JCtx

Just curious if anybody else hears a clanking noise coming from the left front of the car when I step in. Since it's tight in that side of the garage, I slip my right foot, then support my weight with my left hand on the door sill, then roll over the seat. When I support my weight on the sill is when I hear the 'clank'. It didn't do it before. And no, I'm not 'heavy'; only 155 lbs.
The clank is absent during normal riding, but I can hear the same metal noise when crossing ugly railroad tracks (at a very slow speed, I might add). I tried rocking the car up and down with my hands from the front fender, but couldn't duplicate the sound. Also, once it 'does' it when I step in, it doesn't do it anymore if I try to duplicate it again. When I get home, it doesn't do it either. Strange. Seems like something might need lubrication in the suspension. Car only has 1,520 miles, and is only 10 months old ('04). Noise wasn't there when I changed the oil a few months ago; wish it had shown up earlier so I could take a look under when I had the car raised and the tray off.
Your suggestions are welcome. Please dont suggest take it to the dealer because I don't do that without knowing what's wrong; those guys are unbelievable (I made that mistake once with my then new sc400, and NEVER again).
Thanks for your help, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
JC

Joe Peters

JC,

I have the same symptoms you described. Last oil change
told the dealer and they could not duplicate the sound.
My SC is a 02' with 41k miles. Had it about 14 months.and
it has always done this. Maybee some one else has a fix .

Tjz

Ha!!

Great timiing. I just had my car in for an oil change and complained about the same symptoms. Sounds like metal on metal whenever I hit a bump, pothole, etc. THey said they checked the suspension with no problems found. I specifically asked them to check the bushings, and they said they are fine.

Whatever...on to more important things........

Sorry I could not help.

TjZ

JCtx

Hey guys, thanks for your replies. At least there's the 3 of us.
I hate those weird problems, and as I said above, I don't even bother taking the car to the dealer because it can't be duplicated.
So far we know the sound is not related to 'normal' suspension travel. I also know it's not present on expansion joints, which also abruptly cause the suspension to compress, but not that much. I noticed it on deep railroad tracks near my house, but they're at 40º or so, so it could also be CHASSIS FLEXING? When we step into the car, we're putting weight only on one side of the car. Hmmmm.
I'm puzzled by the fact it does it every time I jump into the car, but doesn't do it again if I get out and climb back in. Or when I try after a ride; just when 'cold'. That's not consistent with bushing or other suspension problems IMHO, is it?
It also has nothing to do with mileage because I only have 1,500+. Plus I've NEVER hit a deep pothole or anything that could explain a suspension problem. And the maximum weight I've ever had on the car once is me, my wife and small daughter, totalling 300 lbs. The rest is just my paltry 155 lbs. Tires always at 33 psi (dunlop stock RFs). I started noticing this a few months ago, but until I noticed the noise crossing the railroads when I had the stereo off, I decided to post it here. It's obviously a 'character' issue, and not an isolated incident.
Does anybody know if suspension components require periodic lubrication? I really doubt it at this day and age, and the fact none of my previous 4 V8 Lexi had any, but you never know. I don't have the service manual for my car yet.

Let's try to isolate the cause, then we can demand a fix. Thanks for your help again.

Joe Peters

What if You got under the car when someone
else got into the car (when at abenint temp.)
and see if you can tell where the !@#$%&* noise
is comming from. Or from the top (under the hood).

Joe from Ft. W.

JCtx

The answer for you is: Because I don't !@#$%&* want to.

The rest who READ my message understood I'm not going to remove the undertray and get under the car until oil change time. And can't tell from under the hood, OBVIOUSLY.

A friendly reminder: if you don't have anything positive to contribute, please DON'T; we don't need smart a$$ answers, nor I believe should be tolerated on a mature board like this.

Good day everyone.

Joe Peters

To All,
Did anyone else think I was being a Smart A$$
I though my sugestion was positive.
To JC,
Your reminder didn't sound very friendly.
More like rude to a fellow board member who
is just trying to help out.

Joe

FWCruiser

Sounded like a reasonable suggestion to me.
David

JCtx

No hard feelings Joe; I indeed took it as a 'wisecrack' (as Genearch said), but I'm glad it wasn't your intent.

I'm also glad the thread is staying open; hopefully we'll find what's behind that noise that shouldn't be there.

Later.

lmatherne3

Make it 4 people. I started to notice it at about 2,000 miles. At 800miles both front springs and shocks had to be replaced because they were defective - clunking on stop. I always figured something wasn't put back correctly and it was causing the noise.

I just had my car in for service (10,124 miles/10 months, the AC Compressor seized up - but that is another story ) and mentioned the noise when getting in. I also got the "unable to reproduce" pat on the back.

I was happy just to have my AC working so I didn't persue it.

Keep us informed if you find anything out!

lexuslover

Wow - Make me #5. New 04 SC430 with 3000 mi now. Great car, although I noticed the scraping/clunking/whatever you call it noise starting. Got the same response at dealer - can't duplicate. Frankly, I think it's bogus. Next time I will ride with them myself and let them hear if for themselves. It happens at U-turns, turning into driveways, speedbumps, slow braking (sometimes) . .. .

My GS430 ('01) had a similar problem, the same dealership did duplicate it and fixed something in the suspension and poof! the noise went away. Next time I'm going to have them look up that record, because it must be something similar in the SC.

Oh well, car will be in the shop in 2 wks for the dampening kit for the driver wood paneling, so I'll see what they say about the noise and keep you all updated . . .

Thanks for the great post, and for not closing it!

flint330

I only have 1,000 miles on my 430 and I hope I don't have the same problem. Earlier this year I had a clunking on my 330 and after various trips to the dealer and finally a ride-along by a tech they finally found the problem and fixed it. Turned out that that they replaced the front upper strut/bearing supports. Since then the noise has gone away; it was driving me nuts!

JCtx

Well, just for the heck of it, I called my 'small' dealer, and lo and behold, the service manager IS AWARE of the noise (miracle). He heard it once (after keeping an SC overnight), but as expected, couldn't fint the culprit, so I'm glad I didn't waste my time taking the car just for that.
The good news is he told me Lexus is aware of it as well, but hasn't come out with a TSB. And he has no idea if it ever will. Just as I guessed, Lexus said it was coming from either the body (hopefully NOT), or the suspension.

I was wondering if all of us affected should file a report with the TSB. That's how dealers get pressured to fix something, isn't it? Please comment.

dseag2

FYI, I had the "clank" as well each time I stepped into my car when it was parked. Never really had it checked out since I traded it in at 15,000 miles.

djmichel

Add me to the list. I have an 03 430 with 12,700 miles. I also noticed the noise on several occassions when I drive over a RR tracks. I also would appreciate the solution if anyone finds it. Thanks.