GX550 Overtrail Vibration

[jreifler]

Out of curiosity for anyone with the vibration @TFlyfisher OR @Snooperstyle - Do you have video or anything demonstrating ?

My initial impressions of the ride did lean towards "this is bouncy," but again, had nothing to compare against besides my old 470 and several 4Runners. So, part of me wonders what I'm supposed to be experiencing . . .

 

[SethGX]

We should derive a reasonably easy vibration test that any of us could use to compare our vehicles. My brainstorm idea for others to improve on would be, take a 16 Oz water bottle half full of water with the cap on it, tie a string around the top under the cap and hang it from the passenger headrest laying on the seat back about halfway down. Find a smoothish road, just not a washboard gravel road, and video record normal acceleration from 0 to 60 with commentary at each 10mph increment. The camera would need to be close enough to capture the turbulence of the water in the bottle. It's not perfect, so I'm looking forward to better options, but it might at least be a start to compare vehicles to see if people with buttery smooth GXs are visibly better that those with teeth chattering vibration. If it's really bad you should also see the bottle itself vibrating on the seat back. Any other ideas?

 

[Moody1104]

I agree 100%, i jist place a half filled water bottle in the cup holder, and you can see the vibrations. Also, take a glance at the rear seats and the head rest’s, they’re bouncing all over the place.

I have been to my dealership twice and was told both times this is a “normal characteristic of this vehicle”. I also currently have an open ticket with Lexus Corporate who is working with me as well. If you call 1-800-25-LEXUS, it literally only takes 5–10 minutes to report this and be assigned a case manager. The more people reporting, the quicker they may be able to find a solution and issue a TSB or recall..

 

[SethGX]

I agree 100%, i jist place a half filled water bottle in the cup holder, and you can see the vibrations. Also, take a glance at the rear seats and the head rest’s, they’re bouncing all over the place.

I have been to my dealership twice and was told both times this is a “normal characteristic of this vehicle”. I also currently have an open ticket with Lexus Corporate who is working with me as well. If you call 1-800-25-LEXUS, it literally only takes 5–10 minutes to report this and be assigned a case manager. The more people reporting, the quicker they may be able to find a solution and issue a TSB or recall..

If you can upload a video of that it would help others to have a comparison to use. Since it's not wheels and tires out of balance, it seems like it could be a bad CV joint or something with the driveshaft. Growing up a bit of a redneck, I have had a few experiences with drive shaft u joints failing and when you guys describe what you are feeling that reminds me of those times. If anyone has a gopro and vibration, maybe mount your go pro with a good view of the drive shaft and see if it looks smooth or wobbles.

 

[jreifler]

If you can upload a video of that it would help others to have a comparison to use. Since it's not wheels and tires out of balance, it seems like it could be a bad CV joint or something with the driveshaft. Growing up a bit of a redneck, I have had a few experiences with drive shaft u joints failing and when you guys describe what you are feeling that reminds me of those times. If anyone has a gopro and vibration, maybe mount your go pro with a good view of the drive shaft and see if it looks smooth or wobbles.

It would be wild for any of these (let alone multiple) to have a failed drivetrain component with a couple thousand miles max . . .

 

[SethGX]

It would be wild for any of these (let alone multiple) to have a failed drivetrain component with a couple thousand miles max . . .

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting a failed or worn out u joint, but just that it might be an out of balance drive shaft or an improperly installed u joint or CV joint. This seems to be an inherent issue from the start only on some vehicles.

 

[sroberts]

Picked up my OT from service Saturday am…no vibration or brake issues since. Will be on the interstate for 6 hours tomorrow..hopefully optimistic

 

[rangertrace]

My driving experience is still very limited, but so far, I have no "real" complaints. I'm planning a short trip to take my Dad to lunch tomorrow, so I will get about 150 miles of mostly highway driving. I'm hoping for a nice experience. The amount of safety features on this vehicle is crazy.

 

[CCTX]

View attachment 2737Picked up my OT from service Saturday am…no vibration or brake issues since. Will be on the interstate for 6 hours tomorrow..hopefully optimistic

@sroberts This is great news! Hopefully, these symptoms won't come back. Did the ticket have any reference to the ride vibration? Did the brakes have any warped-like symptoms before replacement?

 

[Moody1104]

View attachment 2737Picked up my OT from service Saturday am…no vibration or brake issues since. Will be on the interstate for 6 hours tomorrow..hopefully optimistic

That all great news, please keep us posted! Also, I read your previous post about 4 suspension parts being replaced. Did they do that as well or just new brake system pieces? Thanks

 

[ksj]

As I think some others have noted, a body on frame vehicle with this much capacity is going to be 'bouncy' until it is loaded down. I would be interested in how it is when the passenger seats are occupied and there is stuff in the back.

It is pretty smooth comparatively when I'm towing my trailer with a tongue weight of ~320lbs.

 

[JustinB]

View attachment 2737Picked up my OT from service Saturday am…no vibration or brake issues since. Will be on the interstate for 6 hours tomorrow..hopefully optimistic

That’s interesting. No mention of it on the service ticket though.

 

[Mainelexus]

I believe He mentioned that his service people were waiting for replacement break parts to be approved and sent from overseas. Not sure how the breaks would affect the ride, maybe they were somehow rubbing or grabbing while driving without being activated? They had mine in the port on hold for 6 days then released it. Not sure why the held it or what they did, but hopefully I won’t have any issues when it arrives.

 

[sroberts]

We heard back from the service manager today. There is anther OT with the same issues we’ve experienced. Forgive me for not knowing the proper terminology. There are 4 parts that work with the rotors and brakes/independent suspension that are faulty. They use the same 4 parts in the other 550’s, but the OT is the only model affected. Engineering has manufactured these 4 pieces in Japan, and we’re hoping to have them legally approved and shipped by today. They are saying now it will be next week. The fix will be replacing the rotors, brakes and the newly manufactured 4 parts.

Just drove from Alabama to New Orleans..terrible roads, and rode like a dream. No noticeable vibration or hood movement. To those inquiring, this is my previous post. The service manager said the parts replaced would fix not only the brakes squealing, but also the vibration issues and hood flutter.
I’m feeling confident this was the fix

 

[jreifler]

Brakes wouldn't cause vibration consistently unless a piston was stuck. Also would only cause vibration under application if pad material had built up unevenly on the rotors, which you'd feel as a shimmy in the steering wheel under braking.

Would love to see what those other 4 parts were. A caliper is simply bolted onto the wheel carrier, and a rotor is actually not held onto the hub by anything other than a set screw and the wheel bolts. Are the 4 other parts noted on your work order ?

 

[yotanoob]

View attachment 2737Picked up my OT from service Saturday am…no vibration or brake issues since. Will be on the interstate for 6 hours tomorrow..hopefully optimistic

I have to assume the brakes are unrelated even though a viable reason for some vibration......most vibration i feel is from the rear, and brakes seem fine. thanks for sharing that..

 

[sroberts]

Brakes wouldn't cause vibration consistently unless a piston was stuck. Also would only cause vibration under application if pad material had built up unevenly on the rotors, which you'd feel as a shimmy in the steering wheel under braking.

Would love to see what those other 4 parts were. A caliper is simply bolted onto the wheel carrier, and a rotor is actually not held onto the hub by anything other than a set screw and the wheel bolts. Are the 4 other parts noted on your work order ?

These are the only parts on the work order. I’m honestly not mechanically inclined, nor is my husband. I can say, however, that we both noticed a lot of vibration and hood flutter prior to service, and now we don’t.

 

[jreifler]

Gotcha. Those parts are just replacement discs, pads, and the retaining pins that hold the brake pads in. And a shim kit to eliminate the squeal you had. None of those things would cause or remedy vibration (again unless the discs had pad buildup; but you would only feel that while braking fairly aggressively).

The hood flutter also went away ?

 

[German88]

Brakes wouldn't cause vibration consistently unless a piston was stuck. Also would only cause vibration under application if pad material had built up unevenly on the rotors, which you'd feel as a shimmy in the steering wheel under braking.

Would love to see what those other 4 parts were. A caliper is simply bolted onto the wheel carrier, and a rotor is actually not held onto the hub by anything other than a set screw and the wheel bolts. Are the 4 other parts noted on your work order ?

The plot thickens…

 

[Mainelexus]

Perhaps they ballanced the tires again when they did the breaks, or rotated them? I would think it would show up on the work order if they did anything like that though.