Elmer

Recently purchased a used 2010 Lexus LS460. Here in Australia, all LS460's were delivered completely optioned, there were no options here. So we got the rear luxury package with massagers/recliners, ventailed/heated seats all round, ML audio, air suspension, radar cruise control as standard. It's always been a vehicle that I've been drawn to, even since it was released back in 2007! Admittedly, it's my first Lexus after being captured in realm of European luxury cars - BMW, Mercedes. Lexus' are very common here, especially entry ones like the IS250.

Got this vehicle for a real good deal, it has approx 146,000 km (90 miles). First thing that had to be repaired were the front air struts, previous owner appeared to have already taken care of the bushings. Yep, a very costly repair and it was factored in the purchase price. Then the tyres and then a routine service which included flushing the engine oil, coolant and few other bits.

After the repairs and being excited to finally drive a vehicle where I had high expectations, I was disappointed. I could still feel the road, pot holes disturbed the cabin, wind noise as existent and certainty no different to my previous car, a 2012 MB C63 AMG sedan which is notoriously re-known for harsh riding suspension. Pretty absurd to even think a performance oriented vehicle on par with a luxury flagship sedan, this is my observations. I lowered the PSI of the tires to 33psi and still it feel firm. Then the dreaded wind noise that enters the cabin. Never had this with the C63, yes it did emit a nice growl on initial acceleration, at highway speeds, the cabin was composed and engine was muted. I can't say the same thing about the Lexus. The steering is loose and body roll on par with a large yacht or boat, albiet, I expect this from any large-flag ship sedan.

The navigation system - straight off a Toyota Camry with little modifications. It's amusing considering this vehicle had a exceeding price tag of $200k down here. No wonder there were people complaining that they were being ripped off at the time!

Then the next thing - the distance control or "radar cruise". I don't think it's as refined as the MB W204 Distronic Plus. It was scary to use! For example, I set the desired limit and then you would expect after intervening by braking that the cruise function would disengage, NOPE. You either have to jam your foot on the brake or press the cruise control button to disengage.

I went to the nearest dealership about the wind-noise after looking the advice here, they had a look and couldn't find anything. They claim the service bulletins for the US market does not apply to Australia. All in all, a pleasnt experience, they charged me $100 just for this and they did NOTHING other than test drive the vehicle, apply masking tape around the door molds to see where the noise was coming from. The wind noise can be heard at a slow speed of 40 km/h which is pretty bad, we had an old E90 330i BMW which was far superior to wind noise isolation than the LS.

All in all, not to be a troll poster... I found the LS very underwhelming and no different to a previous Toyota Camry sedan we had which was optioned.

Will have to consider other options after this. Just thought I would put it out there after all the media hype and how Lexus rivals the W221 in terms of refinement and the cabin is as quiet as a library. Certainly not the experience I had with it.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I have two 460Ls and the air ride is actually a very good quality ride if its working well

have your struts checked, mine has very little body roll especially in sport setting, but is still very smooth and luxurious

The wind noise can be trakced down yourself using the tape method, find out where its coming from and take it from there

if you want a more sporty ride you can change to coilovers , but I don't think that's what your looking for

Yes ive never used the navigation once, not sure why anyone would when smart phones have such a far superior system

jdanielca

Cars in Singapore cost more doesn’t make the Lexus LS more special there., and if the car is out of warranty pls don’t bring it to a dealer there are lots of Lexus there find a good independent mechanic. With a car this age, there could be lots wrong. Actuators etc. Tires....each one rides different

I live in a country with horrible roads and I love it so you must be driving a bad example or one that isn’t working as it should.

also tsbs and what not don’t apply to cars out of warranty, so what were you expecting the dealer to do for you?

But to each his own you are free to dislike it doesn’t take away from my experience. 😉 some ppl feel the need to justify or negate other ppls bad experience....but then some ppl know nothing about cars.... so who is to say.. why they experience what they do

SW17LS

From what you describe it’s an old car that clearly has issues with wind noise/seals and suspension. Navigation is 10 years old, and yes Lexus system is similar to Toyota’s because they’re manufactured by the same company.

I might wonder why you got such a “real good deal”

I would look at mckellyb’s posts about air suspension actuator faults, your car could very well be riding in all high dampening all the time. I’ve driven everything comparable, and the LS460 on air suspension rides as well as any similar car, including a new S Class which I put 100 miles on in one day last week.

Now, understand when you run over a pothole you will feel that. It will be damped and muted, but no car completely erases large road imperfections like that.

If it rides like a C63 though it’s got problems.

If the cruise doesn’t disengage when touching the brakes, it’s got problems.

Overlander

If you don’t have them already, switch to 18 inch wheels. The ride will be much better and softer if you are looking for that flagship, soft ride. I don’t have air suspension, but have 18 inch wheels and rides like a dream. Makes my Camry seem like a lumber wagon...harsh ride.

Sorry you're not as happy as you had hoped. I would start trying to correct one issue at a time and don’t give up on the LS.

SW17LS

Mine has air suspension and 19 inch wheels and rides incredibly. My 2015 had coil suspension and 18s and didn’t ride as well. I don’t think his issue is the wheels, I think something is wrong with the suspension in his car.

Elmer

I drove a 2012 LS460 with only 40,000 km and it rides the same. As previously mentioned, the suspension was inspected by the dealership and they replaced most components in the front that needed attention.

Still, i stand by the fact that the LS460 may be a slight tad overrated. It rides no different than a large Toyota sedan...well because it is?

For such a big price difference over the regular Toyota sedans, I expected somewhat a wow factor, which was lacking.

What i meant by it rode like my previous C63 was that, for the trade off in handling I would get a pillow soft suspension absorbing bumps and imperfection to a greater degree, which I did not experience.

I test drove a W205 C300 the other day - and it ticks all the boxes. It rides better than the LS and has that refinement which is difficult to describe when compared to the LS.

I've also driven and owned many cars. I'm still not convinced Lexus is up to the level of engineering/refinement/innovation compared to the Germans.

The cruise control implementation is annoying and dangerous. Why does the vehicle continue to accelerate when i've braked? Cruise control also disengages the moment any form of traction control systems intervene. Never experienced this even with a base model C class from 15 years ago.

jdanielca

i don’t remember the cruise control working like that...once you brake its supposed to go into standby mode check the manual on cruise see if what you deserved is supposed to happen I personally find that hard to believe that it’s suppose to work that way... might be a problem with the car.

SW17LS

I just totally disagree with you about the ride. This is one of the best riding cars you can buy. I drive a lot of cars too in comparison. Like I said before, I just put 100 miles in a day on my friends S550 and while it does ride slightly better than my LS, it’s not a huge improvement and if you hit a pothole, you feel it. I’ve also driven several C300s and they don’t ride anything like the LS especially on air suspicion.

Unless there is so,e difference in suspension tuning in Australia I’m not aware of I maintain that something is wrong with your car.

What make and model tires are on it?

My car has radar cruise and doesn’t behave that way. Although, I would expect that of course cruise would disengage if traction control were to kick in.

SW17LS

As an example, here are the test ratings from Consumer Reports for your 2010 LS460:



Excerpt from the written review pertaining to ride and noise:

ALK

You must have a problem In the air struts. My brother owns a 2013 C63 . The ride quality is world's apart. The c63 has one of the harshest suspension I ever rode in . While my 07 LS with air struts is a dream to drive. Maybe the damping problem?

mikesrx350

something doesn't pass the smell test,

my family has 2 c class sedans and both of them ride worst than my wife 5 series f10 let alone my ls

like all posts, this reminds me of window tint. 8 out of 10 responses on window tint say get dark tint, factoring in no real world facts

Like is the car riding on 18 or 19 inch rims or aftermarket
what speed rating tires v, w, y

alignment done recently?

both upper and lower control arms done?

air suspension work, who did it, were the oem new air shocks?

there are many many variables, many different buyers so govern yourself accordingly listening to people post that you don't know who your listening to.

is the 4th gen perfect NO
is the 4th gen perfect riding NO
is the 4th gen a perfect car NO

is the 4th gen a steal at 20k avg price Yes
does 4th gen ride great Yes
doest the 4th gen ride better than a new s class or bmw 7 series no
does it ride better than any c class for any year, Yes, Yes and another Yes. no short wheel base rwd will ride better than a taken care of LS460 with oem parts and work done by a proper mechanic
does the 4th gen represent terrific value in the market Yes
fit the buyer with the car and what it represents. its not a corner eater like the GS350 or gsf

and if safety is an issue on the road to protect self and loved ones, its also a steal
with all the suv and trucks on road i want to better chances to be safe

cheers

SW17LS

Have you driven new S Classes or 7 Series or A8? The 4th gens LS rides remarkably similarly to those cars. I think they all ride very well, but only the S Class is really "better" than the LS460, and only by a hair. At least when compared to my LWB LS460L with air suspension.

mikesrx350

yes multiple times
the structural ridgity of the german cars far surpasses our Ls' even the later built ones

my wifes 5 series although the suspension is half gone with 100,000 miles is much more sound with ridigty

smoothness, ride quality there up there but when you add in the underpinnings especially against the older Ls460;s from 07-12 there is a difference

to explain further its just not the ride smoothness its how it handles the left to right movements of un even pavement and roads,
the german cars handle that better than our cars.

abs

I have been searching for an LS460L and had a similar experience to you with the air ride suspension. There are a few posts on the board discussing issues where the actuators that sit on top of the struts can move out of position or when one or more of them are disconnected, they default to the highest/firmest setting of "17" for safety reasons. If your LS is riding hard on air in Comfort mode, you must have something going on with the actuators. I have researched this and on Comfort setting the car should ride very smooth, bordering on a floaty feeling. If you are not getting that, something is wrong. I had that same car inspected by Lexus, they claimed it was working normally, but I am 100% sure it was not because of the firm/harsh ride and no change between Comfort/Sport.

I do not have direct experience with Radar Cruise but what you have described is obviously something wrong with the system. That is something you probably need Lexus to look into.

Regarding the wind noise, it is well documented that the triangular trim piece in front of the windows on the front doors do not seal properly from the factory. If you remove the trim and properly seal them, your wind noise should diminish greatly. Search for the threads about this on the board. Not optimal for a luxury sedan, but at least there is a known documented fix available.

Once you get all this sorted, I think you will be happier, best of luck.