bt430

I’m a new member having recently bought a 04 black/ saddle SC430. The first few weeks have been pretty bad but I owe everyone here a big thank you for helping me through. Here’s the story:

I was reading the thread for new members which mentioned www.mycarstats.com
I checked out the site and 4 folks over there had the same handling issues I’ve been experiencing.

To be blunt; my car was flat out dangerous.

In the 2500 miles I’ve driven the car it’s pulled violently to the right on braking 6 times. The first time it happened the car actually changed lanes, it scared me to death and had there been another car next to me it wouldn’t have been pretty! Now that I know what to expect I really hang onto the steering wheel when braking.

I got the dealer involved and at first they weren’t too responsive. The problem seemed to be that I drove on the lot with my M5 when I bought the SC430, so the initial response was “Well it’s not going to handle like a BMW you know” which lead me to believe they even think BMW builds a better car. Not really too comforting at the time.

Luckily I ran across this forum (clublexus) and the great group of folks that share a vast wealth of knowledge. I was able to learn a great amount about the car in a very short time. This accomplished 2 things for me;
1) I was able to talk to the dealer from a more knowledgeable position.
2) I began to appreciate the finer points of the car which I wasn’t really seeing considering that I thought I had made a very large mistake in purchasing the car.

Armed with the knowledge I gained here on this forum I wasn’t willing to drop the issue so they suggested I contact Lexus Corporate. I found Lexus Corporate to be polite, but really not interested in fixing the problem and moved it back to the dealer. After 5 days of testing the car the dealer agreed to take the run flats off and put on non run flats. That has improved the ride quality though it’s still pretty squirrelly on rougher pavement, but it hasn’t wanted to change lanes which is a real plus!

Again this forum came to my rescue as I learned about the suspension mods available. I got pretty excited as I read about the success folks were having with the Tein CS coil overs so I ordered a set. I’m looking forward to getting them installed and to see how this will change the handling of the car.

I’m pretty bitter over the fact I’m going to drop a fairly significant amount of dough on new suspension parts for a brand new car. But I think I’m looking forward more to the possibility of much better handling as well as a more aggressive look. Hell it’s gonna get worse anyway when I cash out for a set of HRE 20s and a Wald body kit. I’m just happy you folks pointed me in the right direction!

Again a big thanks to everyone and hopefully in a few months I’ll learn enough to be able to payback a bit by contributing as well.

BT

rominl

iTrader: (4)

congrats on fixing most of your problems, and that you have a more comfortable ride there!

and of course, again, welcome to the forum

MY GS300

I am glad to hear that you have solved your issues with your SC430.

You can contribute to the forum by posting pics of your new ride!!!

Congrats!

-Donald

Umbo

My guess is that your pulling problem is with the brakes and not the suspension. Does it pull to the side when you are not braking? Also consider trying Daizen antisway bars before going to the much more expensive coilover mod. I thought that the stiffer antisways made great improvements in cornering stability. I also had a BMW prior to the SC. I was initially disappointed with the SC's handling until I got the new antisways. I'm very pleased now.

bengreen

Hang tight with your dealer....Don't let them get off the hook, or give you static, on warranty problems. The Lexus mantra is CUSTOMER SERVICE....make them live up to the high standards they brag out....you may have to go 'up the chain of command'....and/or drop the hint about going to the BBB or local newspaper....if they give you a hard time. MOST Lexus dealers are great, and live up to the reputation......Mine treats me like a king....can't do enough for me.....Sorry about your problems...stay with it...it IS a great car...

bt430

It’s not a consistent pull to the right, it’s intermittent. I originally thought it was a sticky caliper as well, so I had the dealer check the brakes. They said they were fine. It’s really 2 issues; the pull to the right and a bad vibration between 40 & 50 and 70 & 80. Since the run flats have been taken off, the car has not pulled to the right even on rough road. The vibration was better at first but now it’s slowly coming back between 60 & 70. So I think my next step will be to have the dealer take back the TRDs, put the stock wheels back on with the new tires, and wait until next spring buy some decent wheels. The dealer tells me they can’t seem to find TRDs that will balance properly and are thinking of not selling the car with TRDs. Again I don’t know what to believe as I would think a car would react better with less unsprung weight.

BT