I traded a 2008 RX350 for a 2013 RX350. What a mistake! The 2013 has the 19" wheels and was very bumpy at first. The car originally had Dunlop tires and at 2,000 miles, the dealership changed them to Michelins. It is a little better but still not the ride of the 2008. I have been back to the dealership and have been told that the rear suspension was changed on the 2013 as well as the manufacturer of the shocks. I asked to have the shocks changed, but was told that it could not be done. All in all, I wish that I had my old car back...

 

Herb,
Thanks for your honest appraisal of the 2013 ride quality. This is a huge issue for me. Between the "downgrade" in ride smoothness and the "throttle hesitation," the decision to continue with Lexus in replacing my '08 400h is becoming more difficult.

 

I have been told the same thing, the dealer rep mentioned the exhaust hesitation was also mentioned also, all I know is that I am still not happy with the ride. I have changed to the michelins and got a better ride. I agree that I believed by getting the luxury package I was getting the best of everything - not so. I may try switching to 18" wheels just to compare. If I can get the ride fixed (ben trying for two years) this will be a keeper.

 

Five pages on the poor ride of the third gen, not good. When the time comes to replace my second gen I'm not sure another RX is in my future. I got an '11 for a loaner and was shocked at the way it handles choppy roads. I hit them at speeds my '05 handles with aplomb and the '11 added insult to the injury of a poor ride with body creaks and rattles!

Has anyone looked into re-springing the RX? There are plenty of professional fabricators who actually "do the math" when replacing factory parts to make sure they work. Changing springs is not magic and not terribly expensive. Maybe this is a chance for Arnott or Strutmaster to do a replacement kit for unhappy 3gen RX owners.

I had a Lincoln Continental with air suspension that died and it was more to repair than the car was worth. I contacted Strutmaster and about 700 dollars later I had brand new springs installed and never looked back. They sold me the kit and sent me to a local garage for installation.

Just a thought, as you can see from my sig I have no problem gilding the lily and if some new springs allowed me to stay with my beloved RX, I would do it.

 

Lexus prided itself on providing more road feel with generation 3 starting in 2010. I had 4 generation 2's and still have my 2009. Someone needs to tell Lexus that more road feel does not equate to a bumpy, crappy ride. One of my service advisors told me back in the fall of 2009 shortly after getting the 2009 that the ride of the 10 was more "bouncy". As a frequent Lexus buyer, I was sent a suvery from Lexus asking me to compare my 3 Lexus and the target comparison company was ....BMW. My message was Lexus, stop trying to be BMW. I have had 4 BMW's in the last 10 years and if I wanted another crappy-riding, service-prone BMW, I'd buy one. Next thing they will be trying to install those rock-riding run flat tires as weight and space saving feature a la BMW--when that happens I will be looking for another car company. Now that they have the F-Sport RX maybe they can give the butter-smooth Lexus ride back to those of us that want it or give us a dial that has a choice between butter-smooth and road feel....Having said that, my new 2013 does ride smoother than the 2010 that I traded in (both Ultra Premiums and both with Michelins) but my 2009, which I still own, rides the smoothest and it now has 75,000 km-again with Michelin tires but they are the 17' variety and still original tires and still lots of tread left. I feel I am able to compare the ride with the 2 generations of vehicles since I still own both and those than long for the ride of generation 2 are not imaging it that the ride was smoother --it is smoother. Why is it not possible to have that ride in a gen 3?: The Lexus engineers know how to do it, of that I am certain. Just my 2 cents again!!

dentate
Oshawa, ON

 

I don't know if Lexus changed the front suspension for the third generation, but they completely changed the rear. Surely that change has to be part of this harsher ride issue. Add the 19" lower profile tires and it just exacerbates the problem.

 

I have a neighbor that just got a 2010 with 18" wheels and Michlein tires, I have 19" and he has agreed to swap wheels for a day to see if my ride changes. I willl let you know what happens....

 

Tropicsun, keep us posted. I will be lowering the cold tire pressure to 30-31 psi and see how it goes. Currently I have 31 psi and the ride feels much less bouncy, but still bumpy on rough surface. However it is definitely better than 34 psi when I first took the delivery from dealership.

 

Sorry I've got to disagree. I was pleasantly surprised at the handling of the RX and it was a perfect compromise. It's still very comfortable. I've recently put 18's with winter tires and I miss my 19s. It's a little too squishy with the 18s. I certainly hope Lexus keeps this type of suspension. Gets a thumbs up from me.

 

I agree with above post. My 2013 RX 350 With 19" Michleins is a great ride for an SUV. I can't tell the difference between the 2013 and the 2011 that I traded in that also.had 19". I gave up a 2008 LS460 for the 2011 RX 350 and expected the ride to not be as smooth. The salesman cautioned me to be aware and sure of the transition I was making. If a smooth ride is the primary reason for buying a vehicle, I'd recommend an LS 460.

 

I also agree with the above two posts. I traded in my 2007 ES350 for a CPO 2010 RX350 with 3,400 miles on it. So it's like brand new. It has the 19 inch wheels. Although it is a little bumpy on rougher roads, the ride is mostly smooth and very solid feeling. My ES was smoother. But it's a softer riding sedan. I think the RX350 is a great blend of sport and comfortable ride. I know this is subjective, but i don't find it a harsh ride at all. I love the way it drives.

 

It's very simple, want a better ride, get smaller rims. The smaller the rim the more tire between you and the road. My 2010 RX rides almost as good as my 2007. They both had 18" wheels and OEM tires. The only thing that really bothers me about the RX is the fact that it's a piece of junk in the snow!

 

I believe that Lexus redesigned the suspension when they went to the newer body style and destroyed the ride quality. Compared to my 2007 RX-350 my 2011 RX-350 with the 19” wheels rides like a prairie wagon. Any road imperfection gets transmitted directly to you.

My 2007 RX definitely dampens these imperfections much better and has a much more comfortable ride.

As others have suggested possibly changing tire brands may help. Reducing air pressure is some minor help, more miles does not help as I now have 16K with no change in ride.
You can partly blame all the automotive magazines that trash any car with a soft suspension and complain that they don’t keep up with the pack. Regardless Lexus does not seem to care what we think as there are a lot of unhappy customers with the same issue.
Just look at the positives, great looking car, and most reliable and impeccable service. And the 19” chrome wheels are definitely candy to look at. I just let my wife drive the 2011

 

Just curious .... how does your wife feel about the ride? And does she think other improvements over the 2nd Gen make it a worthwhile trade off, or does she agree with you?

My wife was the primary driver for our previous car (an Acadia). She likes the RX power a lot, and she has said she feels more comfortable driving it. I THINK that means it handles better. She didn't like the seats in our 2010 RX 350, but likes them in our new RX 450h. I've wondered if they are really different, but I feel it, too. Maybe we just want them to be better, so that's what we feel.

She has never complained about the ride in either RX, which feels a lot more firm and responsive, to me.

 

I drove a RX350 loaner when my ES was being serviced, and it was quieter and rode better on smooth roads than the ES. But on sharp bumps you could feel them a lot more, and on 'ripply' concrete the RX did a -lot- of bobbing up and down, which kind of surprised me. The wife is looking at the RX, so I definitely want her to do a long test drive before deciding.