Couple Of Questions Which Might Be Related

[zaria123]

Hi Guys

I have my LS400 since September now and loving it, the car is superb with just turned (2000 model, with DHP) 60,000 miles, full History etc etc etc.

There are two issues I wanted to ask about which could very well be related. I left the car in with my Lexus Dealership to continue keeping the service record up to date, and told them the main reason for leaving the car in wasn't actually the service but I suspected a front wheel bearing was required, and the bake discs may need replaced. I collected the car and they said they needed to put on new rear brake pads, but the fronts and all discs were perfect. However I am suspicious of this diagnosis because rather than deal with my actual concern and reason for leaving ht ecar in (i.e. brakes and bearing), they had the car all day, carried out the service, replaced there rear brakes, but never actually test drove the at all until after this (by which stage it was rush hour traffic).

Now I will confess I am very very fussy, but based on my description below, I hardly think the car should be like this:

1) The brakes produce a symptom which when slowing down makes the car very slightly jerky (E.g not sure exactly the best way to describe but as if it is braking more then less second by second if that makes sense). Although the strange thing is this is intermittant, within one journey sometimes it is very prominent and other times it doesn't happen. I also happens more noticeably under braking at slower speeds, i.e. if I had to brake hard on the motorway at 70mph and come to a standstill there is no to only very slight indication of judder.

2) From all I have read on the forum etc the smoothness and refinement of these cars is supposed to be superb. However I feel there is a harshness which I can feel through the steering wheel, is most prominent between 30 & 45 mph, and 'I' can hear it. To me it sounds like a wheel bearing (humming / droaning) as the sound changes slightly dependant on the speed of the car. It doesn't matter what gear the car is in as I have changed up and down the gears and the noise is unaffected. I also believe the noise worsens slightly when driving, and turning the steering wheel slightly to the right, and perhaps reduces only steering slightly to the left.

As I said I am very very fussy and these things do niggle me. I'd say another driver wouldn't initially notice the wheel bearing suspicion (unless of course they already were an LS driver).

If, as Lexus say none of the items I suspect are at fault, is there anything else I should be looking at?

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

Alan

PS Im in Northern Ireland, and LS's are a rare sight here, otherwise I;d ask another owner to dive my car or let me drive theirs, as mine is the only LS I've ever driven

[steve2006]

If you're not happy with the diagnosis you could always get a second opinion from either another dealer (Toyota or Lexus) or a good independant.

I am somewhat surprised that if there is a problem with the front brakes or a wheel bearing that Lexus haven't jumped on the chance to replace the parts and charge accordingly so it seems to prove the're very honest.

The are a few LS owners from Belfast on this forum and I remember one has the same year as yours.

[zaria123]

Thanks for the reply,

Unfortunately we only have one lexus dealer who is also the Toyota dealer (one the groups who hold nearly every franchise). Although there very well might be another Toyota dealer somewhere.

I've found it very difficult here to find a trustworthy mechanic, (I've has lots of problems in the past, with mechanics working on my other cars...but these are much older, and smaller, and I can generally work on them myself).

To be honest, I think my car was too old to interest them. I wasn't really filled with confidence, because anyone would have picked up the brake issue if they had driven the car for a few miles (In their opinion replacing rear pads could very well resolve this sort of issue). Also....they put the correct mileage on my invoice, and a random mileage which was over 10,000 miles higher on my service book.

It'd be great also to hear if there are any other NI Owners on here who could recommend a reliable mechanic. I have seen 3 LS's here but they are very early cars (not sure if that makes a difference mechanically), but I have literally seen them pass me on the road.

Also any other comments on whether there is anything else other than brakes or bearing which could cause this. I wondered perhaps could a defective brake disc also cause the noise?

Cheers

Alan

[beavisrules]

I had a pulsing brake issue with my mk3 many years ago.

the disk's had worn down a lot and had left patches where it hadn't worn as much (due to heat making parts harder , i'm LED to beleive).

this would make

a: the pedal would actualy move up/down very slightly.

b: the car would judder slightly if the breaks were touched gently

c: the judder could shake the wheel left/right

new disks/pads sorted that one for me. (under 100quid on fleabay :3 ) , less than a hour to change.

I'd be *very* supprised if a wheelbearing had gone after only 60k miles.

the LS is one of the easyest cars ever to work on.

when changing pads , the hardest part is jacking car and removing wheels.

aiirc , the disk comes off without removing the caliper.

[Mybikesacx500]

The brakes sound like warped front disks- depending on wether the warps "line up" with each other the symptoms come and go a bit. I changed mine for eBay cheapos and had beautifully smooth brakes for 3 months, now the symptoms are back a bit. It has been suggested that braking to a halt and keeping the brakes on overheats the disk under the pad, while the rest of the disk cools, and they warp.

[John N]

Start with the simple approach, Chock the wheels, and parking brake off.

jack each wheel up in turn and give it a spin, any unusual bearing noise or sign of the brakes binding?

Give each wheel a tug top to bottom and side to side, any free play in the bearing that is more than normal?

Then take the wheel off and look at the brake disc, is the face of the disc smooth and clean?

Was the car left unused in the wet for a long time before you bought it, because the discs will have gone rusty. They don't always clean up and perform at their best when they are used again.

If you need new discs or pads buy genuine parts from Lexus, I've never found a cheaper alternative that are as good.

Spend 2 hours doing this and you should spot any problem with a bearing or brake yourself.

Working on these cars yourself is easy they are just big and very well built. If you go to the spares dept. at the Lexus dealer ask for a discount, you will normally get one, but if you don't ask you won't!

John N

LS430

[SteveLS400]

Just had new NSF and NSR wheel bearings fitted and whilst it has definitely made a big difference, there is still some harshness and noise which I suspect is a rubber bushing of some sort, as the car is always quieter on a wet day.

We tend to have the windows up in the wet

There was a post within this last week or so about quietening everything down by squirting everything with WD40, and what you have in the wet is cool and water. If you wait till the hot dry weather (you know that day in June) it will creak like and old galleon. Get a supplier of WD40.