LX570 Lean/Sag (1 Viewer)

[CLHickman]

BTW - To follow-up on my experience...

Dealer got the truck back to us. It still had a slight lean, from 1" down to .5". The lean is only seen now while in the LOW and HIGH setting, NORMAL is well... normal. I called the service rep asking if I should just take it to the local Toyota. He got back to me rather fast and explained they would like to take a look at it there. It is no big deal for us, just gives another reason to visit Minneapolis. They are most likely going to do the calibration recommended in the previous post.

Hopefully they don't hit another car this time.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

What I got from my local service guy, was that when calibrated to within spec, it would have a lean AND dependent upon where it was parked, this could move up or down... so what they were saying was that it was NOT consistent. Lovely.

I have yet to follow up with the local dealer, as a warranty issue. Since my struts on the rear hatch are getting spongy, I may bring up these items to see if I can get this taken care of under the warranty, but I want to make the most since I have a deductible.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Oh, and an update to my last update too...

After messing with my AHC settings, the alignment was TOTALLY off! So, expect an alignment being needed each time the AHC setting are adjusted.

 

[CLHickman]

What I got from my local service guy, was that when calibrated to within spec, it would have a lean AND dependent upon where it was parked, this could move up or down... so what they were saying was that it was NOT consistent. Lovely.

I have yet to follow up with the local dealer, as a warranty issue. Since my struts on the rear hatch are getting spongy, I may bring up these items to see if I can get this taken care of under the warranty, but I want to make the most since I have a deductible.

I believe the lean is just the system not being calibrated correctly. There are several folks here on the forum that are flat and level with more miles on the clock than me. So, I will press to have the dealership to get the truck back to factory specs.

As far as the alignment, I noticed that with our drive back from Minneapolis the steering wheel was off center. So, I can say that we will also need an alignment after the work the dealership did. I will also press them to also align it under warranty due to the work they've done.

I can say though that the lean is extremely minor in the grand scheme of things. We addressed it only because we were heading towards the dealership. It will be more of an issue though when we're heading off the beaten path and worrying about clearance.

 

[vqt]

I made an appointment with the dealer today about my 2013 LX570 lean on the driver side. The service writer told me that if the shock cannot be adjusted then maybe it will need to be replace. Since it is still under warranty, I hope the dealer will make it right so I don't have to go back and fort.

 

[CLHickman]

Well, since we wanted to visit Minneapolis this 4th of July weekend we might as well drop off the truck to get looked at again. Since we took it in last time the lean has leveled some. We're looking at a 1/4" difference now vs 1".

The tech did the measuring tape precheck and validated our findings. So, they've had it for a day and we should get it back today. Fingers crossed.

 

[CLHickman]

Update - dealership went through the leveling calibration. It is far worse than when they started. Looks like we'll be taking a loaner home and they'll deliver when they get it fixed. Not feeling bad about it. The dealership has been an extreme pleasure to work with.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

The level of complexity in the AHC system, makes me wish that I had held out for a LC with a more "simplified" suspension. I have had mine checked twice b two different mechanics and both say the system is normal.

 

[CLHickman]

With all of the KDSS complexity I think we're on level ground *pun intended* with the AHC system.

I still like AHC for the height adjustment and ride dampening capabilities. I don't need to jump out and dial in each corner, instead I just flip the switch.

The sliders and bumper are going to make adventure a little more of a reality for us with the LX.

 

[CLHickman]

So we got the vehicle back last week. The truck sits level now in NORM and HI. Huge success on that front!

Though now it will not go into LO mode on its own. So, that is a downside.

It seems they went through and adjusted the AHC sensors on the front and rear as well as doing another calibration. I'm thinking that they put the sensors too high so it doesn't actually detect that it has hit the LO threshold.

I've got an e-mail to the service adviser to see what he thinks. We won't be able to head to Minneapolis for a while so I'm curious what we'll next.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

I tried manually adjusting my sensors to see about leveling the front to back out a bit. I too saw that if you adjusted a single sensor by more than about an 1/8 of an inch, the AHC would not fully go into Low position and the automatic lowering for entry was not active.

They should be able to reset it, but I afraid that you will have the stink bug look again. I had tow different Lexus mechanics look at this and both said that the "stink bug" front to back sag is normal. Mine is now worse that it started out as, when I bought the truck a little over a year ago.

 

[CLHickman]

I'd be cautious about manually adjusting the sensors without doing the full calibration after. It seems I'm having a very similar situation that you're having. What I believe is that they adjusted the sensors to level the truck out, which they did, but did not fully calibrate the truck.

My argument to the dealership is all about standards and specifications. There is a set amount of tolerances that the truck should be within when going from each position. If it is outside of those parameters then they need to fix it. I'm waiting to hear if they want me to get it looked at locally at the Toyota dealership or if they want to send someone over with a loaner and take it.

I still love the truck and I believe AHC is a good system. I'll keep the thread posted on the update.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

I agree wholeheartedly on the caution statement!

If you adjust those sensors AT ALL, you need to do a full calibration and front end alignment.

By just adjusting the front passenger's site a very small amount, the car started pulling and my AHC locked in the High position and would not move. I then adjusted it back to where I thought was the original position and was able to get it to not pull, but it was still out of alignment. That was when I had a local Lexus tech go through the system and do an alignment. Everything worked afterward, but I still have the back end higher than the front, which I have been told is "normal".

 

[CLHickman]

@LCHardriver_02 Take a look at this: GSIC - Global Service Information Center

It is the reason I don't want to adjust the sensor linkage myself. At least, I don't want to do it without having Techstream yet.

As far as the rake you're seeing, I did notice a slight rake rear to font for mine. I'm not sure the height difference front to back you were noticing, but IIRC it was an inch or two different for mine.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Yeah, I had this information when I tried the adjustment, but thought I would try at least. I agree that you NEED Techstream to do any adjustments on this system.

 

[CLHickman]

So, to continue and hopefully close out the update process:

We just got back from Minneapolis today. We decided to stick it out and stay the entire time until they could fix the issue. With that, we dropped the truck off last Friday to take a look at the AHC concerns. As always, they were great to work with. I had video and pictures of the issues. This assisted greatly, as I was kind of sounding wacky about the entire timeline and what we've been seeing. So, the diagnostic tech and I road tested and duplicated. From there they tested the system without finding any codes popping. One of their other diagnostic techs mentioned the AHC ECU as a possible culprit. They pulled one out of an LX they had on the lot. After tossing it in mine and finding that it rectified all of the issues they put it on order. Since it was sitting there I just had them do some of the fluid servicing (brake/diffs/tx case.) They got the ECU this morning and re-calibrated the system. From there it was good to go.

The ECU was ~$1700 and labor came to $400. I'm very thankful it was still under warranty. I'm not sure why the ECU would have started acting wonky so soon. I will say that everything had worked (AHC up/down) until my last visit to the dealership. So, it could have been something they induced last time.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

@CLHickman - Thanks for the update! This is something to watch for. Regarding whether it was induced for service or just a timing thing... you may never know. That is the thing with electronics, they can be fine... and then poof, gone in milliseconds.

 

[TLCLVR]

So, to continue and hopefully close out the update process:

We just got back from Minneapolis today. We decided to stick it out and stay the entire time until they could fix the issue. With that, we dropped the truck off last Friday to take a look at the AHC concerns. As always, they were great to work with. I had video and pictures of the issues. This assisted greatly, as I was kind of sounding wacky about the entire timeline and what we've been seeing. So, the diagnostic tech and I road tested and duplicated. From there they tested the system without finding any codes popping. One of their other diagnostic techs mentioned the AHC ECU as a possible culprit. They pulled one out of an LX they had on the lot. After tossing it in mine and finding that it rectified all of the issues they put it on order. Since it was sitting there I just had them do some of the fluid servicing (brake/diffs/tx case.) They got the ECU this morning and re-calibrated the system. From there it was good to go.

The ECU was ~$1700 and labor came to $400. I'm very thankful it was still under warranty. I'm not sure why the ECU would have started acting wonky so soon. I will say that everything had worked (AHC up/down) until my last visit to the dealership. So, it could have been something they induced last time.

This is an old thread, but you wouldn't happen to have the part number for that ECU would you?

 

[CLHickman]

Part number for the 2013 is: 89293-60082. The part is located in the left rear cargo area behind the trim. It is pretty easy to access without taking the seat out.

 

[TLCLVR]

Thanks.

$1525... ouch. There goes my plan for sliders...