New Rx300 Will Not Track Straight...

[shmerls]

I have a new 2003 Lexus RX300 and am experiencing a strange drive tracking problem. The RX does not stay in a straight line very long and requires constant steering/adjusting.

It is not exactly like a simple front end misalignment problem, because there are times where you can let go of the wheel and it will drive for a while straight. But it always fades right and sometimes left. I can hold the wheel perfectly straight and it will slowly move off course one way or the other. This seems to happen more when the gas tank is between 1/2 or less full.

The feeling is like the rear and front wheels are not in sync with each other, which yields a feeling of being disconnected from the road, kind of a floating sensation at times. In a much less dramatic way it is is similar to being on a power boat where you are going kinda of straight but in left and right jags (but of course not at all that drastic. It's subtle).

When I am not focused on it, I will find that when I do focus on the drive I will find my arms tired because I will have been literally steering the car with my arms flexed to hold the car straight in position, or adjusting it back to the center of the lane. You cannot just hold the wheel straight and cruise. This happens at low and high speeds.

It's less noticable around town, but on long trips, it is tiring because you're always steering even when the road is perfectly straight.

The dealership has inspected the alignment and tells me it's spot on spec. I don't think the problem is in the front wheels being aligned with themselves. I "feel" it's between how the front wheels are aligned (or not) with the rear wheels.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,

Steven

[Monster-Mat]

what i think your problem boils down to, is basically tramlining or camber wander, try checking the tyre pressures with regards the tramlining, however if the camber is so pronounced it will follow the down pitch of the camber

what vehicle did you drive before the RX.......maybe your not used to the "feeling" that these type of vehicles relay back to the user.

[GRiM]

If you think there is a problem specific to your RX, then I'd suggest asking your Lexus dealer to take out another one on a test drive, and see how it feels.

Then you'd be comparing like for like... :)

[LexusBC]

TO Shmerls

I have the same feeling with my lexus RX300. It is sometimes hard to drive in a straight line and in the winter on the highway, it is difficult to control because of the hydro feeling on the road. I sometimes find myself going slower than others because of the fact I feel that my tires are not connecting with the road....not a good feeling.

On the highway my lexus pulls badly to the left and no matter how many alignments that I get, it still is like I'm fighting every time on the highway.

What can we do?????

[Monster-Mat]

tell your dealer your not happy

[flotsam]

The RX300 caster angle is spec'd at only 2.08 ± 0.75 degrees which these days isn't a lot.

A normal road car such as the LS400 has a caster angle of over 9 degrees.

Turning Inclination angle is 11.84 degrees.

These are much more likely to affect the tendency to proceed in a straight line than the camber.

[flotsam]

p.s.

Having read your post again, ALL cars will drift with the camber of the road which helps rain drain away.

Having driven a 4x4 myself I'd say they tend to have less feel on those big 'n bouncy tyres.

[JohnR84740]

Recently bought a 2000 RX and have the same tendency. I thought it was just because it is a 4WD. Other than that, the driving experience is heavenly!

[Sabastian]

As GRiM suggests, compare your steering with another RX. I consider my RX steers 100% straight and true and I would not accept anything else.