Just had control arms all replaced under warranty and it's still making chattering noises in the front suspension on broken rippled surfaces same as before ?? Front shocks were also replaced 6 months ago ... Any clues please anyone ? I haven't had a chance to go back to the dealers yet

 

This is not unlike what I dealt with on my '08... First question, are you certain that every single control arm was replaced? I ask because in addition to the set of upper arms (two on each side) and the lowers, there is another set of lower control arms ("trailing" arms, if you will) that are not always included in the main repair procedure. That is what happened in my case, and the remaining arms were ultimately replaced.

Having dealt with a whole host of noise and vibration problems, all of which were resolved, I have other ideas, but figured we could start here by checking what parts were actually replaced.

 

Caha14, good point

You can also check if it's the brake pads rattling in the calipers...next time over a rough road surface, etc., ride the brakes a little and see if the rattling goes away

 

yes they were all replaced...im back off to the dealer shortly to see what they say. Ill keep you posted

 

Well in Australia wouldn't the upper control arms really be the lower, and vice versa?

Yes, please keep us posted David. Kidding aside, I for one am very interested.

 

yes that's very amusing I just took it to them and they agreed there is some noise . Apparently they are now going to put it up on a hoist and undo all the bolts and then drop it down and re tighten them . They think the bolts may have been tightened too much and will now spend a day doing this along with more road testing and alignments etc . Stay tuned till next week when it goes back and I will keep you posted .......

 

So yesterday the dealer tells me that they are going to replace the front shocks, as that's the only thing their mechanic can think is causing the problem (even though they are only 12 months old having been replaced under warranty when I bought the car ) to try and solve the noise . Today after the service manager drove the car they think it's the front sway bar that needs lubricating ? Has anyone else had this issue or any other clues ? They are very kind and endlessly helpful but I just want to get this resolved .

 

Yes, dry or dirty sway bar bushings can cause a subtle (or not-so-subtle) click/click or knock/knocking as the car goes over small undulations. But so can shock absorber "stiction" from bad/defective shocks.

 

If you had the noise before replacing the control arms, chances are something else is loose or not right.

The LS suspension is quite complicated and there are lots of parts and linkages which can fail prematurely. I had all 8 control arms/bushes replaced at 65k miles on my 07 LS and now at 68k miles, I have just replaced the entire right steering knuckle due to a worn rubber boot.

I'd also just replaced the left and right tie rods as they show some free play and were noisy going over humps and uneven surfaces. Imo, these are the parts most vulnerable and likely to fail as the car ages.

And believe it or not, I have also changed out the sway bar links and the sway bar bushes. 68K miles on them and they were still in very good shape, the bushes have not hardened and look and feel not a day older than a third of their lifespan. And so I thought, I have finally found something on this car that can live up to Toyota's reputation in reliability.

So yeah, perform a thorough inspection on these and hope you get it sorted out soon.

 

I guess it could be the shocks, but as you say you wouldn't expect it if they are only a year old.

The front sway bar could definitely be the problem. The only thing is usually it means replacing the bushings. I am not familiar with the LS sway bar set up, but I don't think lubricating it would solve the problem, but I could definitely be wrong about that.

 

Well, they lubricated the front sway bar and its made a huge difference . It still seems to make some suspension noise ( rather than chatter) over light corrugations but because I've been driving other cars whilst its been away I cant remember wether what I'm hearing was always there .....

 

So the noise and rattling from the front end got so bad I took it back again to the dealership.
They are going to replace the front shocks now even though they were replaced 12 months ago under warranty before the control arms were done . Does anybody else have issues with a front end that is noisy in the suspension? Mostly over light undulations it makes a very rattly noise like the shock absorbers are loose

 

Yes, that's exactly what I'm experiencing right now. Not sure if it's the shocks or the control arms. Going over parking lot speed bumps, the suspension is noisy. Going over speed tables at ~30mph (which never fazed my 15 year old 530i) the suspension makes a horrible crashing sound. I guess I'll let the dealer check it out at the next oil change. I do have a 3/36 Lexus Platinum warranty so the control arms should be covered but I'm not sure about the shocks (regular, non-air).

 

I have air suspension ... They are definitely covered

 

i was told my control arms/bushings needs to be replace soon and was quoted almost 6K! how much was it to replace yours? if you dont mind me asking.