Hey Lexians,

I'm running close to 95,000 now and the ride quality is starting to feel a little more bumpy and harsh. Any recommendations on what to change out to get a better ride quality again? I'm thinking about swapping out the Front struts and possibly the Sway-bars, what do you guys think? Anybody else running high mileage and experienced the same issues?

I'm running a 2010 Rx350 AWD

 

Only the sway bar end links may wear out, but they will make noise if that happens and that has not been an issue with the RX. The front bar is impossible to replace anyway without removing the engine.
Just get new front struts and rear shocks. Some have found that the KYB aftermarket ones give a softer ride.

The rear shocks are inexpensive and easy to replace, do some searching. They are also prone to leaking and early failure. Look under the rear of the vehicle and if you know what a shock is (black tube just inside wheel) if the lower part of it is darker than the rest or wet looking, then they are leaking and the likely source of your deteriorating ride. You front struts may be fine. Again search, as someone recently posted photos of leaking rear shocks.

It is the front struts that will cost 3 times as much to replace, plus you need an alignment after replacing struts.

 

This is something I've been wondering about as well. What about lower control arms, tie-rods, end links, CV joints, etc.? What is the typical replacement experience on these items?

 

From a 'bumpy' ride perspective, one thing to consider is your wheels/tires and getting a good balance on them. It's one of the things I've noticed that always 'sneaks up' because ride quality gradually degrades - it's not like all of a sudden something breaks.

 

there a myriad number of bushing (rubber) in your suspension components. They all wear out. Unfortunately, Lexus doesn't sell just the bushings and you have to replace many different parts which is cost prohibitive.....

Your first line of defense is to replace the shocks every 60K miles if you are planning to keep the car beyond 120K miles.....