globnot

I have heard conflicting reports as to when the control arms/bushings on LS460s were updated. Some say it was 2010. Others say it was 2011. Can anyone confirm when this was done and what improvements were made?

jrmckinley

I did a lot of reading about this when I was kicking tires on upgrading from a 430 to 460. the general consensus was late model '10 was as early as you wanted to go. inside the driver door you will find the sticker that shows production month. i **THINK** model production years start in september (someone correct me if i'm wrong). so you would want to avoid a september 2009 build (as that would be the first 2010) - and you'd be looking for something like a may-august 2010 build which would be the latest 2010's produced. a september '10 would be a model year 2011. i was actually looking for the latest 2011 i could possibly find because that meant it was essentially a 2012 and i could still find them CPO'd but save a couple grand due to it being a model year older. i found a few july and august 2011's CPO'd with around 40k miles for $35k-$37k (5 stars, levinson). i ended up keeping my 430 but that's a totally different topic.

good luck.

globnot

Great information. So is it worth the extra money to get a late-model 2010 vs. a 2008 or 2009 just to avoid a possible issue with the control arms? It seems that buying a Lexus extended warranty on the 2008-2009 and getting the control arms/bushings replaced for "free" when the problem arises might be a smarter way to go.

jrmckinley

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do and my preference was to go late '10 or somewhere in '11 if possible (as detailed in prior post). i didn't spend a ton of time looking into warranty options on a 2008 or 2009 but wouldn't be surprised if control arms and bushings are not covered as they are something that fails due to "wear and tear". don't quote me on that- but i had other big motives for considering the '10-'12 family. first, i like the tail lights better compared to the '07-'09. second, i only wanted the 19" 5 star rims (not available on '07-'09 so i would have had to retro fit the '07-'09 with those wheels and tires). third, you couldn't get streaming bluetooth in the '07-'09 and i really wanted that instead of doing it aftermarket like i have in my '04 (which works but isn't quite perfect). knowing i wouldn't have to worry about the control arms (as much) in a newer model was a big sense of relief. when i couldn't find '10's and '11's that interested me (i only wanted silver or grey), i started looking at '08's and '09's - found plenty of those in the right color combo with about 60k or 70k miles for $22k or so. but by the time i added the wheels, tires, and factored in the eventual control arm cost, it started feeling like i was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. i then exclusively focused on the '10 and beyond- and the more i read on the forum, the more i felt that was the right decision for me.

you will have to weigh the info above plus factor in the cost of a warranty to see what the ultimate pricing delta between the two model families will be. i know plenty of folks on here who prefer the exterior styling of the '07-'09 vs the '10-'12, so it all comes down to what you want.

the good thing for you is if you are looking at '08 or '09 you aren't going to get a CPO vehicle, so you can save some cash by looking at non-CPO '10's and '11's (at this point, a '10 CPO may be out of the question anyway). i would think you can find a later production '10 for around $30k. I missed out on a 2011 LWB - fully loaded, CPO, 39k miles for $33k at a Lexus dealer in FL. The LWB's go for about $1,500-$2k more than SWB and the CPO is worth about $1,500 to $2k as well. It was a crazy deal- car had been sitting on the lot 58 days and they were about to auction it off and someone beat me to it. So there are deals out there...you just have to be patient or flexible with color/option choices.

Tantrix

if it doesn't have the front end refresh of the +2013, you shouldn't pay a premium for it.

its not that expensive or difficult for a shop to change the control arm bushings.

globnot

You are right about being flexible and patient. I found out that control arms and bushings are covered under the extended warranty. I was quoted at my Toyota dealership that the Lexus Platinum VSA would be $3000 for a 4 year/48,000. I agree with you that it does sound like that more people on the forum prefer the exterior styling of the '08/'09 vs. the '10-'12. Honestly, I think they both look fine. Streaming bluetooth is something I would like, but is not an absolute must. I'm definitely not looking at CPO in order to keep the price down. I have owned 4 Lexus vehicles and never purchased one with a CPO. None of them had problems. I even purchased 2 of them on eBay without even seeing them first.

During your research, did you notice any difference in ride quality in the 2010 vs. the 2008 or 2009? I know there are issues with wind noise on the 2007-2009, but it can be fixed.

Tantrix

its not the arms itself that goes bad, its the cheap rubber bushings, the metal arms themselves should last 100 years. . the reccomended fix by lexus is utterly inappropriate.

jrmckinley

If the bushings are covered and you can add that warranty to an '08 or '09...and if you don't care (like i did) about streaming bluetooth and the wheels.... it would seem to make sense to go that route and save yourself some money. I never drove the '07-'09 but have read some things on here about wind noise in those models. I think the key was to look for cars that had some sort of double-pane glass which i think was an option in one of the better-equipped models. Again, pretty sure this was corrected and/or standard on the '10's and beyond. I drove a handful of '10's and '11's - i didn't notice any difference in road or wind noise, but I did feel like the engine noise was slightly louder than my 2004 LS430. I seem to remember reading on here that it was due to the switch to a timing chain in the newer models whereas mine uses a timing belt.

enoch861

The ride between all LS's with springs is pretty much the same. I test drove a 16 SWB LS without air during my last maintenance and it rode relatively the same as my '07, I was actually quite shocked . It might have been slightly quieter but that could be attributed to things like new tires and just plain old placebo effect. When shopping for a SWB LS, make sure it has laminated/dual pane glass in the front; LWB models had both front and rear dual pane glass as standard.
Like jrmckinley mentioned, the engine is slightly "louder" (not something you'll notice in the car anyway) and this is due to direct injection, not the chains. All engines with direct injection sound slightly louder than their port injected counter parts and also have a ticking sound that might catch you off guard but is completely normal.

aeggroup

Read this : https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-2010-a-2.html
It has Cutoff VIN# for control arms.

1Putt

The laminated/dual pane glass on the SWB started in cars manufactured in 2008

globnot

Was the laminated/dual pane glass on the SWB standard in 460s after 2008 or did it come as an option? Also, with regards to the control arms, I heard that the VIN cutoff is JTHBL5EF#A#098437. Does that mean that every VIN before that letter/number combination had the control arm issue?

roadfrog

Keep in mind that the laminated glass wasn't upgraded on the 2008 model per se, but rather, was upgraded in sometime in the 2008 production run. For example, my 2008 does not have the upgraded glass, because it was built earlier than when they began using the upgraded glass that year. I think my car missed it by a couple of months.

As for the control arms, this is so over-hyped.(in my opinion). My 08 now has 110k miles and is nearly nine years old. It has not had any control arm issues, but if it did, I know that I can replace ALL the arms for 500-1k dollars. Hardly worth worrying about.

superdenso

I have an 07' with 61k. During a (botched) recall procedure the dealer quoted $6080 for control arms. During the correction of the botched-recall dealer #2 quoted only upper control arms $3k. Without further investigation I disassembled the suspension and found one control arm that looked slightly more stressed than the others. Waste of time and effort

R Z

In addition to the control arm fix, you gain quite a lot going with a 2010-2012. Some of which are Bluetooth audio, usb hub, turn signals on side mirrors . . . . Can't think of others on the top of my head.