I am experiencing vibration that I feel in the steering wheel between 55 and 65. Lexus service adviser thought it might be caused by a worn CV joint or boot. They are going to look at the car next week. Vibration occurs when accelerating or deaccelerating.

I have never heard of issues with CV joints, has anyone had a similar issue? '03 Nav/ML w/76k, thanks.

 

Aren't CV joints on the drive axles, of a FWD car?

 

One standard LS problem is worn lower control bushings (LCA's). Seems to happen typically around 90-100k. One symptom is steering wheel vibration starting at 55 and up. There may be a "clunk" noise from front suspension while going slowly over small bumps. Mine was at a steady speed so don't know if acceleration/decceleration is a factor. Good luck w/ it.

 

My LCA bushings have been cracked since I purchased my car over 8 years ago. Eventually even the fluid inside leaked out.It had always driven like a dream. I don't have any unusual front end sounds and the steering does not shake. My front struts were replaced a few years ago as well. Recently, my overall ride has not been as luxo and forgiving as it has been for all these years. I'm not counting out my tires (Primacys with 15,000 miles on them) as I've heard there have been issues with them as well as the miles come on. I drive 98% city so my tires are over halfway worn. Not sure if the front end (LCA bushings) or the tires are the culprit for my harsher than usual ride. Still no unusual sounds coming from the front end. I'll take my car to my trusty Indy to investigate further.

 

I am aware of the need to replace lower LCA bushings, In fact, I presumed that was the problem, even at 76k. The Lexus service adviser said the vibration when the car was slowing down pointed away from the LCA bushings and to the CV joints. I am also going to have them take a look at the engine and transmission mounts. Of course, they need to look at it. I will let you know what they say..

 

The LS430 doesn't have front CV joints.

My first guess would be a tire issue if you're only noticing it at those speeds. Could be something as simple as a tire that needs balancing or a wheel weight that fell off.

 

He might have meant to say ball joint instead of CV joint although I'm with the Tank man on this one. Seems more likely to be tire related at this low mileage...

 

A tire issue is possible but doubtful. I have two sets of OEM rims with fairly new tires, one with the Michelin Premier A/S and one with X-ice 3's. the vibration seems to be the same on both sets of wheels. That said, the summer set will be rotated and balanced tomorrow.

Also, I believe the service adviser said their was a CV joint on each axle. I will have it checked out and let you know. i appreciate the comments.

 

I wondered about that. If the balance is bad enough to shake the wheel at 55-65, wouldn't it be at least partly noticeable at other speeds? It's a place to start since it' s a lot cheaper than LCA's. I had the tires on my 01 balanced several times to fix the 55-62 shakes. Didn't help. Vibration never changed. After the LCA's? No more shakes (even with older harder Michelins that flat spotted sometimes). Replaced the tires and back to LS smooth cruise. Not sure I'd trust a tech that's talking about CV joints in a 430. Engine/trans mounts usually noticeable at idle or when accelerating smoothly (mine typically at 2,700 maybe different for other folks).

 

My car was purchased used, at 81k. It had a vibration at about 55-60 mph. Unfortunately, multiple actions took place about the same time, so it's impossible to say which was the cure, or if it was a combination.

1) front LCA bushings replaced--vibration seemed to be gone at 55-60, but present at 75-80. Do not know if it was there before, or it was a new vibration, because I didn't typically drive that fast before

2) When I mentioned it to the indie, he rebalanced the front tires, stating they were not balanced. This is odd because they were road force balanced by the online eTailer. After getting the car back, I really couldn't be sure if it was cured, I didn't think so.

3) Got a 4 wheel alignment. At this point, positive there is no more vibration.

If I had to guess what action cured the issue, I think it was a combination of the LCA bushings and the alignment, but more the alignment as it was WAY off at 3 corners. The LCA bushings seemed to have somehow lessened or eliminated the lower speed vibration imho. At the same time, the indie who installed the Toyota OE bushings, stated they did not think I would feel any difference based on the condition of the old ones (cracked yes, but not torn). my .02....

edit p.s.--some more thoughts, I can't stand when something cannot be cured, this eventually does happen on old cars, but I don't think this should be the case on our LS430s. We all want that "rental car feeling," you know, when you get into a car and it only has 1-10k on it (mileage has creeped up on rentals), or on loaner cars where it would be rare to have 5k...meaning no strange sounds, shakes, etc.....it really ***** when that feeling is gone...

 

It could be a lot of things, but I know I've had situations where the car drove perfectly until I got up to highway speeds and the steering wheel starts "bouncing" in your hand. I had just had the tires rotated and balanced on newer tires, but I took it back and asked them to try again and a more "senior" tech admitted it hadn't been done right the first time around. Then it drove as smooth as glass.

I've also had a situation where it started happening and went to the tire store had said a wheel weight had fallen off.

Another case, I had a bouncing sensation and it turned out the internal steel belt had somehow separated or slipped, it was under warranty and the tire store gave me a new one.

So usually when a car drives fine except when you get to speed on on a smooth highway and you start feeling the wheel shaking, I would start with the tires. You can also rotate them around and see if anything changes. If it's still happening than I would look for suspension issues.

The car has really low miles,but it definitely could also be something with the suspension. I would definitely be wary though of any shop saying an LS430 needed new CV joints.

 

How about when a Toyota multi-point inspection has my LS430 clutch fluid indicated as being fine.

As a general rule, there's no longer any room for incompetence. The car business seems to be excepted, because they may be gone in as early as 10 years.

 

A lot of owners in here spend time and money trying to make their cars as close to new as possible. I'm definitely one of them. What's funny is that I notice some small flaw (slight vibration only at 2,011 rpm, passenger door when closing sounds a little different from drivers door, etc) that only an OCD owner would notice. Anyone else just says how nice the car is. Gotta put things in perspective sometimes. Even if the car isn't totally perfect, still a very nice car to own

 

Maybe the Lex SA was referring to the "crummy valet's choice of weed or brand of footwear?

 

When my colleague and I went to look at my car the other day, he goes, what happened here, was it hit? UH OH, don't mess with my mind! He felt the door handle didn't line up? I know a clean carfax doesn't necessarily mean anything on cars this old, but I honestly don't believe it was hit, because it will show when repainted, especially on a pearl imho...