Chris111

Sorry Lee, not technically minded so I don't know what your asking.

Having just had mine done, if I can work out how to get a photo of the results sheet on here I'll let you know.

John if you've read my recent thread about the vibration at speed you will see that I also had a problem with the steering feeling light and also experienced, like Lee says above, having to concentrate at keeping the car in a straight line. This was traced to it toeing out and a 4 wheel alignment has sorted this and as a result the steering now feels much more weightier.

Thanks @Chris Skelton. I do check mine occasionally and I also always re-torque the nuts myself after any work done but good advice that I'm sure a lot of people overlook. @Farqui and @Britprius I believe that there is a further problem for us GS 450h owners as in what do you do with the wheel and tyre that has had the puncture after fitting the space saver spare as a full size GS 450h wheel with tyre will not fit in the boot! If you've got a full car that will be a problem. I'm sure I have also read a thread on hear a few years back were the poster was stating that if you use a can of 'tyre gue' it will wreck the TPMS.

But who actually provides the insurance for Tesco? None of these supermarkets own banks or insurance companies so it is provided by one of the main insurance companies under the Tesco name. For example, I know when my wife worked for Lloyds that the 'Sheila's wheels' brand was one of their offerings. The other big insurers will do the same thing and they will all charge different premiums for these different names even though it essentially comes from the same provider. Mobile phones are the same. Tesco mobile is supplied by O2 I believe and BT mobile by EE.

I have checked on mine and the sports button and traction control button are lit up as well so I think you are missing some lights I'm afraid.

Sorry I have no idea how easy they go. I would assume it's the same as a wheel bearing or any other bearing. When they wear out, they wear out. In my opinion I don't think that any particular driving style would cause this but would also be interested if anyone knows different.

Quick update. Been out in the car a couple of times and all seems to be fine. I say 'seems' as I'm paranoid about this especially as I have been told on previous occasions that it had been 'fixed' (by balancing the wheels, etc.) and also the fact that driving on some of the road surfaces here result in the car displaying the same symptoms! I will say though that high speed driving feels fine now, not that I drive fast, but I was able to overtake vehicles (safely) under circumstances I wouldn't have done recently because I knew the car would shake and vibrate. I have my car back again😁.

Sorry just noticed that you have a GS 300 and I quoted the 450h manual but I still think it will be in your manual as it shouldn't be so much different to mine. You state in your original post that you have followed your manual in how to operate it so, if it follows my manual, the explanation for what you need to do is on the following page under a bullet heading 'When the 12 volt battery is disconnected'.

If the battery has previously been disconnected and the roof hasn't been reset page 54 of the GS 450h owner's manual explains what you need to do. Similarly if the windows also haven't been reset after the battery being disconnected page 51 explains what to do.

Had a similar experience about 15 years ago with my wife's 2001 Seat. Turned out to be a faulty ABS sensor.

Finally got the car back this afternoon after nine days and the problem was diagnosed as the prop shaft bearing. The car does now seem to be a lot better to drive and the noise does appear to have gone. Unfortunately I was unable to do more than 50mph during the journey home so am unable to confirm for myself that the vibration has gone, although Steve the technician who worked on the car is confident the problem is now sorted. The problem with the light steering was traced to it toeing out so a 4 wheel alignment has sorted this and as a result the steering now feels much more weightier. Will be going out for a long fast run tomorrow and hopefully, after more than three years, I've got my car back to how I remember it and will enjoy driving it again.

Update. The car went in today and is with them for a few days. A run along the M6 with one of the technicians driving resulted in him describing the car as 'very loose'. He also confirmed to me he could hear the noise which he said will be thoroughly investigated by himself together with the suspension and steering components. I also wrote a short 'essay' (like my initial post above) for them so I could give as much information as possible, describing what I feel and hear, what has been done in the past to try and rectify it as well as mentioning the potential causes of the problem which @NemesisUK and @is200 Newbie put forward. Thanks very much. Only slight downside is the courtesy car. A Yaris. Now there is nothing wrong with that except it's a manual so I have to learn to drive one of those again! I haven't driven one for years. Will hopefully know more beginning of next week.

Thanks for the replies. If there is a problem with either the propshaft or drive shaft coupler could I please ask if anyone thinks the problem I mentioned with the steering (fighting to keep in a straight line and feeling very light) is connected? It's just I would hate to get only one problem fixed if there are two. I was thinking track rod ends?

I found out about it from the Lexus portal when I saw the record of the wheels being refurbished and then asked for confirmation when I took the car in for its service in June. The car was registered in May 2006, the repair work was done in August 2006 and was sold by Lexus Bristol in September 2006 to a private individual who owned it for about five years. I bought the car from an independent trader who had taken it off a BMW dealership as it had been traded into them. If the initial buyer was aware of the repair work I'm not sure the company I bought it from would have known. I also think that if it had been badly repaired any symptom of this would have shown sooner rather than later (i.e. not nine years later), or am I being naïve to think that? The car drove fine for the first four years of my ownership just last three have been the problem.

Thanks for your reply. I have had the tracking checked and done when needed about half a dozen times since this started but it didn't eliminate the problem unfortunately. Glad it worked for you though.

Apparently when it was a demo car owned by Lexus Bristol it was 'sideswipped'. I was told that as a result the nsr wheel arch was repaired and both ns wheels were refurbished. I only found this out this year at the last service.

Many thanks for that. I'll certainly get that looked at.

Firstly I apologise for the length of the following post but I am trying to get in as much info as possible. This problem started in spring 2015. Basically the car exhibits rhythmical vibration and shaking which is felt through the seat, peddles and steering, becoming noticeable from an indicated 65mph and gets progressively worse as you increase speed making motorway driving particularly unpleasant. The other day I hit an indicated 90mph (for the first time in a long time) and all I can say is I think we got some impression of what a F1 driver experiences with a flat spotted tyre given the violence with which the car shook. There is also a strange noise that is very quiet but definitely there. It is a constant tempo that increases or decreases in tandem with the speed of the car. The closest comparison I can give is the sound a helicopter propeller makes when you hear them in the air. Whatever this problem is it started approx 18 months after I had a set of Goodyear tyres fitted. First thing I did was to rotate the wheels but there was no change in the symptoms so I took it to Lexus Carlisle who rebalanced them. However, the wheels were heavily corroded and Lexus advised that because of this corrosion it was possible that the wheels were losing the balancing weights, resulting in the vibration, and advised refurbishing or replacing them (two of them were also constantly losing tyre pressure as well). Now I couldn't find anywhere to refurbish them so I sourced a new set of aftermarket wheels in the same 8x18 size and, after funds allowed, six months later a new set were fitted by Lexus with the Goodyear tyres transferred onto them. However, there was no change and the symptoms where still there. I went back to Lexus. The wheels were rebalanced and rotated and the suspension geometry done. Still no change. Took to ATS for rebalancing. No change. Took to an independent (2 different ones). No change. I was then advised it was probably the tyres so two years ago a full set of Dunlops were fitted by Lexus. There was still no change to the vibrating and shaking and by now I was beginning to think it's me. I rotated the wheels again but still no change. I was then advised that all the brake discs needed replacing as the fronts were warped and the rears were heavily scored and pitted. As the car was also shaking under braking this gave me hope of a solution. So 12 months ago new discs and pads were fitted all round, but, whilst this did eliminate the shaking under braking the vibration and shaking at speed were still just as evident. At the last service in June the wheels were rebalanced again but I was told by one of the technicians that because the aftermarket alloys were the wrong offset (35 not 45), that would contribute to the problem!?! I tried to question that but he was insistent. That rebalancing made no difference either. So I have just sourced a set of refurbished Lexus GS wheels (from the 430 so are exactly the same size and offset) and had them fitted by Lexus with the Dunlop tyres transferred to them. The result? NO CHANGE IN THE SYMPTOMS. I am pretty sure therefore that it is not the wheels, tyres or the brakes! I'm also pretty sure it is not a sticking caliper as all four have been replaced at different intervals since this started (again resulting in no change in the symptoms). They were checked and greased at the last service and also the other week when the new wheels were fitted. I have asked Lexus Carlisle on more than one occasion to inspect the suspension, front and rear, and, other than a new nsf shock absorber fitted at the last service because the original one had burst, they say they cannot find anything wrong (I do wonder how hard they check though as I don't think they want to spend time on this because all they seem to want to do is rebalance the wheels). I have also asked numerous times if a bearing has gone but they say no. The tyres are also at the correct pressure, 35psi as per the manual. So, given the above, unless there is something wrong with the suspension what could it be? Prop shaft, drive shafts? A further problem that has arisen over the last twelve months is I find I am constantly fighting to keep the car in a straight line once 50mph is reached and the steering feels very light. However, there is no noticeable vibration felt through the steering wheel until I hit the higher speeds I mention above. I also mentioned this when the car was serviced but the same reason about the wheel offset being wrong was given for this problem. Well now I have the right wheels so it can't be that, can it? When I bought this car seven years ago I drove 300 motorway miles home along the M5 and M6. I wouldn't like to drive 30 motorway miles today. If I can't get it sorted I'm going to have no alternative but to get rid of the car and probably, unfortunately, end up with some newer nondescript eurobox as we can't afford a newer GS at the moment. I appreciate that it is virtually impossible to diagnose the problem from what I have written but I am convinced that the noise and vibration are linked as they started at exactly the same time so I would be very grateful for some pointers as to what else to check or get rechecked.

It's 76 lb/ft for a S3 GS 450h so can't see it being different for your S4 GS.

Many thanks to you all. Sorted now.

Right found out now. Google Chrome.

I am not joking I am a real technophobe. What is a browser. I kid you not I genuinely do not know computer jargon.

Sorry I am a real technophobe and have no idea what you are advising me to do. Can you elaborate please?

I have just found it is not just related to the two I mentioned. All the forums are giving me different 'recent' posts now.