seanmwple

I've had issues with my 2012 rwd is250 for over a year now. Darting all over the road. Floating on the highway at higher speeds. Swaying like wind is blowing me all over. Loose control etc etc.

Well Ive replaced the tires, had alignments rotated and balanced tires all that basic stuff and the issue is still there. It's insanely annoying and lexus was useless at figuring out what the Deal was in fact they said the car was fine loll.

Now some other characteristics of the issue are sticking out to me. When the road is slanted down to the right and the car will drift that way but the steering wheel doesn't always move it stays straight.

I need to get some other opinions because the shops and dealership by me in Sarasota just are not cutting it. It's either no issue or it's alignment. Obviously it is something and alignment is not it.

rwhtide

I might suggest checking bushings and bearings in the front suspension. dunno how much experience you have "under the hood", but id particularly check upper and lower ball joints. about to replace my front upper driver-side this weekend. I get a lot of high speed (60+mph) twitchiness on interstates and bridges. but I also know I stripped my joint when doing spring install. look for bearings with worn or dried out boots (rubber boot or coating), bushings that are dried and cracked. the bushing can dry out and cause metal on metal problems. bearings typically require some form of grease or oil which the rubber boot protects from drying out or washing away. if the bearing gets dry, same problem: metal on metal, and the joint could break itself or just *** up and cause similar issues to what you seem to be experiencing

rwhtide

if you could get pics, I or someone else on here, could probably help determine a bad bearing or bushing, if you are unsure

seanmwple

Im good with car audio/video. Detailing. oil changes and spark plug changes. After that I won't even attempt anything.

I'll get pics tomorrow. What should I be looking for for the pics? which bushings and bearings

rwhtide

this is the upper control arm. looks about the same on both sides. I have an awd, so mine is vaguely different, but I get the gist of it. the red circled item is the upper ball joint. that black scarf or turtleneck looking thing is the rubber boot I was referring to getting dried and seal breaking.

the yellow circled items are bushings. this is where two metal arms or parts meet, kind of like cartilage between bones in the human body. metal on metal is same as bone on bone. bad. these can become dried out also or just worn out and can cause your issues.

I will find more/ better pics to be a bit more descriptive. however, most of the bushings and ball joints look fairly similar, given that they serve the same purpose, just on different points of the car. theyre kinda scattered throughout the front suspension. I hope you don't have axle problems, that can be a PIA to diy

rwhtide

most of the potential problem areas will be viewable with just jacking the car up and taking the passenger front wheel off. chances are, if you've truly had times when you are steering straight but you've really felt the car go right and you know for sure that its NOT alignment, could have had a rod or a metal arm of some kind come loose or break

rwhtide

yellow, bearings
red, (ball) joints

seanmwple

Cool thanks for the info..

Is there a specific set of the bushings that is a good replacement. Or should I just get OEM? I read somewhere that the ISF bushings fit the is250 and they are more optimal??? Not sure how accurate that is

rwhtide

in a way yes. they are optimal for performance. you might could find better for handling, but they are not necessary. you could potentially find cheaper ones that are softer, more normal driving-ish. performance bushings tend to be firmer to keep everything tight and firm, very responsive. more luxurious or oem/stock setups will probably have softer bushings for more cushioning and a softer ride. isf bushings would definitely be good replacements overall tho

seanmwple

Well we just had a baby so I'd probs should go with the softer and safer option. OEM would be my choice you're saying correct?

rwhtide

yes, exactly! you can usually tell if the rubber or whatever bushing is worn out or not, even with no car experience. some are easier to install than others, when it comes to bushings and bearings. some need presses and special tools. some expensive and others cheaper... just try to be as sure as you can about what you need to replace and what is fine as-is. suspension fixes can be labor intensive, even when parts are cheap

rwhtide

in the picture with the two bearings on the right/bottom of the picture (red), those two I circled, I would check before any assumptions were made about the bushings. lower control arm joints, if I'm not mistaken. check boots for cracks or tears, resulting in dry up

jr4div2

I had the same issues with my 2012 250C w/16k miles on it. Wife hated it so much, she was scared to drive it on the hiway. Replaced the LCA bushings with RRRacing USRS and problem solved. Yes, the ride is a little harsher, but after about 6 months and 2k miles, they soften up a little. The problem with the OEM LCA bushings is they are oil-filled and very soft. This allows for dynamic camber to occur meaning the wheels steer left or right slightly with bumps or slopes or groves causing the steering to feel a bit out of control. The USRS (and Figs) LCA bushings are stiffer and reduce the dynamic camber caused by the road.

rwhtide

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

If your on stock suspension. You can easily take some pics if the LCA bushing show cracks on the rubber.

Here's the video for reference on how much the stock bushing moves.

https://youtu.be/C6I9tiI0o2U