Car Shaking And Noising With 40mph Or Above

[Bigbirdcn]

My heart was broken by Lexus dealer yesterday. Braking warning light was on dashboard. RAC and National tyre checked and could not find any problem. I had to go to dealer as the manual said. They fixed and charged me 50pounds. The reason is one bulb burned out.

And asked them check why my car is shaking and noising when the sped over 40mph. This is another 50pounds work. They told me the front wheels bearings are badly worn and need to be change replaced as soon as possible. If not, dreariness will come soon. The price are 280 pounds for per side. The good thing is that included labour. So another 560pounds gone. My car is 1996 GS300 Sport. 136,000 miles.

Does any experienced user think the wheel bearing problems make the car shaking and noising. Very.

By the way, anybody know how much to fix aircondition, I saw some leaking from condensor.

My fuel comsuption is 40pounds can use for 130-150 in town without motorway. Is that in the average cost?

Thanks a lot.

[kam05]

Was the car shaking when you applied the brakes? Now that the wheel bearings have been replaced, does the car still shake?

If so, normally this indicates either warped discs or your tyres need balancing, not sure if worn wheel bearings can cause the car to shake. I'm surprised you took a 11 year old car to a main dealer, you should have gone to a good local garage, at least their labour rates would have been cheaper.

No idea on how much it will cost to fix the air con, best bet is to contact a air con specialist.

Can't comment on fuel consumption either, as this will depend on driving style and what conditions you drive in, such as city driving or motorway driving.

[Bigbirdcn]

thanks for your comment. I have to take the car to a Lexus dealer because local garage could not fix the brake warning light problem. They guessed it maybe a electronic problem so suggested me to see a dealer.

When I was in the dealer, they asked me what problem it is. I said to them and they checked and charged. I am not sure local garage can fix this kind of shaking problem. Dealer asked me to go back on Tuesday. And will spend 6 hours in fixing the two front wheel bearings. I hope I will have a warranty about that. I have done the tyres balance in different high credit garage, but it looks like no a balance issue. Will see what is going on after replace the wheel bearings.

[Mark W]

Thats only ~15 mpg which sounds excessive even for all town driving unless you drive foot to the floor all the time?

I get 18mpg in my 430 if purely doing short town trips.

Maybe other 300 owners can comment but sounds excessive to me??

Think a quick check for wheel bearings is to jack up the car and see if theres play when you try and wobble the wheel..

Good luck with the wheel bearing although have to agree with kam05 - why pay dealer rates for a '96 and not a specialised job.

[Bigbirdcn]

Thanks mark. I suppose the high fuel consumption is due to the tyres size (245 40 18)?

The wheel bearings issues make us uncomportable when I am driving on a motorway. It is as noise as a farmer tractor. When I bough the car, I really think it is good car. Because full service histories are done by Lexus dealer, brake discs are new all around. and interior and exterior are good condition. all electrics are working. Just air conditioning is not working. After I bought, one front alloy wheel was a bit split so that the tyre was always inflat. I spent 20pounds to fix it. This is the 1st experience with Lexus. So still need to learn from you, those senior users. :winky: :winky:

[TigerFish]

In my experience of wheel bearing problems before (had none on the Lexus though) they will make a droaning noise, but never had one that caused shaking. If it has gone that badly to cause shaking, then as suggested you should be able to wobble the wheel all over the place quite easily once jacked up. Infact, I would expect to be able to feel the play if just pushed and pulled the top of the tyre while it was not on a jack too. I would check for dented rim on the wheel as this can cause very evident shaking if bad enough too. A binding brake calliper is also something to check. Mine had a binding calliper on the rear and that caused heavy vibration and noise untill the pad was essentially worn off again to stop it catching. Easy fix without needing to replace the caliper. Also check that the wheel is actually on properly too, sounds stupid but my brother booked his Rover Sterling in for a wheel bearing/CV joint problem only oto be told by the garage that his wheel was loose. I haven't let him live that one down yet

As far as fuel consumption goes, it sounds a bit heavy to me. I get between 25 and 29 on mixed driving and not had under 20 with just town driving. It does of course depend how enthusiastic you are with the accelerator though. I have 235/40 18's on the front and 275/35 18's on the rear of my '96 GS300 Sport so the tyres shouldn't be causing you the problem. Maybe just a good service required on it.

[Bigbirdcn]

Thanks, TigerFish. Your suggestions are very valuable for me. Yes, after the wheel bearings are repalced, if the shaking problem is still there, I will check the car like what you said. Could you tell me what is your feel like, when your rear wheels are much bigger than the fronts. Did you change your alloy wheel in order to fit the big tyres? Can I use 275/35 18's on my wheel (245 40 18)

[TigerFish]

They are the standard "Sport" wheels. I think there were a couple of options though, you could either buy 18x8.5" rims all round or you could go for 18x8.5" on the front and 18x10" on the rear. With the 10" wide rear wheels they were fitted with the 275 tyres as standard. Car feels fine with the different widths, I dont think there was any reason for the wider wheels other than cosmetics, unlike cars like BMW M3's etc which was done to cause understeer if it was over cooked rather than oversteer which isn't as easily recovered from. I guess that could be an effect of the smaller/larger tyre split, but I don't tend to throw the GS around as much as I did my 3 series BMW.