speedracer

Since I have purchased my 2000 LX with 29000 miles I have had a vibration (in steering wheel) that comes in about 65-75 mph. The truck had new Continentals and had the vibration, but I then paid extra and upgraded to the top of the line Goodyear tires designed for luxury SUVs like the LX. The vibration continues even after the tires have been balanced by the local Lexus dealer. The dealer now says they think it is the tires as the LX is designed to run with Michelin tires that are OE on new LXs. This sounds crazy to me and I have friends that have used other brands without a problem. Has anyone heard of this before? I am frustrated by this and do not want to lay out another $400 to replace tires again if it changes nothing!

ktiger

It may be the balancing and not the tire. I had this problem before on another vehicle I owned (not the LX) and I went as far as changing the shocks. Then I took the car to Walmart and had the tires re-balanced, problem solved. I'm not saying that's your problem but it's sure beat purchasing a new set of tires if the old set is still good. As for my LX, I have the Michelin LTXs on it and have not experienced any vibrations whatsoever. We cruise at 70 to 80 mph often due to a lot of highway traveling with no problems. Mine had 36,000 miles on it when we purchased it on 7/12/03 and we have put a little over 5,000 miles on it since so I don't know if that qualify me to give extensive advice on your problem.

tabraha

The dealer line about the LX being "designed" around the Michelins is not true. Maybe designed around that tire size and style but I doubt your problem lies in what brand you bought. I've got larger than stock Bridgestone Dueler A/T revo's which are far more aggressive than the LTX's and my LX is like glass at 70mph. I'd follow the above advice about getting the tires rebalanced if you have not done that yet. Also, check the air pressures as well. When I got my new tires I checked the pressures the next day and they were all over the place varying as much as 10psi!

speedracer

When I got the truck it had brand new Continental ContiTrac tires on it. It had a vibration and was rebalanced several times. Finally, I said to give me a better tire. The Fortera is Goodyears top of the line tire designed for big luxury SUV's. The vibration is still there after rebalancing by two different tire dearlers and the Lexus dealer itself. I think it must be a mechanical problem. Does anyone know what could cause a vibration other than tires? Thanks!

LexFather

I think you'll get more help here.

mrshabo

lets hope this isn't the problem but have you thought that the rim might be bent? my friend has the same exact problem as you and his rims were bent. Maybe the previous owner bent the rim. It would explain why all the balancing and tire changes aren't helping no?

tabraha

Since you've already eliminated the tires and poor-rebalancing as a possibility, perhaps take it to an alignment shop and have them check out all of the suspension components?

mrshabo

if it was the suspension it should be doing that at all speeds i would think. seriously check out your rims. my friend has the same problems as u.

speedracer

The idea of the rims is interesting. The Lexus dealer called and wants me to take the "head"tech for a ride to show him the vibration. Honestly, I do not expect they will find anything mechanical. Someone on an earlier post suggested having the wheel/tires balanced on a Hunter GSP9700 balancing machine. This machine runs the tire with a load on it and can determine problems with a wheel, or even if the tire is out of round. It sounds promising and is my next step after Lexus checks once again. FYI, the website for the machine and where to find one is at: gsp9700.com. I called a couple of listed locations and they generally charge from $15-25 per tire to load test. If this works, it will be well worth it.
I will post the outcome since this does not seem to be an isolated problem with the LX.

HD-GS4

The LX is extremely sensitive to steering vibration. One thing slightly out of whack, and you'll be shaking like crazy.

I had similar problems with my 2000. I had a slight pull to the right, and some major steering wheel vibration at speeds of about 65-70 MPH. Unfortunately, that's the speed that most of us cruise on the highway, so it becomes extremely annoying. Anyway, I had Michelin M/S's on my vehicle. The Lexus dealer showed me that the outer edge on my tires had some uneven treadware. I went ahead and upgraded to the new top of the line Michelin SUV tires. It cost me over $700 for the upgrade, but was well worth every penny. It basically took care of the vibration, unless my tire pressure is off, the balancing is off, or I'm on a bad portion of the highway. These things have to all be taken into account. Make sure your tire pressure is accurate. Dealers tend to add WAY too much air to your tires. If you look in your manual, you'll notice that the front pressure is different than the rear. Buy yourself a quality tire pressure gage, and a portable air tank. Let your car sit overnight, and then check the pressure in the morning. This will give you an accurate reading on your tires. Also, you should inspect periodically for the wheel weights. If you are missing a weight, then you obviously need to take it in to be balanced.

As far as the allignment was concerned, it took my Lexus dealer 4 separate tries to get it fixed. They finally figured out that one of my wheels in particular needed to be on the back, and then it made the vehicle go straight.

Just stick with it, and you should be able to solve the problem for the most part. I won't lie to you though: The LX is extremely picky, and depending on the type of highway you travel on, you may always have a very slight vibration at certain speeds. You should, however, be able to get it to an acceptable level.

Bobhgd

Does anyone have suggestions for brand & model of tire to minimize high-speed vibration of the LX470? I believe the Michelins are not up to snuff for high-speed.

Agreed that the LX is apparently more sensitive than many vehicles to tire/wheel vibration, at speeds of around 65-80mph. My LX470 exhibits this vibration especially at about 75mph and up, with Michelins.

My '99 had vibration from the start, with the OE Michelins. Had it back to the Dealer a couple of times for rebalance, but it didn't cure the problem.

The original Michelins were replaced (prior to complete wearout, because of the vibration) with Michelin "Cross SUV" tires, which also had the same problem.

So I had the new Michelins remounted to minimize runout and total RFV (Radial Force Variation), using the Hunter GSP9700 "Road Force" Balancer.

This reduced vibration, but did not completely eliminate it. The GSP9700 readings indicated that 2 of the tires were slightly excessive, with respect to RFV (measured in pounds-force).

RFV can be comprised of several things - runout (radial and lateral), and non-uniformities in the rolling section of the tire, all of which combine to produce RFV and thereby high-speed vibration, even if the balance is perfect.

I can visually confirm runout in 2 of the tires, when spun on a balancer. The tire dealer (Sears) says that they do not have a spec for max runout, but that it's subjective, and up to the dealer & customer to negotiate a warranty action based on vibration / runout.

The wheels are fine - it's the tires that are producing vibration, due to RFV.

(Tire and vehicle manufacturers pay attention to RFV, as a tire quality attribute. They actually have special lab-grade equipment to measure it - more sensitive and accurate than the GSP9700 shop equipment. The question is - did Michelin pay *enough* attention to it on the big Cross SUVs for the LX?)

I had a '96 GMC C1500 truck that was *insensitive* to tire RFV - it was smooth at all speeds, despite visible runout in the Michelins. I think the LX470 is just more sensitive to RFV/vibration from the tires.

Further comments & suggestions appreciated.

eblue

I replaced my OEM LTX M/S at 40K miles with 4/32" to go, today. I had replaced them with X-Terrains from Michelin also thinking the ride/handling was going to be better-which it is, except I've now gotten the same problem of vibration at 70+ mph-tonite . I never had this with my OEMs. Will check pressure and rims in the morning-otherwise I'm going back to the OEM LTX's....

Bobhgd

If I were you, I'd find a dealer (tire or Toyota/Lexus) who has a Hunter GSP9700 machine, and I'd get those tires remounted to minimize RFV, then rebalanced. It should improve things, and might make them bearable.

You can do a web search for the Hunter machine, or try

www.gsp9700.com

then, you can use that page's "Locate A GSP9700" function to find a dealer using one,

http://128.242.141.111/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

Next time I buy tires, it's gonna be from a dealer who has a GSP9700. I definitely experienced an improvement in 65mph + smoothness from the Michelins after having them remounted to reduce RFV, using a GSP9700.

Good luck.

(Further input still welcome...

eblue

bobghd

returned the cross-terrains to costco and checked the gsp9700 locator and coincidentally located the discount tire location that gave the matching price as costco's for the LTX M/S H tires. they'll have the tires in 3 days vs. costco's 7-10 days. they said they'll use the 9700 to balance the tires at no extra charge (normally $15 per tire extra). we'll see on thursday

Bobhgd

Good luck with the pursuit.

One more thing:

Be prepared to find one or more of the NEW tires that exhibit excessive runout/RFV, on the GSP9700, even after match-mounting to minimize same.

What's "excessive"? You may not find that spec published by Lexus. The dealer may have a comment regarding his/her opinion of what constitutes "excessive" runout/RFV, but of course, he/she also has a vested interest in selling the tires.

If the dealer has more of the same tires in stock, you can weed out the bad ones and drive away with a good & smooth set.

If the dealer ordered only 4 of your size, you may run into a problem at mounting, if you find one or more that have excessive RFV.

Curious to hear of your results!