Pre-owned RX rough ride and noisy
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: FL
Pre-owned RX rough ride and noisy
I' m looking at purchasing a pre-owned RX and have test drove several at local dealerships. The problem is that they all have a noisy ride and feel a bit rough even on the highway. The slightest bump in the road can be felt and heard loudly while driving. I test drove 4 RXs as of Saturday and noticed this issue on each one. Tire pressure and wear seem to be okay on all that I test drove.
I have a 2010 ES and don't expect the ride to be as smooth or quite but its significant enough to keep me from pulling the trigger. I also had a couple of RXs as loaners in the past and the ride was much quieter and smoother in the loaners.
Is there anything the dealership or some third-party can do to quite the ride (frame, body, under-body, new/different brand tires, etc)? The sales person is telling me to buy it and they'll figure out how to fix the issues afterwards.
I'm only interested in and have test drove the 2010 and 2011 models.
I have a 2010 ES and don't expect the ride to be as smooth or quite but its significant enough to keep me from pulling the trigger. I also had a couple of RXs as loaners in the past and the ride was much quieter and smoother in the loaners.
Is there anything the dealership or some third-party can do to quite the ride (frame, body, under-body, new/different brand tires, etc)? The sales person is telling me to buy it and they'll figure out how to fix the issues afterwards.
I'm only interested in and have test drove the 2010 and 2011 models.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 81
From: IN
'quiet'......
As for the salesperson saying to buy it first fix it later, needs his face planted on cow dump.
Here's a discussion on the ride quality of the RX's.
As for the salesperson saying to buy it first fix it later, needs his face planted on cow dump.
Here's a discussion on the ride quality of the RX's.
CL Community Team
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,562
Likes: 230
From: San Francisco, CA
perhaps its the road that you are test driving on. My advice is to either choose a different route and see if you still think its noisy and rough, or take a new RX350 tester and drive the route you are currently going on to see if its the same thing.
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 494
Likes: 5
From: MA
I' m looking at purchasing a pre-owned RX and have test drove several at local dealerships. The problem is that they all have a noisy ride and feel a bit rough even on the highway. The slightest bump in the road can be felt and heard loudly while driving. I test drove 4 RXs as of Saturday and noticed this issue on each one. Tire pressure and wear seem to be okay on all that I test drove.
I have a 2010 ES and don't expect the ride to be as smooth or quite but its significant enough to keep me from pulling the trigger. I also had a couple of RXs as loaners in the past and the ride was much quieter and smoother in the loaners.
Is there anything the dealership or some third-party can do to quite the ride (frame, body, under-body, new/different brand tires, etc)? The sales person is telling me to buy it and they'll figure out how to fix the issues afterwards.
I'm only interested in and have test drove the 2010 and 2011 models.
I have a 2010 ES and don't expect the ride to be as smooth or quite but its significant enough to keep me from pulling the trigger. I also had a couple of RXs as loaners in the past and the ride was much quieter and smoother in the loaners.
Is there anything the dealership or some third-party can do to quite the ride (frame, body, under-body, new/different brand tires, etc)? The sales person is telling me to buy it and they'll figure out how to fix the issues afterwards.
I'm only interested in and have test drove the 2010 and 2011 models.
Pole Position
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 354
Likes: 6
From: Florida
Same here with my 2010 RX. Coming from a 2007 RX, the 2010 definitely has a stiffer suspension, thus you can really feel it on uneven roads, and I do feel the 2010 is louder and can feel more vibration while sitting at a stoplight compared to the previous gen RX.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 854
Likes: 10
From: UT
FWIW, I think the ride quality on my parent's RX400h has deteriorated over time. It doesn't necessarily crash over heaves and bumps in the road, but it doesn't seem to soak them up as well as I remember. Could be me because it only has ~50K miles on it and the tires are relatively new (same make / model as OEM whatever that was).
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Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,724
Likes: 114
From: NJ
I wouldn't say that, it's not very accurate.
Maybe YOUR RX is like that, but not most RX's. What type of tires do you have?
I've ridden in a bunch of RX's, including the one I drive daily. They all ride just fine, none of them have a rough ride expect for one of them which had over 200k miles (RX330) and was in dire need of struts. My brothers RX450h, rides like a dream absorbs the bumps just fine...
Noisy??? Where did you get that from... Noise would come from the tires, not the suspension or the car itself.
Maybe YOUR RX is like that, but not most RX's. What type of tires do you have?
I've ridden in a bunch of RX's, including the one I drive daily. They all ride just fine, none of them have a rough ride expect for one of them which had over 200k miles (RX330) and was in dire need of struts. My brothers RX450h, rides like a dream absorbs the bumps just fine...
Noisy??? Where did you get that from... Noise would come from the tires, not the suspension or the car itself.
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 27
Likes: 2
From: CA
Beware that RXs come with 18" or 19" wheels. The 19" alloy wheels come with low profile tires (I think 50 series) which is good for looks and handling but provides a less isolated ride than the 18" wheels.
No, I don't play soccer!
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,652
Likes: 177
From: NJ
I found the opposite to be true. I like the ride on my 19"s better than the 18"s. I have the sport suspension but that should make the ride harsher. All I can say is drive both before buying and check what kind of tires are on there.
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