose and stop my car's wandering. Read here if you want

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

A proper 4 wheel alignment and good wheels/ tires is a place to start, after that is confirmed, this is my list of things I will get him to look at ...

1. Front caster bushings
Worn front caster bushings won't be detected by doing an alignment but when the car is in motion, and the bushings are subjected to driving forces, if they are worn wheel caster may change more than allowed which might explain your wandering.

2. Ball joints
To check LS430 ball joints, you can't lift the car and grab the wheel and shake. You have to jack the front of the car up by the control arm so that the tire is off the ground only a few inches and then use a pry bar lift up on the tire from underneath. While you are doing this, have someone look for vertical movement in the ball joint itself... You CANNOT test these with the car lifted by the chassis beacuse the droop in the suspension puts the BINDS the ball joint and even if it is worn out it will appear solid.

3. Wheel Bearings
Check the wheel bearings even if they are not making noise. .Worn bearings will cause wandering which gets worse as the speed gets higher. You said this was happening on your car.

4. Steering shaft u-joints
Check the steering shaft u-joints for play. There's one that's mounted on the column right by the brake pedal, and there's another one in the engine bay right before the column bolts to the steering rack

5. Tighten the sub-frame bolts

Other suspension items to check
tie rod ends, strut bar bushings, UCA and LCA bushings and especially the lower control A arm trailing bushings, steering damper, rear sway bar links and the steering rack.


I hope he can help fix my issue. I won't be keeping my car much longer if I don't get it solved soon. Good luck to you.

 

I've never heard of an extended warranty covering all new suspension parts. That's amazing that they covered those repairs, most companies consider that "wear and tear" like they would tires.

I think you need to take your car and get a second opinion, an issue like you're talking about should be easy for someone who knows suspension systems to figure out.

Just don't throw parts at it, that gets incredibly expensive. When a tech says something like "replace every single suspension part" to fix one particular problem, that usually means he either doesn't know or is taking you on an expensive ride. Or both.

 

Wow! That's crazy your experiencing the same problem as me. Thank you for sharing your story with me, it seemed like I was the only one with this issue. I have spent so much money on this car, I might as well spend some more! I ordered a remanufactured eom power steering rack from Discount steering for a little over $340 bucks with a $200 core. I have replaced so many steering components on this LS, and everyone says the rack is not leaking so it's fine. I don't agree with that! I will also tighten my subframe bolts, I highly doubt that's the problem but it wouldn't hurt. I will be installing this rack myself when the weather worms up a bit.
Did you ever take your LS to that shop you mentioned to have it looked at?

 

If you are having this problem what exactly should you ask a Tech to check and/or fix/tighten ?

 

I really wanted to avoid your story ... replacing expensive parts and end up with a car that wandered. My problem was everyone who checked the car said it was fine, but the alignment they did didn't fix the problem. I did buy new wheels, and 3 sets of different tires, and steering bushings .... but nothing helped.

Yes I took the car to him. He checked EVERYTHING, again, and said EVERYTHING was fine. He said if I wanted he would do another alignment. At first I thought why bother since I have had 4 in 3 years and was thinking I should give up and sell the car and be done with it. But I drove an hour to get there, he was willing and I was desperate, so why not let him try .... well the car drives a LOT better .... Obviously the techs who did my previous 4 alignments were either not very good or just didn't care. And yes, I took the car back to 2 of them and they recheckd the car ! These were high end shops who specialized in alignments ... one was even a Lexus dealer !

The guy told me my rear tires were "in spec, but right at the end of the acceptable range" He adjusted it. $ 130 and I am, after 3 years, driving my LS with a proper alignment.

He told me in the spring if it is still wandering he would check the variable assist power steering unit if I can get the factory manual .... which I am trying to get from another member here.

I am really pissed off to have had such lousy service and as a result could not really enjoy driving the car that much. At the end of the month I am driving from Toronto to South Florida for a month of sun beach and golf. It's a 24 hours drive each way. If this drive is not enjoyable because of wandering, this LS will be history, which is a shame because it's perfect in every other way.


you should read this thread
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...wandering.html

You can tell a tech whatever you want. But a real pro knows what to check and what to do. Problem is finding that person. I had a lot of trouble finding one.

If you're too busy to read the thread, here is a summary of what it talks about.

1. Front caster bushings
Worn front caster bushings won't be detected by doing an alignment but when the car is in motion, and the bushings are subjected to driving forces, if they are worn wheel caster may change more than allowed which might explain your wandering.

2. Ball joints
To check LS430 ball joints, you can't lift the car and grab the wheel and shake. You have to jack the front of the car up by the control arm so that the tire is off the ground only a few inches and then use a pry bar lift up on the tire from underneath. While you are doing this, have someone look for vertical movement in the ball joint itself... You CANNOT test these with the car lifted by the chassis beacuse the droop in the suspension puts the BINDS the ball joint and even if it is worn out it will appear solid.

3. Wheel Bearings
Check the wheel bearings even if they are not making noise. .Worn bearings will cause wandering which gets worse as the speed gets higher. You said this was happening on your car.

4. Steering shaft u-joints
Check the steering shaft u-joints for play. There's one that's mounted on the column right by the brake pedal, and there's another one in the engine bay right before the column bolts to the steering rack

5. Tighten the sub-frame bolts

Other suspension items to check
tie rod ends, strut bar bushings, UCA and LCA bushings and especially the lower control A arm trailing bushings, steering damper, rear sway bar links and the steering rack.