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Have an '05 LS430 UL with 120k miles (recently bought, I'm the second owner, all dealer serviced, excellent condition). Was at a very long stoplight and put the car in neutral so I could be lighter on the brakes. Light turned green and I forgot the car was in N and pressed the gas and then let it off. RPMs went up to maybe 2k, then around maybe 1.5k I wasn't thinking and dropped it into D. Car lurched a bit and went forward; didn't hear any clunks. Have now driven it a few days and seems fine, but was wondering if I should get it looked at and what the likelihood of damage. Is there anything I can inspect myself to give peace of mind?
Have noticed when warming the car up and the car drops to 1100 RPM (and sometimes at idle) this low pitched rumbling for about 5 seconds and goes away. No vibration, only noise. Not sure if this was there before (as car was recently bought). Otherwise driving seems fine.
Your transmission should be fine. I would not worry.
Low idle is usually associated with a dirty throttle body and the "idle port" clogged up with carbon. Would not hurt to have this cleaned, clean the maf sensor, service the transmission and all the other fluids if not already done as well as the plugs. Best maintenance is preventive maintenance.
Another question on that rumbling noise. I've noticed it at other times when the car is idling, and it doesn't always happen when warming up. Seems to appear at random, and doesn't matter if the A/C is on. Maybe once every few days or so, and doesn't seem to cause any vibration inside the car. It does kind of sound like an air compressor, maybe for the air suspension. Does that match what the air compressor should sound like? Visually I don't see any leaks in the suspension or any odd tilt in the car. Anything I should be concerned about or is this normal? Thanks!
To confirm if the rumbling noise you heard is from the air compressor, you can first set your vehicle height to "NORM" (see position "2" on the sketch below) with the engine idling. Give the vehicle a few minutes to settle to the normal height. Then set the vehicle height to "HIGH" and activate the air compressor (see position "1" on the sketch below). Confirm if that is indeed the same rumbling noise.
My guess is the rumbling is the air suspension compressor. My '02 UL had a similar noise. Not sure if anything can be done (or should be done about it). I lived with it for several years before selling the car with 180k and getting an '03 ML/Nav with 65k. I have heard that Lexus sells a kit and the compressors can be rebuilt.
This story reminds me of when I asked my dad the same question, because my Volvo had no power and wouldn't drive over 15 mph. I said I hope I didn't ruin the motor, I pushed the pedal to the floor and it would only go about 15 mph. My dad basically said yes, your car is toast, but no, you didn't do it, you got ripped off by the person who sold it to you. "A car is not that delicate," were his exact words. The same is true here. I wouldn't want to test it, but certainly a LS has to have a rev limiter to prevent overrevving the motor, and no way should being at 2000 rpm and dropping it into D one time be harmful. There's no way our LS' can be that delicate...now the door actuators are another story lol
To confirm if the rumbling noise you heard is from the air compressor, you can first set your vehicle height to "NORM" (see position "2" on the sketch below) with the engine idling. Give the vehicle a few minutes to settle to the normal height. Then set the vehicle height to "HIGH" and activate the air compressor (see position "1" on the sketch below). Confirm if that is indeed the same rumbling noise.
Just tried this right now and definitely sounds very similar. Car seems to rise evenly (about inches from my crude measurement). Forums here say that it could be bushings on the compressor? Doesn't bother me too much. Does this need fixing or can I leave it be?
New bushing will definitely give you better vibration and noise isolation, but this is not an emergency repair. There are 3 bushings (see circled in red in sketch below).
Have an '05 LS430 UL with 120k miles (recently bought, I'm the second owner, all dealer serviced, excellent condition). Was at a very long stoplight and put the car in neutral so I could be lighter on the brakes. Light turned green and I forgot the car was in N and pressed the gas and then let it off. RPMs went up to maybe 2k, then around maybe 1.5k I wasn't thinking and dropped it into D. Car lurched a bit and went forward; didn't hear any clunks. Have now driven it a few days and seems fine, but was wondering if I should get it looked at and what the likelihood of damage. Is there anything I can inspect myself to give peace of mind?
Have noticed when warming the car up and the car drops to 1100 RPM (and sometimes at idle) this low pitched rumbling for about 5 seconds and goes away. No vibration, only noise. Not sure if this was there before (as car was recently bought). Otherwise driving seems fine.
Probably best and absolutely no need not to put the car in neutral when stopped. LS430 can easily and almost unnoticeable roll forwards and backwards in neutral so not a good idea in traffic. At very long stops like a train crossing, best to put car in park rather than neutral and turn off the engine if possible.
Aisin transmissions are pretty tough units. My old 4A-GE 20v Corolla had an A240E transmission in it and I used to abuse it like no man's business, N to D shifts from redline (7000rpm in those things) were common. But it was a sack of **** so it got what it deserved. I wouldn't want to go do that in the LS given it has 1000 times the torque a 4A-GE has, but they aren't going to crap out on you because you accidentally N-D'd it from 1500rpm.
04-08-17, 11:41 AM
Did I mess up my car?
