Hi,

I'm after some urgent help from fellow LOC members...

I have just purchased a 2001 SC430 2 weeks ago from a non main dealer in London.

I love the car to bits, but have had a problem since day 1 with sloppy handling.

The dealer advised that the rear pads had just been done (I had a nasty grating noise when leaving the dealer on day 1). He advised that once they bed it, it would be fine.

Upon driving the car over 280 miles home, I since discovered that the steering wheel was off centre and that there was quite a bad shaking throught the steering wheel, and also when braking.

After having the car checked out, I was advised by a main dealer (Toyota not Lexus) to skim Front and Rear Discs and also replace the front pads. This was done at a cost of over £450.

After driving the car when leaving the dealer, guess what - still juddering thought the steering (badly between 60-70) and also going over a slight bump in a road feels like I just hit a crator !

I took it to Tyrespot who charged me £20 to balance all 4 wheels (as this was the only thing left!). The car was slightly better for a day, and then back to normal judders and sloppiness....

So, I take the car back to Toyota. They insist that as they havn't done the balancing, it could be out......so they carry this out at a further cost of £40.

I got the car back yesterday, and its worse than before it was done!

The car has been into lexus today and they have confirmed the follwing :

slight play in front off side ball joints
tyres are budget (dealer put 4 new tyres on - but guess what, used budget 'Talon' tyres instead of 'Dunlop or Bridgestone'

Now, I am confused as to what is causing the problem

Is it the 'slight' play on the ball joint, or is it the tyres (4 budet ones), or is it a combination of both that's causing the problem?

I don't want to have the tyres done, just to find out that it's the ball joint all along.


....So to recap, symptoms are :

Going over bumps causes vibration and shaking in the car (especially through steering).
Shaking between 60-70mph
Steering is VERY HEAVY. I know this, beacuse my boss also has an SC430, and I drove his....Light as a feather, and no shakes!

If it's not sorted soon, I will be sending a list of faults to the dealer giving him 14 days to resolve, or I will be returning the car to London under the Distance selling act, and 'fit for purpose' sale of goods act. I shouldn't be doing all this running around with a new (to me) £20,000 car!

Thanks for your advice and help in advance!

Kind Regards,

Mike.

Does sound like the wheels and tyres need to be precision balanced on the car if possible.
Alignment must be incorrect as the steering wheel is not dead centre this must be done on a laser aligner.
I would get the balljoints done asap.
Cheapo tyres will not help.

Brake disks can only cause judder when braking!
Have never heard of heavy steering though.

Handling has improved over the years but I have to admit that mine feels like you've bottomed the suspension out when driving over small pot holes...

All the best


Paul

I'm no expert on the symptoms of ball joints on Lexus, although on other cars I've had I would expect a worn ball joint to clunk or bang over sharp bumps. I wouldn't expect it to cause vibration particularly, but would amplify any vibration caused by something else. As far as tyres go, I wouldn't expect them to cause vibration either unless the tyre is damaged in some way. A worn ball joint may wear them unevenly if it was bad enough I guess. Hopefully someone else will have first hand experience of warn ball joints on a Lexus.

The only bad vibration issues I have had with my Lexus (Mk1 GS300) has both times been caused by a seizing calliper, once on the rear and once on the front. When the front one was sticking on (last week), the judder was horrendous and was made even worse under braking. Might be worth a look to see if this is a problem on yours.

Had same issue on my GS - as so have others -
Banced multiple times, alignment done etc

Was like someone flicking a switch at 60mph - Also had same issue where after balancing elsewhere - felt alright for a few days then back again.

Get the wheels Road Force Balanced - find a tyre place that uses the Hunter 9700 machine - mine was a completely different car - I also recommended to another GS owner who had been struggling with the same issue for years - even bought new tyres/wheels. Had his done at same place - now he cant praise it enough.

Also check the existing wheels havent been cross balanced - can also make a big difference