Gs300 Mark 2 Sport Suspension

[NickF]

I just picked my GS up from Lexus Nottingham after having both front bottom balljoints replaced. Although it feels a bit tighter to drive, it still makes a knocking noise over bumps in the road. It also makes a slight graunching noise when turning to the right. This only happens when moving though. Are there any other known weak points in the suspension? I did ask them to check all of the front suspension bushes for wear, but they seemed to think that all was well.

[ColinBarber]

Did they not drive it? The knocking may be the shocks.

[NickF]

Thanks for the reply Colin. I don't know whether they drove it or not. I only really notice it on the poor quality roads. As you probably know, the GS Sport suspension is not the best in these conditions anyway, but the noises only come from the near side, so I know that something is amiss. I'll be giving them another call on Monday. Any ideas on what the graunching noise could be? Could this be down to the shock absorbers as well?

[Martin W]

Hi. I also own a GS300 Sport (2) with the same knocking problem on the nearside front suspension.The joints were checked @ my local dealer but they advised all was OK. I agreed for both front shocks to be replaced but the knocking still persists.It is at its worst on the worn back roads with small scars near the kerbs."Large bumps are no problem.The knocking has only begun in the last 6 weeks & the car has done 71000 miles.

[NickF]

I haven't got around to sending mine back to be checked again yet. I will probably call them tomorrow to arrange this. I'll let you know what (if anything) they find

[dipstick]

Just a tiny thing to check; probably not, but I fell foul of this one.

My GS developed a knocking noise, front offside, when going over bumps. Delaer pronounced all well with bushes, balljoints etc. Couldn't find problem.

Finally noticed one day a tiny noise when the passenger door was slammed shut. Got Mrs Dipstick to repeatedly slam door whilst I checked under the car. Close investigation revealed that the inner wing liner is held on with plastic type pop rivet things, and one had split. So the wing liner just touches the bodywork on a bump and it echoes; makes a knocking noise.

It almost certainly isn't that in your case, but just be sure!

[Martin W]

Hi Nick, knock knock, who's there ? Answer , Answer Who ? Answer to our knocking problem ( I hope).

I had a close look at the brake assembly last night & I found that by sticking my hand through the wheel I could get the calliper section to move very slightly & also got the dull thud sound that I could hear when driving.

I found a very quiet rough road, got to about 45 mph & put my foot on the brake just enough to take up the clearence in the brake assembly. Guess what ?, the knocking stopped.

Went back to my dealer this morning , told them my thoughts & they got the car up on the ramp. They found that the calliper housing & the slider pins were worn which allowed for slight movement when the brakes were off which in turn caused the knocking noise on the rough road.

The car is booked in for new brake bits & I hope this will cure the knocking noise.

I also found that when the car was in motion and the windows were down I could hear clattering from the underside of the car akin to dragging a bag of spanners along under the car. I mentioned this to the mechanic who advised this can be caused by weak spring clips that hold the brake pads in place, again this noise stops when you begin to brake. Hope this may help with your knocking.

I will keep you posted once new bits in place. Regards, Martin.

[NickF]

Thanks for that Martin. Mine's going in to be looked at this week. I'll mention your findings. I'm getting a GS430SE on demo instead of a courtesy car, so I'll be able to compare the ride quality of the two, as well as the performance!

[Martin W]

I hope they provide you with a full tank of petrol ! These 430's are quick, very quick & very addictive. You won't want to hand it back.

Enjoy !

Regards, Martin.

[Martin W]

:) Hi Nick, took my GS300 Sport (II) to my local Lex' dealer this morning to have a new brake pad carrier fitted to the front nearside. The mechanic showed me the "very worn" carrier together with the worn slider pins that were knocking inside the carrier. New items were replaced & all the knocking has stopped & the car is now its quiet self again.

Hope you managed to get your "Sport" sorted & you have returned the GS 430 back to the garage,minus petrol I hope after thrashing the backside off it! Bet you want one now, I did after driving one.

Regards, Martin W.

[NickF]

Hi Martin, the latest diagnosis by Lexus Notts is shock absorbers. I'm actually dropping it off this evening. The GS430 was very fast, although I was a bit disappointed with the ride. I thought that it would be much better than the Sport as it was an SE, but to be quite honest it wasn't that much different.

I don't think that my knocking is brake related. If I drive along with my foot on the brake, the noise is still the same, and there is also a grinding/squeeking noise when turning sharply at low speeds. I think that this is probably the shock absorber top mount. We'll see anyway... :D

[Martin W]

Fingers crossed they sort it for you quickly & you can get back to enjoying your wheels again. MW

[ColinBarber]

The GS430 was very fast, although I was a bit disappointed with the ride. I thought that it would be much better than the Sport as it was an SE, but to be quite honest it wasn't that much different.

The standard tyres are poor and the pressures need to be a couple of PSI lower than recommended, makes a big difference.

Ride is better on 2001 + models. My old SE wouldn't ride speed bumps at all, the 430 is much better. Still not good enough though

I have heard of shocks causing this problem so lets hope it fixes it.

[Martin W]

Hi Nick, how did you get on with your shocks ?

[NickF]

I got my car back on Friday, and unfortunately it is still knocking and graunching. The ride is a bit better though, so its not all bad news! I am intending to paint the calipers in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have a look at the brakes and suspension myself. I'm a bit reluctant to keep chucking money at this problem, unless I'm sure that it will be fixed. I think that I have spent about £700 trying to sort it out so far... ;)

[Martin W]

Hope that a close inspection of the brakes may give some clues when you do the paint job. A couple of years ago I had a graunching from the brakes when on a tight lock & going @ walking speed. The Lexus guy hinted it may be the calliper housing moving on the slider pins which he said often happens when new pads are fitted. It seemed to go after about 1500 miles into the new pads. I don't know if any corrosion may take place on the slides that only becomes evident when the pistons are moved back to make way for new pads.

I will keep my ear to the ground with this problem & quiz the Lex' guys on my next visit. MW

[LexCrazy]

I got my car back on Friday, and unfortunately it is still knocking and graunching. The ride is a bit better though, so its not all bad news! I am intending to paint the calipers in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have a look at the brakes and suspension myself. I'm a bit reluctant to keep chucking money at this problem, unless I'm sure that it will be fixed. I think that I have spent about £700 trying to sort it out so far...  ;)

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Hi, I've had my car checked for a knocking sound similar to the one that you are experiencing. Mine started about 6weeks ago too and has slowly gone worse.

I had it checked twice at one Lexus Dealer and then again at another Lexus Dealer. Both of them told me that they could hear the noise whilst driving the vehicle. But all seemed to be fine, with the suspension, bushes etc. I then had it checked at an AA Centre who didn't find anything either.

I then visited 2 mechanics who are friends of mine. One checked it over, to find that it was the anti-roll bar drop link on the nearside, but advised to replace both. He also told me that whilst checking the car, you can only hear the noise the first time he moving something after it was stationary for sometime, making it difficult to find. He told me that he had come across this before. His friend mechanic who owns his own seperate garage said he had come across this too. And it is usually difficult to find this problem. I will be having my anti-roll bar drop links changed in the next few days so i'll let you know what happens.

[chips229]

Ive just been reading through this post,im shocked to see the same gremlins still appearing on cars of what id still call new.

On my mk1 LS400 they had the balljoint problem,im begining to think theyve designed ALL these Lexus models to wear the balljoints etc for max profit.

I would expect to replace theses sorts of parts on alot older models.

I know all cars have there design faults,but my moneys on this same problem being talked about on the forums in the near future with the lastest models.

COME ON Lexus/toyota

Sort it out!!!.

Good luck getting the problem on your car fixed.

Cheers chips.

[TonyB]

I to have a Lexus Gs300 Sport with the same knocking noise coming from the offside front suspension. I had it serviced by the Prestige Car Servicing company who told me they had checked all the suspension and no problem was found so it must be the shock absorbers.

As this was a £700 job to replace the shocks, 3 hours labour per side I was informed, I asked wether this would rectify the knocking...yes sir.

Got the car back and the knocking is still the same.

1. Has anybody got any idea what is causing this

2. Have I got any chance of getting a refund for work carried out to the shocks.

Happy (grrrrr) Motoring. Tony.

[GSSPORT]

Hi,

I too have a GS Sport on a 2000 plate and have had the same knocking issues. I replaced the front and rear bushes. Car now handles far better and knocking noise has stopped.

[TonyB]

Driving in Scotland over the weekend...weather was lashing it down, and I noticed that the knocking was not at all audible in these conditions....would this indicate a dry joint?

Rgds,Tony.

[ColinBarber]

Hi,

I too have a GS Sport on a 2000 plate and have had the same knocking issues. I replaced the front and rear bushes. Car now handles far better and knocking noise has stopped.

Did you use geniune Lexus parts or aftermarket?

[TonyB]

Sorry for the Delay....

Got the knocking issue sorted in the end....

with no help from the Prestige Car Company who now wanted to replace the offside Balljoint at great cost!!!! :tsktsk:

Took it to a mate some miles away (mechanic ) Put the car up on the ramps and within 30 seconds said "Its the antiroll bar bushes mate" and proceded to rattle the antiroll bar......30 Minutes later and £90 lighter...all knocking gone.......

Happy Days. :D :D

[nigel f]

Has any one used the TRD Bushes as I am thinking of getting some for my GS430 and also the TRD suspenson and Anti Roll bars

Nige

[Dave-Ellen]

Has any one used the TRD Bushes as I am thinking of getting some for my GS430 and also the TRD suspenson and Anti Roll bars

Nige

I sell and have fitted the TRD anti roll bars and can recommend them. I have a set of TRD bushes to fit (got em on my IS200 and can recommend them).

On suspension I'd suggest TEIN Flex....