Last Stage In The Wheel Wobble Saga....possibly

[Mercuryalan]

Hi All,

Haven't had my Is 200 03 Sport Cross for long and have had almost sorted the steering wheel wobble but haven't eliminated it completely !

Can you help please ?

I've had the front calipers refurbished, discs/pads replaced and all 4 wheels balanced and tracking done at WIM approved garage.

95% of the problem has been sorted but the wobble is still there between 75 and 80 mph and is more apparent when I lift my foot off the accelerator at these speeds. the car steers straight and brakes in a straight line.

One answer I know is not to drive at these speeds but why is the wobble there ? Any thoughts?

Love the car otherwise....even though the Sat Nav packed up after two days even after having the laser 'cleaned'..but that's no big deal.

Thanks in anticipation

[LexIS200Sport]

Hi, have you tried swapping the front wheels with the rears?

[Mercuryalan]

Hi Ganesh,

I should have added in my post that the mechanic who did my alignment said he couldn't adjust the front nearside wheel 100% and he thought it may have been due to a slightly bent track-rod or steering arm due to a hard kerbing or small accident. Neither of he said which showed as any noticeable damage.

He also suggested what you have and I'm getting that done this week. The alloys have been refurbed and the tyres are fairly new.

Would it be advisable to get this looked at at a main dealer and how much do you think it will set me back ?

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

This thread helped me.

http://m.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=616815&styleid=13

Take your time and read the thread in it's entirety. I had huge wobble problems on my old 200. Had the car WIM'd, new tyres, new alloys, new lower ball joints, new lower front control arm bushes, new callipers, discs, pads..... I could not get rid of the wheel wobble completely. In the end, new ball joints and geo at WIM got it sorted.

I learnt that it's prob not one thing causing your wobble it's a combination of factors. For example with mine it was slightly buckled rims, worn ball joints and geometry out. Those things on their own May not cause a wobble but a combination of all 3 and bang, steering wheel wobble.

Oh and Lexus were pretty useless at diagnosing my wobble and it's as tho they don't really have time for it. My advice is get in touch with WIM again. Explain your problem in detail and tell them you want to get to the bottom of it regardless of time etc.... They were great with me, trying different things, sending me on a test drive, not happy come back and they tried something different etc....

Good luck, I know how frustrating that wobble can be. All I'll say us your lucky it's at 75/80mph, mine was at 60-70mph so right in every day driving sweet spot on the motorway

[Mercuryalan]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your reply. I guess I should have waded through the complete thread ! Lesson learnt.

I'll take your advice and go back to the WIM garage. Are the ball joints expensive to replace if they are the problem ? And are there top and bottom ones ?

Apologies I'm not too familiar with car mechanics

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

It was lower front ball joints. It's common for them develop play and most IS200/300's need them replaced anywhere from 70k upwards. Lower ball joints are pretty cheap, £100 per side fitted at Lexus, WIM will be a few quid cheaper but make sure they use OEM which I'm sure they would anyway.

Ball joints might not be your problem tho, just one of many things to check.