winnart

Hi, I have a Lexus IS200 auto year 2000 with 48000 miles on the clock. I’ve read a lot of reports on the forum regarding knocking etc. My car has a tapping & rattling noise which sounds like it’s coming from the nearside front wheel. The noise is only there when driving very slowly on rough or uneven roads. I’ve changed the bottom ball joints, track rod ends, anti roll bar drop links & checked the brake pads on both sides of the car. It’s also been in two different garages who say they’ve checked everything & can’t find a problem. I’ve had the tracking done & put two new tyres on the front. I also put it through an M.O.T hoping they’d fail it & find a problem, it passed. Strangely enough after I changed each part, the brake pads e.g. the car was perfect & I thought I’d sorted the problem, but within a couple of days the knocking returned. I then realised after jacking the body of the car with the weight of the wheel hanging it seemed to do a temporary fix. I now think it must be something to do with the shock absorber. Has anyone ever had a similar problem or have any ideas. I really can’t afford to pull out much more money on the car, its cost me a small fortune. I’d really appreciate any help or advice. Many thanks

Thanks Guys, I'll check both these suggestions out. I did take this car to the Lexus dealer who agreed the steering isn't right. He said they had a similar problem with the same model a couple of years ago. They put a new steering rack on that car but in their opinion it didn't seem to make any difference, but the customer never came back and so they didn't get to the bottom of the fault. Thanks for your help!

I have recently bought a low mileage Lexus IS200 year 2001 & had a problem with the steering not centralising fully. There is also a knocking or tapping when driving slowly on a rough road, it sounds like it’s coming from the passenger floor or front wheel. I’m not sure if the two problems could be connected. I’ve had the tracking set & fit new tyres but the problem is sill there. I’ve driven the car in a car park & if you don’t help the steering back, it just goes round in circles. Does anyone know if this is a common fault or have any ideas what might cause this? Many thanks