Originally Posted by Wandl

So I have a LS460 with 100k miles out of, out of warranty and, while third party extended warranties are available, there are some risks in working with them on covering such a costly repair. Or, for some of you, getting covered may be a problem as well as justifying the costs of these service contracts. It all started from a basic oil change I had, only to find out that the control arm bushings are completely cracked and needed replaced. An independent shop and Lexus dealer service (here in Dallas) quoted $4600 and $5300 respectively to replace the control arms (because the need to buy OEM control arms as a whole, Lexus does not sell just the bushings).

I read this forum and others on the experiences, and as an owner without warranty, you have 2 options.

Option 1
Just buy the bushings (since it is the main part at fault). As Lexus designed the control arms with bushings as one part, you would have to find a shop that has a press and tools to extract the bushings without damaging the control arms (do this at your own risk of course). Doing extensive research, a couple places sells good solid bushings like Armstrong

Lexus LS460 LS600H Front Upper Lower Strut Bushing Kit 07 13 | eBay
$350 for all 8 bushings plus an optional $78 tool to help install
Lexus LS460 LS600H Upper Bushing Installation Tool Kit 460T | eBay
If you choose this route, ensure your shop (or yourself) have the right tools, and call Armstrong directly...some English guy will pick up, placing an order directly from him will save you 7% as he saves Ebay selling costs.

Option 2
Replace the control arms
MOST LS460's may just need the lower 4 control arms replaced, so it may not be necessary to replace 6 or 8. Please ask your mechanic on their opinion, or verify yourself on how many of the 8 control arms need done. If you have uneven tire wear, an alignment issue or a "lot of play" with your steering, your upper control arms may need attention as well.

For just the lower control arms, you can consider these two options
Front Lower Control Arm and Bushings Set Kit for 07 12 Lexus LS460 Set of 2 | eBay
2 Front Lower Curve Control Arm Lexus LS460 LS600H 06 12 2WD 4x2 | eBay

If you also need the upper 4 control arms, you can consider
Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joint Set Kit for 07 12 Lexus LS460 LS600H New 4 | eBay

My experience
I don't have the mechanical expertise, tools or inclination to do this project myself (though some forum members attest this is a weekend project with some fundamental mechanical skills), I chose option 2 only because the labor charges to do Option 1 or Option 2 were very similar...and the way I justified it, might as well replace the whole thing instead of just the bushings. As I had some issues with my upper control arms as well, I opted to replace all 8 with the parts above (total parts cost, inclusive of shipping was $515). I used the sellers above to good satisfaction.

I checked with several shops that allowed me to bring my own parts for labor. Keep in mind (take this guidance with a grain of salt as I am not a trained mechanic, I speak for my own experiences) that control arms are "basic" suspension parts, meaning you don't necessarily need a Lexus certified master mechanic to work on these repairs. So I went to check with non-Japanese specialized shops as well and your basic garages. I did luck out, and happen to find a Lexus Master Mechanic who works at one of the dealerships and offered to do it on the side (labor cost $600). Indie shops quoted ranges from $750-$1000, and Lexus quoted $1300 for the labor. I am based in Dallas and happy to share the shop names with any of those interested, and in the area.

End Result
My control arms were pretty shot, the knocking noises when I braked was noticeable and the uneven wear on tires/improper alignment (even after a 4 wheel alignment) was pretty bad. Due to that, I felt a significant improvement after the repairs were done, not just a placebo effect. Steering was noticeably tighter, the knocking noise was gone and I feel more at ease knowing I don't have cracked bushings

Total cost for this repair, inclusive of all parts and labor from the sources above was $1,115. Also about 2 weeks worth of reading, trolling through CL forums (among others) for guidance and advice. For those mechanically inclined, the parts I mentioned above will only run $515 if you can supply your own labor; this for me was a great alternative to the $4-$5k bill I would have faced.

As some of you may be doing currently, I contemplated for a long time on purchasing a VSA/third party service contract to get this covered, but the warranty costs a lot more than $1,115 with not too many other problem areas that can go wrong on my LS460 (knock on wood). I felt this out-of-pocket repair would financially serve me better than spending $2k-$4k for a service contract, though I can only speak for my experiences alone.

Caveats
A member here on CL got fthe genuine Lexus control arms for just over $2k via Sewell, so you can source parts from a variety of sources. The aftermarket options I listed above happened to work out for me (the parts fit, the sellers didn't flake out, items arrived in good shape).
Your labor rates/local shops can differ greatly, I've read some users who were quoted $350 for labor, and some higher, please do call and check around.
You WILL very likely need to do a 4 wheel alignment after this repairs so please factor that into the cost of this project (Meineke in my area offered 4 wheel alignment for $50)

Hopefully this can help some of you who are
- Going through the exact same issue in an older and out-of-warranty LS460
- Have a 2007-2010 LS460 and anticipate this may be an issue coming up (I think the control arms were updated 2011 onwards)
- Trying to justify a VSA/Third party service contract to cover this repair for a recently-acquired LS460

Feel free to PM me with any questions any of you may have, and for those in Dallas/Fort Worth area, happy to share the shops that I called for the labor rates.

Thanks always to the CL community for giving me a lot of insights and guidance on my ownership of the LS460!

Originally Posted by Doublebase

I purchased an assortment of Beck Arnley and mevotech on eBay, for around $600. So far no problems (8k miles latter). I installed them myself in my garage without air or a lift...pretty straight forward.

The control arm "issue" on the LS460 is the most overblown thing on the entire internet, there's no reason to have this done at a dealer and there's no reason to pay those astronomical prices. Now the brake actuator may be a different story, but not as many people have run into that issue, but it's out there. Hopefully there will be an aftermarket solution for that soon.

Originally Posted by derreckla

how are they holding up? im needing this replacement myself

Originally Posted by texas008

has been 2 months (3 k miles) since replacing all 8 front control arms, car rides very smooth,

all 8 arms were bought from ebay, total cost ~$510
sway bar links: $100 ($50 each)
labor replacement: $620
alignment at Lexus dealer: $140
total: $1370

also replaced brake rotors and pads for 4 wheels:
discs: ~$200 ($50 each)
akebono proACT pads: ~150
labor: $100
total: $450

btw: how much it cost to press in new bushings?
Thanks,

Originally Posted by Wandl

So I have a LS460 with 100k miles out of, out of warranty and, while third party extended warranties are available, there are some risks in working with them on covering such a costly repair. Or, for some of you, getting covered may be a problem as well as justifying the costs of these service contracts. It all started from a basic oil change I had, only to find out that the control arm bushings are completely cracked and needed replaced. An independent shop and Lexus dealer service (here in Dallas) quoted $4600 and $5300 respectively to replace the control arms (because the need to buy OEM control arms as a whole, Lexus does not sell just the bushings).

I read this forum and others on the experiences, and as an owner without warranty, you have 2 options.

Option 1
Just buy the bushings (since it is the main part at fault). As Lexus designed the control arms with bushings as one part, you would have to find a shop that has a press and tools to extract the bushings without damaging the control arms (do this at your own risk of course). Doing extensive research, a couple places sells good solid bushings like Armstrong

Lexus LS460 LS600H Front Upper Lower Strut Bushing Kit 07 13 | eBay
$350 for all 8 bushings plus an optional $78 tool to help install
Lexus LS460 LS600H Upper Bushing Installation Tool Kit 460T | eBay
If you choose this route, ensure your shop (or yourself) have the right tools, and call Armstrong directly...some English guy will pick up, placing an order directly from him will save you 7% as he saves Ebay selling costs.

Option 2
Replace the control arms
MOST LS460's may just need the lower 4 control arms replaced, so it may not be necessary to replace 6 or 8. Please ask your mechanic on their opinion, or verify yourself on how many of the 8 control arms need done. If you have uneven tire wear, an alignment issue or a "lot of play" with your steering, your upper control arms may need attention as well.

For just the lower control arms, you can consider these two options
Front Lower Control Arm and Bushings Set Kit for 07 12 Lexus LS460 Set of 2 | eBay
2 Front Lower Curve Control Arm Lexus LS460 LS600H 06 12 2WD 4x2 | eBay

If you also need the upper 4 control arms, you can consider
Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joint Set Kit for 07 12 Lexus LS460 LS600H New 4 | eBay

My experience
I don't have the mechanical expertise, tools or inclination to do this project myself (though some forum members attest this is a weekend project with some fundamental mechanical skills), I chose option 2 only because the labor charges to do Option 1 or Option 2 were very similar...and the way I justified it, might as well replace the whole thing instead of just the bushings. As I had some issues with my upper control arms as well, I opted to replace all 8 with the parts above (total parts cost, inclusive of shipping was $515). I used the sellers above to good satisfaction.

I checked with several shops that allowed me to bring my own parts for labor. Keep in mind (take this guidance with a grain of salt as I am not a trained mechanic, I speak for my own experiences) that control arms are "basic" suspension parts, meaning you don't necessarily need a Lexus certified master mechanic to work on these repairs. So I went to check with non-Japanese specialized shops as well and your basic garages. I did luck out, and happen to find a Lexus Master Mechanic who works at one of the dealerships and offered to do it on the side (labor cost $600). Indie shops quoted ranges from $750-$1000, and Lexus quoted $1300 for the labor. I am based in Dallas and happy to share the shop names with any of those interested, and in the area.

End Result
My control arms were pretty shot, the knocking noises when I braked was noticeable and the uneven wear on tires/improper alignment (even after a 4 wheel alignment) was pretty bad. Due to that, I felt a significant improvement after the repairs were done, not just a placebo effect. Steering was noticeably tighter, the knocking noise was gone and I feel more at ease knowing I don't have cracked bushings

Total cost for this repair, inclusive of all parts and labor from the sources above was $1,115. Also about 2 weeks worth of reading, trolling through CL forums (among others) for guidance and advice. For those mechanically inclined, the parts I mentioned above will only run $515 if you can supply your own labor; this for me was a great alternative to the $4-$5k bill I would have faced.

As some of you may be doing currently, I contemplated for a long time on purchasing a VSA/third party service contract to get this covered, but the warranty costs a lot more than $1,115 with not too many other problem areas that can go wrong on my LS460 (knock on wood). I felt this out-of-pocket repair would financially serve me better than spending $2k-$4k for a service contract, though I can only speak for my experiences alone.

Caveats
A member here on CL got fthe genuine Lexus control arms for just over $2k via Sewell, so you can source parts from a variety of sources. The aftermarket options I listed above happened to work out for me (the parts fit, the sellers didn't flake out, items arrived in good shape).
Your labor rates/local shops can differ greatly, I've read some users who were quoted $350 for labor, and some higher, please do call and check around.
You WILL very likely need to do a 4 wheel alignment after this repairs so please factor that into the cost of this project (Meineke in my area offered 4 wheel alignment for $50)

Hopefully this can help some of you who are
- Going through the exact same issue in an older and out-of-warranty LS460
- Have a 2007-2010 LS460 and anticipate this may be an issue coming up (I think the control arms were updated 2011 onwards)
- Trying to justify a VSA/Third party service contract to cover this repair for a recently-acquired LS460

Feel free to PM me with any questions any of you may have, and for those in Dallas/Fort Worth area, happy to share the shops that I called for the labor rates.

Thanks always to the CL community for giving me a lot of insights and guidance on my ownership of the LS460!

Originally Posted by totetuti

Please email me, totetuti@yahoo.com. Thank you much!

Originally Posted by Splaugher

Hello, though your post regarding replacing ls460 control arms is several years old I thought I would reach out to you anyway. I'm now on my 4th front end repair, $5,000+ into it and now being I need to replace the left control arms again for another $2200.

Can you please provide me tge contact info for the Lexus Certified Mechanic that did the work on the side for you? I live in the DDW metro area.

Thank you!

Steve

Originally Posted by Biyiklik

Hi, I never got a response back.Can anyone suggest a mechanic who can also check the electronics abd everything and does not cost a million?