Just joined the LX club

[mtnracer]

We just pulled the trigger on a 2010 LX with 35000 miles. Silver, rear entertainment, cool box and a few other things.

On the way home on the highway I noticed a slight shimmy at speed. The dealer said the wheels were just balanced. If it's not the wheels, what else could it be?

Thanks.

 

[Atwalz]

Congratulations on expensive cool box.

 

[Cfbrenton1]

Congrats. Sometimes they do crappy job balancing them. Are they the original tires? If so, they might just need replacing. Are they inflated properly and show normal,wear? One of your rims could also be bent. That happens all the time in my BMW, never has happened in my LXs though.

 

[chilibit]

Swap the fronts to the back and note any difference. You need more info. Is tread wear even and consistent? Spin the wheels on hub bearings and see if there is lateral or vertical run-out. Check the fronts before you move them and the rears after you move them. Yes, re-torque evenly and with a decent wrench.There are at least a dozen other things that could do this. But wheels/tires are the simple ones.

 

[THEROK]

95% likelihood it wasn't balanced right. when's the last time a dealer's word was as strong as oak?

take it to a proper tire shop and get them rebalanced. make sure they tell you state of balance as-is.

 

[mtnracer]

Dealer agreed to re-balance wheels at no charge. I just need to set an appointment to take it in.

 

[Whileemptyheadsdream]

balamce is vibration, shimmy is , at least In my experience, steering damper . Wheels were just balanced, right ? However If P/M has been put off, many things can be bad In the front end. Good Luck ! Sorry I thought I was in the 80s, still good luck !

 

[THEROK]

99% of the time, these shimmying issues come down to tires/wheels being out of balance. People have diff tolerance levels for the hwy speed vibration.
I have ZERO tolerance so I make sure to find myself a skilled wheel balancing technician who can zero them out. i'll tip them extra so when i come back for a rotation, they'll make sure to balance them again with care as a best practice. i'll invest in them so they invest in me.

i've had brand new top shelf michelin super pilot sport tires sold to me out of round. get me a new tire. the bigger and knobbier tires get, the greater the chance they'll require a bit more finesse to zero out. im super happy my xtreme E-rated toyo at2s are butter.

it's tough to find good work these days. volume diminishes quality. gl man!

 

[mtnracer]

I had the wheels rebalanced yesterday and it is 80% better - still not perfect. I am expecting near perfection from an LX.

I should mention that I bought the truck from a Mercedes dealer but it was serviced for most of its life at Lexus on a very regular basis. It now has about 36,000 miles.

Anyway, the ride is still not as smooth as I would hope. Anything else that could cause vibrations? I am still under the power train warranty plus an extended bumper to bumper.

 

[gaijin]

I had the wheels rebalanced yesterday and it is 80% better - still not perfect. I am expecting near perfection from an LX.

I should mention that I bought the truck from a Mercedes dealer but it was serviced for most of its life at Lexus on a very regular basis. It now has about 36,000 miles.

Anyway, the ride is still not as smooth as I would hope. Anything else that could cause vibrations? I am still under the power train warranty plus an extended bumper to bumper.

If rebalancing solved 80% of the problem, it's probably one of two things:

1. The people doing the rebalancing were only 80% competent

2. It just may be time to replace the tires that are on there.

What tires are on your truck? Are they the originals?

If it were me, I'd get a nice set of new tires and have them balanced at a shop I trust - not at the dealer.

HTH

 

[stonepa]

And remember, this isn't an LS. There's a lot of unsprung weight for the truck to deal with.

 

[chilibit]

Would unsprung mass create inertia and dampen a balance issue rather than exacerbating it?

 

[gaijin]

Would unsprung mass create inertia and dampen a balance issue rather than exacerbating it?

No. More weight (unsprung) = more problem

 

[chilibit]

The displacement of a 20 kilo rotating mass in response to a 100 gram out of balance condition will be greater than the displacement of a 40 kilo rotating mass in response to the same 100 grams (assuming the same diameters and velocities). Mass dampens the effect. If you are saying that unsprung weight is the enemy of suspension geometry and handling---then we agree. It also eats fuel to accelerate that mass.

 

[mtnracer]

My LX has Michelin Tour HP tires in 285/50/20 with about 50% tread.

 

[mtnracer]

Drove the LX around town today doing 25-45 mph most of the time. It definitely feels sort of unsettled. Even at 35 mph I can see that the passenger seat has a vibration - very annoying. Definitely expecting the truck to be much smoother. My 2003 Land Cruiser is not nearly as plush but it definitely does not vibrate like the LX.

Whileemptyheadsdream mentioned the steering damper. Could that really be the issue?

 

[gaijin]

Drove the LX around town today doing 25-45 mph most of the time. It definitely feels sort of unsettled. Even at 35 mph I can see that the passenger seat has a vibration - very annoying. Definitely expecting the truck to be much smoother. My 2003 Land Cruiser is not nearly as plush but it definitely does not vibrate like the LX.

Whileemptyheadsdream mentioned the steering damper. Could that really be the issue?

I still think you would benefit from quality new tires installed and balanced by a specialty shop that you trust. I sympathize with you that you just dropped a bunch of money on your new truck, and it hurts to spend even more on new tires, but you will be glad you did.

HTH

 

[bdac]

Does this apply to you? https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/tsb-for-steering-wheel-vibration-lc-lx-differences.806752/

 

[mtnracer]

Does this apply to you? https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/tsb-for-steering-wheel-vibration-lc-lx-differences.806752/

I looked at that but my VIN seems to be after the VINs covered...

 

[chilibit]

I still think you would benefit from quality new tires installed and balanced by a specialty shop that you trust. I sympathize with you that you just dropped a bunch of money on your new truck, and it hurts to spend even more on new tires, but you will be glad you did.

HTH

I do not know what the cause is but I vote with GAIJIN. I had an out of balance driveshaft on the 80 that I chased for a good while. No, I am not suggesting yours is out of balance, only that it can get tricky. If the seat is vibrating it does not sound like a front wheel. Move the rears to the front and see if the issue goes to steering wheel. Even a "guru" is going to insist that the tire/wheels be eliminated as a cause before time is invested chasing other possibilities. It would be interesting to chat with the previous owner to see if he merely ignored it for a good while.