I am wondering if anyone has had luck getting the vibration problem resolved at the dealer ? They are just telling me that it is a "known" problem and there is no fix right now. I have a call into Lexus corporate.

No one has ever reported a fix for this. I think it's going to be one of those things that you tolerate. I honestly think it's blown way out of proportion. If I didn't specifically feel for it, I never would notice it. I doubt corporate is going to turn flips over it.

I just got the word from the dealer. they say a fix is in the works. cant get Lexus corp to admit there is a problem though....will wait for the fix.

is it a vibration or a kick...if it's a kick then we do have a fix for it...as far as a vibration...i'll check our service bullitins on monday if i think about it and check back to ya...btw the kick is felt when you let off the accelerator or keep a constant speed at highway speeds i.e. 60-70mph.


hey if you do have the kick tell them you want your drive shaft lubed..if they look at you funny check back here and i'll write up the proceedure for them..it's not a service bulletin yet i don't think...so they may honestly not know how to fix it yet...

I have the same vibration. Was worse at 50 miles on the Odometer, now have 1100 and I still feel it. It is a power applied issue.
The vibration feels like the balance in the center differential is off but it just couldn't be. It feels like it's at the center of the car/truck. The more gradual power applied, the more you feel the vibration. It's all in the 55-75 MPH zone. Lift your foot and it almost completely goes away. I felt it in the Dealer's demo in Greenwich CT. had 1200 miles on it. Now I feel it in mne. NOT happy. A $52K vibrator that needs premium fuel. Where's Larry Flint when you need him? I'm sure he could find the problem... maybe Hef.

RF

ok take the truck to your dealer and tell them to do the following...(the should know what to do without this but who knows)

1.) separate the rear driveshaft
2.) clean the splines on the driveshaft with brake cleaner
3.) put valve lapping compound on the splines of the shaft
4.) rapidly slide the two halves of the shaft together and apart several times till you see a patern form in the lapping compound
5.) thoroughly clean both sides of the drive shaft splines and use GM i temp grease on the splines
6.) repeat step 4 till the two halves slide nicely together
7.) reinstall driveshaft

Lexus will not admit this fix to the public (yet)...don't ask me why.

Is this for the vibration or the kick? I don't have the Kick? ...or do I

doesn't matter it needs to be done either way

it may fix your problem though this fix was developed for a "kick" which is an understatement cause the actual sensation is that you just got rearended by a Peterbuilt!

I dont have the kick either. Its just vibration.
My local tech says the fix is a intermidiary steering shaft, driveshaft damper and a muffer mod.

Heard anything of this ?
Lexus still not admitting anything. More wondering if anyone has actually fixed this issue.

QUOTE (Lextech2k3 @ Dec 14 2003, 06:07 AM)

ok take the truck to your dealer and tell them to do the following...(the should know what to do without this but who knows) 1.) separate the rear driveshaft 2.) clean the splines on the driveshaft with brake cleaner 3.) put valve lapping compound on the splines of the shaft 4.) rapidly slide the two halves of the shaft together and apart several times till you see a patern form in the lapping compound 5.) thoroughly clean both sides of the drive shaft splines and use GM i temp grease on the splines 6.) repeat step 4 till the two halves slide nicely together 7.) reinstall driveshaft Lexus will not admit this fix to the public (yet)...don't ask me why.

Ok, I took mine to the dealer for the kick and they did what you mentioned about lubing the driveshaft. It corrected the problem for the last 1500 miles but the kick has started back up again. I am really getting frusterated with this lexus. It is my first and will more than likely be the last. I am getting ready to take it to CARMAX to see how much I will lose on a trade in....

I also have this exact vibration problem on my 2004 GX470 that I just bought. I brought it to the dealer with 19 miles on it. Then drove it some more now 90 miles on it. They are still unsure of the problem or fix. They think its bad balancing or a flatspot in the tire. Can you share any recent feedback you have gotten from lexus ?
Also, lets get together on this through email...my email is
dsurowiec@comcast.net.

There are many posts on this actually. Its a BIG problem for the GX's. Lexus corp wont admit anything....really strange. They say they havent even gotten 1 call ? I read 100's of folks here have the problem.

Its NOT a kick, its really a vibration(vibrating steering wheel, seat and a noise) really feels like a drivetrain problem.

Anyone got this resolved at the dealer ?

The VW Tuareg in the british CAR magazine had a similar noise that was thought to be due to an unbalanced propshaft or diff gone AWOL issue. Eventually, they replaced the tires with a new set (different brand) which solved the problem. The mechanic claimed tha tthe original set suffered from radial runout (ie eccentricity). Now, with so many owners complainying about the same problem, I doubt it's such a simple issue...

Just talk to a Lexus rep. and they are pointing fingers to whoever make the steering, tranny components. Lexus knows about this problem, There are about 6 vehicles still sitting at a local dealership for this problem(sorry can't tell the dealership name). The clients don't want the car back unless they are fixed. Yeah right....Let's talk about the A/C shall we? This is getting ugly. That is what Lexus get when they are cutting corners.
www.jpimportz.org

Went to the local dealer to pick up a new 2004 gx470. Took it for a drive - steering wheel vibration noted every time I tried to accelerate. Salesman had me try another demo - same vibration problem. Cancelled my order. Would like to know if they fix the problem.

Update 11-04
TSB kit ( installed May 04) fixed 95% of the problem up until a few weeks ago....it has returned after 9,000 miles. They now say its a characteristic of the car?

MY VIBRATION IS GONE!!!

Did it go away by itself, or did the dealer do something? Is this still an issue in 2005 model builds?

i don't know if the 05s still have it, but i don't know what my dealer did to the vibration, but they fixed it at the first try! unlike my clunk,....

There is a fix for this problem. Various frame dampners, new skidplate, steering shaft and Michelin tires. Dunlop equipped tires are the main cause. This fix works as I have installed many at the dealer I work at.

I have the Bridgestones on mine, with about 2,000 miles on it now..an 8/04 build date. I've never experienced the vibration at all, or the drivetrain "thunk" that earlier build owners have mentioned.

Wow, this is almost as bad as telling people you are a doctor So, now that I have your attention, what's your theory as to why some trucks have the "thunk" and others don't? Have there been any changes made to the drive shaft design on the 2005 GX?

I have a 2004 ES330 with the same vibration problem you guys are describing. After MANY attempts to fix the problem at the dealers, the dealer is now lying to me saying they dont feel the vibration anymore. I went to arbitration and found out 2 days ago, that I lost. The arbitrators say i failed to show the problem. It is a slight vibration, but the driver can feel it, and I hate that I spent so much money on this piece of .... I guess this means court now, so if anyone can help me....Id greatly appreciate it.

I have Bridgestones on my ES330. There is absolutely zero vibration at any speed. There has to be a tire balance or possibly an alignment problem. One thing you may want to try is take your car to another Lexus dealership and have the vibration checked out or if that's not feasible, a Toyota dealership. I'm not sure what the credibility of the large chain tire/alignment shops are in arbitration or court.

it probably is alignment

Hi LexTech2K3
Is it possible my 2004 ES330 could have this same problem? I guess my car would have to have the same driveshaft.
My problem cant have anything to do with tires, they've been balanced, changed from Bridgestones to Michelin, had new rims put on...its been in the shop enough times to qualify for the lemon law, which is where I have to go next. pain.

I thought this problem would and should occur only on rear wheel drive vehicles??

Interesting. Wonder if it's a quality control issue on the tires. Some guys in the 4Runner forum said their vibrations disappeared when they rebalanced the tires. One guy said his reappeared when it turned cold (pressure dropped?).

Hi Jim
I cant thank you enough for answering my question..this is very frustrating. SO, do I just tell my dealership to look at the frame dampners, put on a new skidplate and steering shaft? They did put on Michelin tires already.
What dealer do you work for? I'll go there.
thanks again!

I guess I can be happy to report that my 1mth old '05 with sport pkg is smooth under all situations. No vibration, No 'thump', just a pleaseure to drive. I noticed that my car came with Michelins from the factory. Maybe these issues have been somewhat worked out in the new '05s?

I think they were worked out in the latter 04's as well. I have a late 04, that came with the Bridgestone Dueler tires, and have never experienced any vibration or thumps, at any speeds.

A quick word about rebalancing tires. Toyota wheels (at least on their 4x4s through 2002), are lug-centric, not the more common hub-centric. This means the center of the lug pattern marks the center of the wheel while in the other case, the center of mass of the wheel marks the center. They are not the same. Many tire shops will try to balance the lug-centric wheels on a hub-centric machine. That doesn't work (you'll still feel vibration when you drive). While I doubt this is the problem since your Lexus/Toyota mechanic should know the difference, I merely mention it in case you bother to ask your dealer or have a tire shop balance your wheels (I'd recommend against this, as the idiots at my local Bridgestone/Firestone dealer dinged the coating on the wheels when they ripped off the old wheel weights [this was on my '01 honda sports car. Next time, I'll call around to see if anyone has stick on weights]).

Check out http://www.gadgetonline.com/vibration.htm

Hi Mehullica
I have Michelins. What should I tell the dealer about your other suggestions. Can you tell me where you work?

Update 3-05
Still working on the vibration issues with my dealer. My car has 23k on it now and I am leaning with the tires. In my case the kit fixed it for only a while....Appointment today so we will see !

it is a well known problem

You might want to look into this. I found this on edmunds owner discussions. It seems that they need to change the dampers on the front diff due to driveline harmonics. Have the dealer do the service bulletin, it seems they are tolazy to look it up.

" took my car almost 6 months back to the dealer and gave them the reference of technical bulletin "ST004-04 Steering/Driveline - Vibration/Drone" released by Lexus on Feb 04 for this problem. Dealer was not aware of that. He ordered the parts (dampers) and installed those in a couple of day. 95% of the problem went away. I still feel slight vibartion at the speed of 60mph but I am used to that now. Good Luck! "
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?disp...F3XS.0@.ef237a9

ALso see a more detailed description of the 120 Prado fix for it, very similar to Lexus and 4Runner drivetrain.
http://www.lcool.org/technical/120_series/...ation/90hz.html


Edit: Sorry seems like the bulletin is already discussed.

i don't think the vibration issue concerns the tires.

btw, I have Michelins too, and was the first one to get Michelins in the first 10 GX470 sold at my dealer!

Update*
The problem is basically gone in the warm weather ! Now that tems are above 40-50 I feel no drone/vibration...


Hmmmmmm

Very interesting. I noticed this problem after buying my GX-470. I first thought it was a tire out of balance and took it back to the dealer. This didn't seem to fix it, but what I noticed was that the setting of the ride control seemed to eliminate the vibration. The softer the ride setting, the more it would vibrate. I then realized that Lexus must have a design problem in the suspension somewhere.

I keep in the ride control set in the middle and I really can't feel any vibration.