GX550 Overtrail Vibration

[jreifler]

We need to distinguish between vehicle characteristics and "issues."

The hood flutter is a legitimate thing, but it's common on a lot of new aluminum hood trucks and cars. It could have / should have been remedied during design and QC testing, but I'm not sure we can call it an "issue," inasmuch as it is a universal characteristic of the truck. Same holds for the roof rack noise, for example. It's insane to me that they let the truck go to full production with that, but it's universal.

The ride quality is the same. It's not going to feel like a unibody luxury vehicle. It's "bumpy." It's stiff. It shakes over road undulations more than some other trucks. It's made to handle substantial load and tackle a wide variety of terrain. But that's not the same as an intermittent or constant vibration issue. On smooth pavement, it should be perfectly smooth.

Best thing we can do is back to back comparisons if you think yours is suffering from undue harshness or vibration.

 

[Mainelexus]

We need to distinguish between vehicle characteristics and "issues." The hood flutter is a legitimate thing, but it's common on a lot of new aluminum hood trucks and cars. It could have / should have been remedied during design and QC testing, but I'm not sure we can call it an "issue," inasmuch as it is a universal characteristic of the truck. Same holds for the roof rack noise, for example. It's insane to me that they let the truck go to full production with that, but it's universal.

The ride quality is the same. It's not going to feel like a unibody luxury vehicle. It's "bumpy." It's stiff. It shakes over road undulations more than some other trucks. It's made to handle substantial load and tackle a wide variety of terrain. But that's not the same as an intermittent or constant vibration issue. On smooth pavement, it should be perfectly smooth.

Best thing we can do is back to back comparisons if you think yours is suffering from undue harshness or vibration.

Yes exactly. Without having multliple vehicles at the dealership it is tough to get two together to try it though. I also guess that if someone has one that doesn't vibrate they probably don't frequent the my truck is vibrating thread.

 

[COMLB26]

I forgot to mention, I have the protection wrap on the first third of the GX and my hood hardly flutters as in barely noticeable. It’s not the 3m guard. I’ll have look up what it is. Definitely a major improvement over the stock hood on the one I test drove that flutter like crazy. The “flutter” now wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were looking for it and even then you’d be like oh that’s it?

 

[ryanY79]

We need to distinguish between vehicle characteristics and "issues."

The hood flutter is a legitimate thing, but it's common on a lot of new aluminum hood trucks and cars. It could have / should have been remedied during design and QC testing, but I'm not sure we can call it an "issue," inasmuch as it is a universal characteristic of the truck. Same holds for the roof rack noise, for example. It's insane to me that they let the truck go to full production with that, but it's universal.

The ride quality is the same. It's not going to feel like a unibody luxury vehicle. It's "bumpy." It's stiff. It shakes over road undulations more than some other trucks. It's made to handle substantial load and tackle a wide variety of terrain. But that's not the same as an intermittent or constant vibration issue. On smooth pavement, it should be perfectly smooth.

Best thing we can do is back to back comparisons if you think yours is suffering from undue harshness or vibration.

I have the vibration issues. It’s not “bumpy ride like a truck.” There is a serious vibration issue, which is also causing and / or attributing to, the hood flutter.

I’ve been working on cars since I could walk, have owned and driven enough different vehicles to know the difference between “a stiff ride” and something seriously wrong.

 

[mahlogic]

OT, having the same vibration issue at 65-80mph. Dealer did road force twice, and changed 4 tires. The issue is still there. 5k miles and no change. Waiting to hear from Lexus.

 

[Dr Bob]

Had my OT+ for 3 wks now. It’s a little bumpy on not well maintained city streets but really smooth on the highway. I’ve been up to 75-80 from LA to SD. No hood flutter and I had no roof rack and it was very quiet. The Lexus roof rack is a pos according to many who have it and many have taken it off. I just put a low profile roof rack (Westcott)on yesterday and will give a report back when I get it on the highway. Letting my ceramic coating cure first before I do some more testing. I owned a Landcruiser 25 years ago and have a Lexus 2002 lx 470 now. The ride is somewhere in between. This is still a body one frame and I’m overall happy with the truck.

 

[Dr Bob]

Sorry that some of you have this flutter situation. Hope you get it resolved!

 

[Mainelexus]

It would be great if some of you told your dealer about the brakes to see if they fix it and it works

 

[Merriweather]

@sroberts, who and where is your dealer that did the shim replacements so others have the option to go there too.

 

[Mainelexus]

If she doesn’t come back on, from Alabama.

 

[TFlyfisher]

@sroberts, who and where is your dealer that did the shim replacements so others have the option to go there too.

It would be great if some of you told your dealer about the brakes to see if they fix it and it works

My dealer in VA acknowledges there is a brake problem and says they are waiting for upgraded parts from Lexus. They don’t acknowledge the vibration issue officially but said it might be good to come in and get it down on the record. No fixes for either for me.

 

[Martyt]

Had my OT+ for 3 wks now. It’s a little bumpy on not well maintained city streets but really smooth on the highway. I’ve been up to 75-80 from LA to SD. No hood flutter and I had no roof rack and it was very quiet. The Lexus roof rack is a pos according to many who have it and many have taken it off. I just put a low profile roof rack (Westcott)on yesterday and will give a report back when I get it on the highway. Letting my ceramic coating cure first before I do some more testing. I owned a Landcruiser 25 years ago and have a Lexus 2002 lx 470 now. The ride is somewhere in between. This is still a body one frame and I’m overall happy with the truck.

That is my experience. I assume no one expects 100% smooth ride on not so well maintained roads. On smooth California highways (which are never 100% smooth), my 550 is very smooth with no vibration.

 

[CCTX]

My dealer in VA acknowledges there is a brake problem and says they are waiting for upgraded parts from Lexus. They don’t acknowledge the vibration issue officially but said it might be good to come in and get it down on the record. No fixes for either for me.

This is exactly my experience. They acknowledge the brake/squeal issue. Lexus is requiring some documentation including videos from the dealers to release the parts for the brakes. Toyota has the parts available for the dealers to order but not for Lexus yet. As for the vibration, they know of it and are apparently working on a remedy but nothing yet. They are treating the two issues separately though. My OT has the vibration issue but not the squealing.

 

[jreifler]

Has anyone tried to make a video of the vibration issues ? Always hard to convey something like that with a description.

 

[okcG24]

Bummer to hear some of this reading through the thread. A vibration that shouldn't be there can be detected for sure and is not inherent of this platform imo.

We picked up an Overtrail+ yesterday. Felt normal leaving dealership on the fresh Toyo AT's, but we immediately swapped wheels/tires and had Discount Tire road force balance and align. Tracks straight, no vibration and the tires and suspension haven't even broken in yet. Put 18x8.5 +35et with 285/70/18 Falken AT4W C load which is a heavy tire. Was a little firm at 40psi for me. Aired down to 35 psi cold which is much better. Sometimes a heavier wheel/tire combo can actually smooth things out a bit and so far I think it has helped. Steering is still super light and responsive and the truck feels just slightly heavier but in a good way (could be in my head though lol).

Road tripping this weekend and after couple hundred miles the new tires and suspension components are breaking in (can take 500-1000 imo). Already feels softer and more compliant to me driving this morning. Transmission also feels more settled through the modes. We have a 2014 4runner Limited lifted with 33's that we love and the GX is way more composed in comparison. GX roof rack is loud but we have a rack and a Thule carrier on the 4Runner which is also loud so we're used to it. The GX rack wont stay on unless we need it for big trips. GX is awesome on highway and just devours any large imperfections/bumps. It's a little jittery over small broken road imperfections at low speeds but its not bad. Eco, comfort and normal all feel amazing on the highway. Sport feels best around town for me or when traffic is fast and tight...well damped and still comfy.

Just wanted to share my initial experiences with our OT+.

Hope everyone gets there vehicles sorted out.

 

[Moody1104]

My dealer in VA acknowledges there is a brake problem and says they are waiting for upgraded parts from Lexus. They don’t acknowledge the vibration issue officially but said it might be good to come in and get it down on the record. No fixes for either for me.

Sir, my dealer is in Va as well, Pohanka in Chantilly. They have been less than accommodating and keep giving me the “it’s a normal driving characteristic of this vehicle”. I even brought it in for the brake squeal in the mornings, and since they couldn’t replicate it there, they said there’s no problem. I even offered for them to keep it over night. I’ve heard so many good things about Lexus service, but doesn’t seem so in this case…

 

[Dr Bob]

Sir, my dealer is in Va as well, Pohanka in Chantilly. They have been less than accommodating and keep giving me the “it’s a normal driving characteristic of this vehicle”. I even brought it in for the brake squeal in the mornings, and since they couldn’t replicate it there, they said there’s no problem. I even offered for them to keep it over night. I’ve heard so many good things about Lexus service, but doesn’t seem so in this case…

You can go to any Lexus dealer. If there is another one nearby take it to them and have it checked out. As with anything your dealership may be a bad apple!

 

[jclaffee]

If she doesn’t come back on, from Alabama.

Yeah, I'd love to talk to their service manager about this...

 

[CCTX]

Sir, my dealer is in Va as well, Pohanka in Chantilly. They have been less than accommodating and keep giving me the “it’s a normal driving characteristic of this vehicle”. I even brought it in for the brake squeal in the mornings, and since they couldn’t replicate it there, they said there’s no problem. I even offered for them to keep it over night. I’ve heard so many good things about Lexus service, but doesn’t seem so in this case…

I suggest you take a video of the squealing and go to the dealer. Best of luck!

 

[Mainelexus]

Bummer to hear some of this reading through the thread. A vibration that shouldn't be there can be detected for sure and is not inherent of this platform imo.

We picked up an Overtrail+ yesterday. Felt normal leaving dealership on the fresh Toyo AT's, but we immediately swapped wheels/tires and had Discount Tire road force balance and align. Tracks straight, no vibration and the tires and suspension haven't even broken in yet. Put 18x8.5 +35et with Falken AT4W C load which is a heavy tire. Was a little firm at 40psi for me. Aired down to 35 psi cold which is much better. Sometimes a heavier wheel/tire combo can actually smooth things out a bit and so far I think it has helped. Steering is still super light and responsive and the truck feels just slightly heavier but in a good way (could be in my head though lol).

Road tripping this weekend and after couple hundred miles the new tires and suspension components are breaking in (can take 500-1000 imo). Already feels softer and more compliant to me driving this morning. Transmission also feels more settled through the modes. We have a 2014 4runner Limited lifted with 33's that we love and the GX is way more composed in comparison. GX roof rack is loud but we have a rack and a Thule carrier on the 4Runner which is also loud so we're used to it. The GX rack wont stay on unless we need it for big trips. GX is awesome on highway and just devours any large imperfections/bumps. It's a little jittery over small broken road imperfections at low speeds but its not bad. Eco, comfort and normal all feel amazing on the highway. Sport feels best around town for me or when traffic is fast and tight...well damped and still comfy.

Just wanted to share my initial experiences with our OT+.

Hope everyone gets there vehicles sorted out.

What size tire did you put on?