Light high frequency vibration 45 to 65 mph
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 8
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From: Washington
Light high frequency vibration 45 to 65 mph
2012 LS 460 AWD with 29000 miles on it. Only going down hill with foot off the gas. This is a CPO car,. I have had it back into the dealer and they have improved it some but it is still there. If while it is vibrating i shift it into neutral and wait a second or two for the rpm to reduce the vibration goes away while still above 55. The only thing i can think of is possibly the torque converter. It never does it while on the flat or going up hill. Only on deceleration or while holding speed on compression. Any ideas?
Rookie
Joined: May 2016
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From: NY
Did you ever get this fixed? I recently bought a 2014 LS 460 certified pre-owned and experienced the vibration issue at highway speeds but especially when coasting. The dealer replaced both front axles and drive shaft assembly. I still feel like the vibration is there at times.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2017
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From: Washington
No. i pressed the issue and they got corp. Tech support involved. They instucted the techs to capture data via the OB2 port while it was happening. They did and sent it to Lexus support. they said everything looked normal. They also asked them to drive another 2012 ls 460 awd and capture the data on it. they did and it came back as normal. the techs said that the test LS demonstrated the same issue. that brings me to the fact that Lexus knows about it and they don't have a fix for it. pretty disappointing in my opinon. if you or anyone else finds a solution please let me know
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Joined: May 2016
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From: NY
Wow - I'm sorry to hear this but thank you for the update. Your experience sounds like how my work order says "Vehicle is operating as designed"....kind of sounds like it doesn't mean it is working properly, it just is what it is. They changed my front axles and another poster in a different thread about this vibration issue recommended: check rear driveline angle and use the selective differential front mount shims to correct it.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 618
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From: IL
The issue is this: The rear diff forward mounting cushions sag over time, as does the rear transmission mount. This puts the trans output shaft and diff pinion shaft out of parallel. When you coast, the diff reacts by nosing down, worsening the condition. The vibration has a "beat frequency" overlaid wherein it surges like "RRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrrrRRRRR" as it is vibrating - this is a dead giveaway that the issue is caused by the out-of-parallel condition. Lexus even sells selective thickness washers for the diff cushions to adjust pinion angle. I put a picture in a post a couple years ago with part numbers, will link it.
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Joined: Sep 2014
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From: IL
Rookie
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 29
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From: NY
I've seen your posts on some of the other threads - amazing and happy to have you as an advocate and providing advice. The question is, if I go back to the dealer and "kindly" give them a sheet with this guidance, will they appreciate it and just look into it, or will this become some long drawn out issue? Ugh.
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Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2017
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From: Washington
Thankyou!Tec80! and thank you gor the technical explanation, it makes prefect sense. i will go back to the dealer and see if i can convence him to work on it one more time.
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Advanced
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 618
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From: IL
Driving the AWD on a long trip recently made me realize that the problem is slowly returning 40,000 miles after the initial fix was done. I also have a RWD Sport that I can detect a very slight vibration on under similar coasting conditions, but to a greatly reduced degree. I think this might be because the heavy transfer case on the tail of the AWD transmission puts more load on the rear trans mount vs. RWD, making it sag to the point of driveline misalignment sooner. This is really a very basic problem with a simple solution, so I too am surprised that there is no official TSB yet - since every AWD will eventually exhibit this vibration.
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2017
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From: Washington
Thank you for the update. it sounds like this is going to be a periodic maintenance issue. In your previous post you said you would link a prior post that had a picture with part numbers. directly after your post there is a link but it takes you to a video about drive line alingment. Would it be possible to include the part numbers in this post?
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 618
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From: IL
I did some digging at lunch:
Here is the LS460 rear differential mount exploded view, there is a selective washer 41653A marked in green that is available in 3 different thicknesses, 1.0, 1.6, and 2.0mm. This washer goes between the top part of the differential mount cushions and the frame. Thinner 41653A washers move the pinion nose up, which is what we need to eliminate the vibration:
Part numbers for 41653A:
1.0mm washer: 9020115020
1.6mm washer: 9020115028
2.0mm washer: 9020115021
Racer
Joined: May 2004
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From: FL
I still have not figured out how if a problem is mechanical in nature, data from OBDII is supposed to catch it... 
Put differently, the notion that if the data looks good, everything is ok, is a bit absurd, especially in the context of a vibration.
Put differently, the notion that if the data looks good, everything is ok, is a bit absurd, especially in the context of a vibration.