Since the control arms on the 4LS has been one its Achilles heals, has anyone found a sound solution or remedy for this problem. Although most people have had the dealer repair them under warranty, what about the folks that are not under warranty and do the dealer replace the parts with better ones? Are there aftermarket replacements than give the same or exceed the level of performance of the OEM? Trying to prepare myself for whats ahead when/if i step into 460.

 

My advice IF you buy an 07-08 is...

-Check the service history of the car via Lexus Drivers site to see if they have been replaced.

-Have the car inspected by Lexus or independent inspector. If the car is CPO make sure the control arms have been replaced, if not have them replace them before it leaves the lot. This goes for any other issues you notice look at it as a punch out list.

-Get the Platinum extended warranty (make sure it covers the control arms) it is known that it covers the control arms.

 

What are the conditions that we discuss with the dealership to get the control arms fixed? Alignment issues or something else?

 

First to everyone reading this the issue is not the control arms, it is the worn out bushings on the upper control arms (maybe the lower) the rears don't have issues like up front. The bushing design is bad and Lexus re-design them in 08. However Lexus do not sell the bushings alone, you will need to buy new control arms to get new bushings. You can tell they are bad due to poor ride, pulling and maybe slight dive when braking. The tech will know right away when the car is on the lift b/c the rubber housing for the bushings are visibly torn. This is a known issue so every dealer knows about the 07-08 first production control arm bushings are bad, this is not a new issue for them and they know the routine to cover it under CPO. Last if you have warranty service other than Lexus they will send out a rep to inspect them before giving the green light for replacement.

 

Makes perfect sense. Thank you.

 

You can get aftermarket lower control arm bushings online now. Uppers no but can splurge on the adjustable ones.

 

What website for the aftermarket lowers??

 

God I am happy they replaced mine under warranty. If they went again before 100k I will dump my LS. Im not dropping 3k into a car that would be 10 years old

 

eBay. Pressed in bushings are out there. I willing to bet this seller found the exact same size bushings available for another car and labeled them for a 460.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-FRONT-LOWER-Control-Arm-BUSHING-LEXUS-LS460-07-12-2WD-4X2-/390595484634?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ALS460&hash=item5af14e1bda&vxp=mtr

 

Came to the dealership for an oil change today and told them that I've heard a "clunk" from the front suspension while turning left or right into an incline driveway. They found both front control arms need to changed out. This is on a 2007 LS460 swb w/ 61,000 miles. Thankfully it's certified.

 

I went in with my o7 for a 75k mile service and was told control arms front and back needed replaced. $4,400 plus tax. Luckily, I have an extended third party warranty by warranty direct with the deluxe(or something like that) feature, and they did not balk at doing the repair under the warranty. Want to send out an inspector, but other than that, no hassle. I suppose the dealer will back up its assessment that the repair needs to be done. If the inspector says they do not be replaced, either they are screwing me or the Lexus service rep is trying to sell unneeded service. Will be interesting to see which, or if the deals just goes smooth. The warranty cost me $2,200 and there have been no other claims so far.

 

eBay has LS control arms (upper if lower) for cheap. You can even buy the bushing themselves and swap out for a hundred bucks or so.

 

Got my car back today and would like to report a few observations on my third party warranted repair work.
After a long wait for the warranty company inspector, it was agreed the control arms, etc needed replaced. Then issue was: Lexus parts or aftermarket. Finally they chewed and swallowed and approved the repair with Lexus parts..
When I picked up my car, I noticed on the invoice that the price for the repair magically was reduced to about $2,800 from the $4400 quoted to me originally. But, what do I care? I didn't pay.
I guess there is more fluff in dealership pricing than I thought, or perhaps they didn't do the full job. As I write this I wondered if there is now dealership repair warranty on the work done too.
I paid $2200 for the warranty so I quess I came out ahead and I hope the warranty company will do an extension for me when the current one runs out. About 10k miles left on the warranty.
One last thing, the warranty company insisted on a full alignment be done - which they paid for.

Car runs great and smooth. Over time I suppose I did not realize how bouncy and rough the car had become due to the deteriorating parts.

All in all, a good experience. I would definitely recommend Warranty Direct with their extended premium warranty feature.

 

Thanks for the follow up and good to hear you are happy with the repair and service.

 

I had the uppers replaced by the dealer using my third party warranty. They sent someone out to inspect it. No hassle with parts. No hassle with labor. Just did the work. I think the parts and labor was like 3500 to 4000. I paid 2k for the warranty. Going back for the lowers soon. Hopefully the inspector doesn't say anything about the airrunner suspension