2012 LS460 with ~70,000 Miles. I have been experiencing the suspension noises in the attached videos for the past couple months. It's especially noticeable since the weather has gotten colder here in NC. I have no idea where to even begin on diagnosing this, but wanted to see if anyone else has experienced the same sounds / issues and whether you know what could be the cause. I have an appointment with a garage that specializes in Japanese cars here soon, but wanted to see if I could save some money and diagnose myself, with the goal of ultimately fixing this myself.

Thanks!

 

It’s really hard to pinpoint the cause from a noise while watching a video. Your most likely culprit is a bad suspension bushing. Each corner has about a half a dozen of them. They are made out of rubber so they deteriorate over time and temperature can definitely affect them. When it’s cold rubber gets hard and it’s more likely to make noises like that. Certainly there are many possible causes, usually they wear out in a predictable order. Finding a smart tech with experience diagnosing bad bushings on an LS460 would obviously be ideal, but unlikely. So u need to try and narrow down your possibilities, which end of the car? Which side? And then you can see what the most common bushings to wear out in that area? I would purchase the any likely culprits and then take them to a trusted technician and they can do a closer inspection and try replacing any that look suspect. Usually you don’t have to do any alignment work or anything like that when replacing bushings, so the repair bill shouldn’t be too expensive and you can return any bushings that you purchased and then don’t need to be replaced. I have found if u just take a car to a shop, and ask them to repair a noise they can really get carried away with replacing anything that could be the problem, but if u go in there asking them to inspect specific areas and then replace them with the parts u provide, and ask for any old parts they replace, they will be much more effective and much less expensive

 

Sway bar bushings are notorious for just plain old sucking. Replace them or grease. Similar to a noise I had in mine. I replaced the swaybar linkage and a month later heard the same noise and from research I found they only put a dollop of grease inside of them so I greased them and they’re perfect.

 

Scotty Kilmer on a youtube video recommends a product for spraying on rubber bushings called "AT-205 reseal". It's intended as an oil additive to stop oil leaks by swelling the seals. But due to the additives in it, it's also supposed to be one of the best lubricants for rubber bushings you can get. I used it on mine the last time I had the front wheels off and it made the steering slicker than a bag of eels.
I'd raise the car, remove the front wheels, and soak all the bushings with the AT-205 reseal. Probably worth a try.

 

If you feel thumping in the foot well, it is likely lower control arms.