Hello everyone, this is my first post regarding my 07' 460 SWB RWD (non air suspension) which I picked up in May, 2018 in Boston. The car was a one owner with around 60k on the clock, this car looked like it left the factory when I first saw it, not exactly the case anymore as it's a family car and we really use our cars. The car now has about 105,000 miles. So far we have put a set of Yokohamas on the car after picking it up (came from dealer with new snow tires which we've yet to use), done a few oil changes, rotations and alignments. I have changed air filters and diff oil myself to save a few bucks. The trans began making some clunky shifts and it had never been serviced before and my Lexus dealer has always played hardball about transmission service because they're "sealed for life"... makes me laugh every time I hear it. So the car was brought to Toyota where they flushed it to Lexus spec using the machine and Techstream for under $400. Shifts blissfully now, but shortly thereafter, around June, 2019 the car kept needing realignment, was hard to keep in a straight line and made awful clunking noises, thus the front control arms were shot. Lexus quoted me (please sit down) over $5400, that's just for the front. Screw that. I had my mechanic swap in some Beck/Arnley arms (all 8) which I got on Rockauto for around $600 and installed all in for about $1200. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE. I'm also now coming to find out Rockauto has terrible customer service. My logic was that Beck/Arnley apparently made some parts for these cars oem and I know they're a reputable brand so I figured why not. Fast forward to September (only 3 months after installing new arms) and the car is riding like crap and clunking over the smallest bumps (I hoped it was just the pads flopping around in the calipers) so I took it to Lexus for diagnoses and now I've got Lexus barking at me to pay for oem replacement of all 8 front arms, AGAIN. Still no mention of the rear arms interestingly, guess they're fine. Oh, and I need another set of tires. Although I could have the arms swapped by Rockauto for free under warranty, I do not want another set of these on my car as it will probably happen again. So here is my predicament which I need help with; Given the work that's already been put into the car, do I dump the car and take a bath OR get the NISTO bushings on Amazon and have those pressed in for much less and just swallow another set of tires? I also just yesterday ordered plugs for the car but now I'm getting cold feet and don't wanna waste any more money on this car. I love the car and hoped to keep it until 200k miles, but it's also doing that typical hesitation the 460s are known for and I cannot fix (tried different gas, cleaned throttle body, reset ECU) and it will occasionally choose not to start (have to push start button 2-4 times) and it has a newer battery. I adore the car and the brand, but this really has me getting ready to jump ship. Please help! Any response is super appreciated!

 

I am preparing to do the control arms on my 2007 LWB at 111k. Do you have the old Lexus parts? If so, order the Febest bushings and have those pressed in and put on. There are tutorials of sorts on the process and it doesn't seem too daunting. Febest seems to be the preferred replacement.

The starting issue is likely a starter. Mine went a month or two ago. Carid has a Denso replacement(same as 2009-2012) for $130-ish plus core and make sure to get the exhaust manifold gasket($50) and donut ring($14)-online dealer parts. The refurb that I received was brand spanking new. There is a do it yourself thread with the details. I used a AAA shop and paid the CA labor rate ~350 for the installation as I did not have a place to work on it. It should take 2-4 hours start to finish, but removal of exhaust manifold is necessary.

Regarding the hesitation, I went ahead and replaced my Lexus Battery - 30 months old with a new Costco - Interstate replacement. The hesitation seems to be gone. I have replaced the plugs and run a few tanks of Techron through the system, but the battery replacement seems to have eliminated it.

~miser

 

you are in a situation I was very fearful of when my control arms went bad

if you dig deeper into the aftermarket control arms available for our cars , you can see they all have very mixed reviews

Moog, beck arnley, movotech etc... are sometimes just rebranding the generic no name parts from china, in most cases the name brands are not much better then the no names.

I went with PS bushings and so far no issues

 

Can you see new cracks in our bushings of your control arms? I doubt it would be bad within a few months. Did you change your sway bar end links? Those are notorious for making noises if bad. It would be time to replace them if they are the original ones. Also Were the upper control arms torqued down properly? If they are not tight, then there will be some play when going over bumps. They need to be ultra tight. Also for the lower control arms, did your mechanic preload the suspension ie. Tighten them with the wheels on the ground? Were your shocks replaced recently? If not then it is time.

You are complaining about a 12 year old car finally needing repairs. The LS460 is a flagship luxury car, parts and labor will be higher compared to non lux vehicles. If you jump ship, what are you expecting to get for it and what will be it's replacement? If you keep it, you are rolling the dice on the brake actuator not failing on you which is pretty much a $3500 dealer only repair

I considered all those factors and decided to jumped ship and sold my near perfect 2008 LS460 for what I thought was a very good private sale price at 100K miles. I am finding out now that what ever I buy for that I sold it for would be a far inferior replacement and not as fun. I'll need to come up with at least $5000 more to get something that I would enjoy... and that would lead me to possibly buying another LS460

 

I have an 07 SWB just like yours, when I got it two years ago it had 105,000 miles all on original suspension.
A month ago with then 120,000 miles my independent mechanic told me he could not do an allignment because
I needed everything replaced, all 8 control arms, a four shocks, tie rods, etc everything. I knew this day was coming.
Anyway I picked up my car last week and it drives like new, just wonderful. The total bill was $3000 parts and labor.
After much research (he too owns a LS, an 09) he got all the parts from NAPA, control arms are KYB, I believe shocks
are MOOG but would have to check the invoice. He said he liked that NAPA warranty on all the parts and had spent
considerable time talking with their people about manufacturer brand components to order.
--I know what you are going through, there really is not a consensus opinion on this forum on what brands to replace
original parts with. And no way was I going to bring my car to a Lexus dealer and pay some $6000, or more.
By the way, my mechanic did and drain and fill of the transmission fluid (3 and 1/2 quarts) for $110, not a big job at all.
I also had him do the differential drain and fill for $85
Good luck, I don't know what to say to help you other than your need to talk to various really good indy mechanics in your area
to decide who can get your car done correctly with good parts and also do the rear arms and shocks now because you are
going to have to deal with them fairly soon anyway.

 

I just ordered the cheap upper arms this past weekend. I will be installing them this weekend. I wanted to be sure the ball joints are good. If the bushings start going I will buy the poly bushings to swap into them. I replaced all of the lower bushings on my 93 GS300 with Super Pro poly and never had issues. That car currently has 440k miles.


An easy way to test the upper arms. Jack the car up. Reach in over the tire and grab each one and try to twist it. It should not move very much at all. If it does, you will notice on the bushing end it is tweaking hard. I will try to take video before and after I change the upper arms this weekend to show the difference between good and bad bushings.

I cant believe how ****ty this ls460 is in terms of quality compared to my 93 GS. The dash in my 93 is the original dash, never been replaced, car never had tint until this year. Dash is PERFECT!!!!. The dash in my LS460L has already been replaced, along with the door panels. But the glove box door (Which wont even open all of the way), Lower drivers dash, lower center console, and lower B pillars are all coming apart, and Lexus says they wont replace the items.

 

If Rock Auto didn’t preload the arms, they could fail that quickly. Looking at many posts on this here on the forum, the arms should not be torqued down until the car is lowered on the lift otherwise the bushings over rotate. It may be the install not the parts that caused this failure. I’d bring it back to Rock for sure. And find a good DIY step by step. Bring it to them and point it out. The tech at Rock likely isn’t used to fixing Lexus cars.

 

I have an 08 LS460 97k miles - dealership just came back with 4600.00 to replace all upper and lower arms/bushing (guys, don't know much about this stuff) - can i get this done cheaper with an independent guy and, based on previous quotes, it appears that this is a common/legit thing to go wrong?

Additionally, I just got my dash, interior door panels replaced as well - glad Lexus came through with that at no costs - again, based on previous posts, am i to expect that these new parts are not going to hold up?

 

I owned an 09 LS which I bought with 67k miles, planned to keep it for many years and referenced the reliability of the 430’s and was super excited to own the car.
I too replaced all front control arms with beck arnely as I understood that to be the brand that supplied factory control arms. I paid an Indy shop to install them at 78k miles. When I took the car home I loosened all bolts and retorqued to ensure they had been torqued while loaded. The things were absolute garbage! They lasted around 12k miles and I began having similar clunking when turning. (I kept the old factory control arms just in case and looked into pressing new bushings but in the end just decided it wasn’t worth it, they still sit in a box in my garage:-/ )
At around 95k my brake actuator failed, my car did not qualify for the warranty “enhancement” as Lexus called it as it was one month passed the 10yr mark old. I paid $2600 to have it installed and went about my life.
Continue to 112k miles and I’m told all motor mounts are cracking (I could feel a slight vibration because of this), and sometimes the starter seemed to be working overtime to start the car(battery was fine). I looked into repair of those items and shortly after my brake actuator started making some squawk noises I ultimately decided to dump the car and take a bath! I did get all interior panels replaced under the ZLZ notification which I’m appreciative for however that took well over a year to sort out. I was very very disappointed and honestly wished I had purchased a cheaper, older ls430 as the repairs seem moderate and the overall build quality seems much better in my opinion.
In the end I decided to get a GX470, I found an 09 with 118k miles and great service records and made the jump, I could not be happier and while I do miss the feel and ride of the ls it’s good riddance to that ridiculously unrefined Lexus! I feel very strongly that Lexus pushed the 4th gen Ls’s out without as strict of standards and this led to the many problems these cars have. It was and still would be a great car as the motor and transmission were strong however at the cost it is to repair anything even as diy (I did put a radiator in it myself) it is just not worth it.
To clarify I do know a lot about the GX as my wife drives an 06 that we have had for 4 years, I have worked on the truck several times before, I have an extra air compressor for the air suspension as well as two CV axels just in case, while the gas mileage isn’t stellar I feel it’s a small price to pay for the great reliability of these trucks. The interior, feel speaks to the build quality of these trucks. It’s really surprising to me to look at the GX and LS side by side and think about all the small things that make a huge difference in these cars comparison in regard to overall build quality.
Best of luck to you in your decision, when i last checked the values on LS’s have been plummeting so if you do decide to dump it be ready for a nice bath, I got out with around 3k difference which I was happy with as I could have easily put that into the car and not gotten rid of it.

 

This this and this, many smaller shops do not load the suspension properly and it kills the bushings in short order. On my personal car (430 but concept still applies) I went the route of OEM Lexus bushings that I manually pressed in the original arms since I was unable to find arms or aftermarket bushings that left me confident.

 

I changed my upper arms Saturday. Bushings were shot. Since I had disconnected the air shocks, there was no air in them. I put a jack under the lower control arm and jacked it up to the correct height before tightening the 14mm nut holding the arms to the brackets. One of my rattles is now gone. Idk what the other rattle I am hearing is, but it sounds almost like a washer bouncing around on a bolt that isnt tight somewhere, but a few of them. I am going to order the end links next as it happens even when pressing the brakes over larger bumps. I am almost wondering if I should pull the plastic panel hiding the air line on the firewall side of the wheel well and see if something in there is rattling. My brake actuator was replaced by Lexus well before I got the car. I grabbed all of the stuff on the drivers side under the hood and nothing is loose. The noise is primarily on the drivers side, but that could be because that is where I am siting. I am a Toyota guy through and through, but this will likely be my LAST Lexus if their quality does not improve significantly. My 93 GS300 has never had any rattles, and the dash is still perfect and has never been replaced etc.. Even in the FL sun it has lasted as I do not park it in the garage.

 

I personally don't think there are any solid options for aftermarket control arms

They all have mixed reviews , all of them have customers who say they failed again in a short time

I think going with poly bushings are the only safe choice

The only Lexus id be interested in is the 13+ RWD LWB , im close to taking my chances on a jag XJL

 

Polys really alter the ride.......and can be very noisy when you first start moving and cold makes it worse.

 

if you build it they will come

 

Brake actuator is what powers your brakes, the 460 has inferior coatings on the panels like German cars do that separate and take on a glue like feel.