Help! My Car Vibrates Badly At 50-65 Mph

[Martin_80]

I was on my way to my mother last night when the car starts to vibrate real bad. It was a little terrifying. I stopped emediatly raised all four corners to check if a wheel was loose but no.... I then took it for spin and everthing was fine and i thought that it must have been the really bad roads around here in sweden. I continued my journey but 100km later it started again. I stopped looked under the car couldn't find anything wrong. I took it up to cruise speed and continued everything was fine again? This time I got maybe 20-30km before it started again stopped and continued again.... This time I came 5-10km before I stopped and called a towtruck. It was embarrasing to see my lex on the towtruck should have covered it :D but he later told me that they mostly pick up german cars. According to him because of all the electronics and ofcourse there are many many german car brands on the road.... I felt better already...

What can cause this bad bad shaking? The gearstick looked like a drumstick and my vision got a little blurry it was really bad. I have felt the smell of burned rubber for a week or two a scent I dont recognise. When it starts it continues until the car has stopped and one time it felt like it got worse when I put the clutch down dont remember though if I put it in neutral(?out of gear...).

Could it be something with the propshaft? I'm a little suspicous to the center bearing on the propshaft as I've always thought that it looked weird and it has had quite a play but it has always been like that the 2 years I have owned the car and haven't had a problem.

The car runs fine at lower speeds and a can't here anything suspicous when selecting first and reverse.

What is wrong? Can I use the car as long as I drive slow ( around town)?

[lpinuk]

Try re-balancing the front tyres first and then take it from there.

[Martin_80]

My steering wheel doesn't shake so don't think that's the problem and the car drives fine for a while but then it suddenly starts to shake.

[kev dood]

check all the tyres incase any are down to the wire. Failing that, when you checked for a loose wheel, did you also check to see if they all spinned freely?

When I had my caliper stick it was ok driving round town etc, but when I got on the motorway after a bit I had the same thing! Sped up a bit after a while and got better - which I put down to increased airflow cooling it a bit and also the fact that as it wasn't entirely seized just overcoming the resistance in it.

[Martin_80]

Thanks Kev dood for your reply.

My car is currently at Toyota for repair. So far they have found that the left front wheel was stuck. If I understod correct it was impossible to spinn the wheel by hand. Apparently the brakes pads or pistons has stuck and therefor constantly braking and creating enough heat to destroy the caliper. The weird thing is that I haven't feelt like anything was wrong through the steering wheel. I think that the car would have steered to the left if you know what I mean? Braking felt normal and during my trip last friday of 110km surely creating a lot of heat I think that the brakes should have been really smelly which I think I would have felt when I walked around the car looking for the problem. But nothing......

It's weird and it's going to be interesting to see if just the brakes that's the problem. I'm afraid it something else.... It does make sence though. The brakes started to "work" when they got really hot after a while causing the car to shake. I then stopped (brakes cool) and then continued and the car is fine until the brakes gets hot again....

It's an expensive repair though.

£620 for a new caliper and pads don't now if a new disc is included.

And it turns out that it's time (8years.. not 10...) to change my timing belt £370

It sucks....but if this hadn't happen I would have thought that it was 10 years until the belt needs changing and that would have been far more expensive....

How extensive was your repair?

[Steviewevie]

How much for a caliper and pads ?

You need to shop around, don't get the parts from Toyota if they're going to charge you that much !

Your cam belt should be changed at 6 years or 60,000 miles (90,000 km).

[Martin_80]

£620 You can't do anything else but laugh about it.... The caliper alone is £360, including fitting I guess. £620 is the total including labor but it is still insane!!! I will soon start to get paranoid regarding the brakes on this car especially the calipers! Before christmas I got both rear disc with pads changed because of the brakepads on the inside sticking in the caliper , £280 including labor. It's a bit much right now :D

I spoke to a Lexus dealer in Stockholm and he said it was 8 years or 150 000km and my toyota dealer confirmed this. In my owners manual I think it says 10 years or 150 000km. Perhaps it because the diffrent climate and temperature, Sweden-UK? Oh by the way the dealer in Stockholm wanted almost twice as much as my dealer for changing the timing belt ~£600..... I'm really happy I don't live in Stockholm :D

Forgot to ask how much they want for changing a caliper...

I didn't know what was wrong with the car and I don't have two cars, took the bicycle to work this morning I felt that I didn't have time to look around to get it cheaper.... I called my Toyota dealer as soon as they opened monday morning and they squeezed in my car in their schedule the same day. I want the service stamp? when they change my belt so I don't have any other choice.

[Steviewevie]

There are brand new brake calipers on eBay for £100, e.g. this one. I presume that they are Blueprint parts. GS300 (Mark I) and IS200 use the same brakes. £360 sounds like the new price from Lexus/Toyota for that part. The alternative is repairing the caliper, depending on what is wrong with it (there's a kit available for about £60 from Lexus/Toyota for repairing/servicing a caliper).

I don't see why you don't have a choice when you change your cam belt, if you want something for your service history then a receipt showing that it's been changed from an independent specialist should be just as good, surely ? I don't know what it's like in Sweden, but in the UK as the car gets older it becomes less important to have a service history with the manufacturer, just a service history. IMHO anyway.

[Martin_80]

There are brand new brake calipers on eBay for £100, e.g. this one. I presume that they are Blueprint parts. GS300 (Mark I) and IS200 use the same brakes. £360 sounds like the new price from Lexus/Toyota for that part. The alternative is repairing the caliper, depending on what is wrong with it (there's a kit available for about £60 from Lexus/Toyota for repairing/servicing a caliper).

I don't see why you don't have a choice when you change your cam belt, if you want something for your service history then a receipt showing that it's been changed from an independent specialist should be just as good, surely ? I don't know what it's like in Sweden, but in the UK as the car gets older it becomes less important to have a service history with the manufacturer, just a service history. IMHO anyway.

That seller doesn't ship to sweden, nice price though....perhaps someone does.... I often find that sellers doesn't ship to Sweden, it's a pity. I didn't want to drive the car and therefor I needed it repaired as soon as possible. On Thursday I'm going to try to get to my mother again so need the car quick or I will have to take the train.... If I wasn't dependent of my car I would have got a second hand caliper and changed it my self. But as you understand I don't have the time. Nor the place and tools here were I live but of course tools can be bought but don't have a garage which sucks!

Yes it's a new part. I haven't seen the caliper but according to my dealer it's beyond repairable due to the heat.... The mechanic had trouble to remove it. All the rubber in it has melted...

My car is not old :D You do have a point but I will continue to get the stamps for a few more years. My car is made 2000 (late 1999) but has only covered 83000 km.

Thanks for the help! Perhaps it's a good idea to buy "new" calipers for the next time, find new shiny ones real cheap and put in the bookshelf :D

[Steviewevie]

I will gladly buy a caliper off eBay for you and ship if over to you, if you want and if that would help. Or the seller may ship to Sweden if you ask.

Edit - according to the listing the seller will ship to other countries if you enquire about shipping costs.

[Martin_80]

I will gladly buy a caliper off eBay for you and ship if over to you, if you want and if that would help. Or the seller may ship to Sweden if you ask.

Edit - according to the listing the seller will ship to other countries if you enquire about shipping costs.

Thank you! You are very kind! Toyota has already order the parts, should arrive tomorrow. However as I mentioned it would be nice to have these laying around incase...

Thank you again, I had a quick look before I went home from work and missed that....I will ask them about shipping!

Are these blue printed parts as good as new?

[Steviewevie]

Are these blue printed parts as good as new?

When I referred to Blueprint, what I mean was that I was guessing they're made by a company called ADL Blueprint, who make a lot of parts for Japanese (and other cars). It was only a guess, I could be wrong, but you could ask the eBay seller where the parts are from.

I don't have personal experience with them, but you might want to try searching for "blueprint" on the LOC forums. I seem to remember quite a few people saying they'd used their parts in the past, and that they seemed to be OEM quality, but I don't recall if anyone has tried their brake calipers.

[kev dood]

Front brake caliper from Lexus UK is £260+VAT (15%).

Or they can rebuild it with new seals etc for much less - thats what I am gonna do to mine, once I get a free weekend to do it - and find the guide on here which appears to have disappeared!! :-(

[Martin_80]

Front brake caliper from Lexus UK is £260+VAT (15%).

Or they can rebuild it with new seals etc for much less - thats what I am gonna do to mine, once I get a free weekend to do it - and find the guide on here which appears to have disappeared!! :-(

£299 then is that including fitting? It's not far from mine then ~£360. The price I got £620 is for 1 caliper, 4 brake pads, brake fluid and ofcourse labor atleast that is the price a got and what they have changed.

The also found a leaking water pump

If I done the math correct it's a total of £1220 with the cam belt change, I love my car :D

if they dont find anything else.... :shutit:

[kev dood]

No, just part.

Dealers here do a cambelt at £299 fixed at mo.

Ouch, not cheap when you do have to spend out on them, but at least its no every year!

[Martin_80]

It's pretty much the same then for changing caliper. I think £360 is with labor....

£299 is a good price. All my colleagues reacts like £370 for a cam belt change is cheap and I think it's reasonable although from reading the post here at LOC I have got the impression that it is really simple to do it your self. As my car gets older and I now for sure if I'm gonna keep it until I die I will do more my self! Incase I'm going to in the near future trade it in for another car it always nice to have a service history with all the stamps.

If I have to spend this much every year I will get a new car :D

[Fazerboy]

For all interested parties re: Brake calipers

Had same problem with my 2001 46,000 mile IS

It's a lot more aggressive than wheel balancing !

(checked hub/disc temp, but be careful, one will be much hotter than the other)

Sourced locally, and coming in at £73 each :)

From EK Brakes (they do post items out too)

And I had to get both calipers, approx a month apart though !!!

(so beware of the problem Martin, as the other side will be in a similar condition)

Brakes work well, and happy it's all fixed now

[Martin_80]

For all interested parties re: Brake calipers

Had same problem with my 2001 46,000 mile IS

It's a lot more aggressive than wheel balancing !

(checked hub/disc temp, but be careful, one will be much hotter than the other)

Sourced locally, and coming in at £73 each :)

From EK Brakes (they do post items out too)

And I had to get both calipers, approx a month apart though !!!

(so beware of the problem Martin, as the other side will be in a similar condition)

Brakes work well, and happy it's all fixed now

Thanks Fazerboy now I won't be able to sleep to night :P Other side too.....but ofcourse you're right the other side is most certainly falling apart to.... Since the disc on my left side got hot the wheel bearing propably took some beating to.... so time will tell if it needs replacing.... The disc is fine though according to the mechanic so it can't have been too hot....

It's probably best to start shoping for parts.... I want to be prepared next time...

Were your calipers new at £73 or refurbished(correct word?) old/used ones?

Thanks for the heads up and your reply and you're absolutly right it was far more aggressive then wheel balancing felt like all four wheels were about to come loose!

[Motsey]

quick thing to check if you have aftermarket wheels, check to make sure you have all 4 spigot rings present - 1 of mine is missing and it made a difference -- i wouldnt have thought a little thing like this could but it dose and its easy to check

[Patch234]

Hi mate,

Can the calipers not be re-furbed? If they can you can get a pair done, new pistons, rubbers, the lot for around £150.00.

Good luck mate, I feel for you,

Phil

[Fazerboy]

Were your calipers new at £73 or refurbished(correct word?) old/used ones?

New, and testimony from ex-mechanic, I can't tell the difference

IMHO better than re-conditioning old calipers with seal kit

As the pistons may well be pitted ...

And for the same price of a seal kit anyway

Makes financial sense (time & effort), and peace of mind

[Martin_80]

Hi mate,

Can the calipers not be re-furbed? If they can you can get a pair done, new pistons, rubbers, the lot for around £150.00.

Good luck mate, I feel for you,

Phil

I don't know, I quess it should be possible? However as I understod it my caliper had to much damage to be repaired. One piston is completly stuck. I wanted my car back as soon as possible therefor I got new parts othervise i would have looked for an alternative. I wanted my car back before today(thursday) but my car needed a new water pump also and it didn't arrive today.....will have to take the train a 3 hour trip

I don't have the skills to tell if the caliper is repairable and since I needed my car back as fast as possible I went with the dealer recommendation to get a new caliper, wrong/right/stupid I don't now. Expensive hell YES but atleast it's a new part and it was a quick change but since the car needed more parts i didn't get my car in time anyway.

[Martin_80]

It is a jungel out there...What is new parts, what is old but refurbished are there other brands? I've sent the seller in the above mentioned eBay link an email.

I thought I post this here also from a thread in the brake section. It looks like I have a good and pretty simple alternative here in Sweden if I'm not in a hurry to get the parts. This shop isn't located were I live, it complicates things read below...

From the brake section post:

5 minutes ago I found a non branded car part shop that sells Calipers for my car here in Sweden. It said budweg in the information field, I googled and found this click. Looks like they are located in Denmark. This dealer trancelated "Car parts specialist" wants £145 a piece alot better price then new lexus/toyota part but ofcourse there is a catch on the dealers webpage it says that you have to send them your old calipers which could be a problem for some it is for me.... Thought I tell you guys what I had found anyway.