Lexus GS 2006-11 :: Loose Jumpy Steering At Low Speed Over Bumps?
May 11, 2011
More lately I've been noticing that when moving slowly, if going over a bump in the road of any sort, the steering wheel seems loose and the car wants to jump to one side or another slightly.
Picture moving straight ahead, and hit a rough section of or a small pot hole, and the steering wheel will move by itself to the left or the right quite a bit. I haven't noticed anything on the highway.
What can cause that? How should I go about describing to the service advisor so that it doesn't seem trivial? Last thing I want is a steering rack or major front suspension component slowly dying right after my warranty runs out. All I know is that it has struck me as "hey this doesn't feel normal".
Am I just being overly sensitive now that my powertrain warranty has months left on the clock, or does this sound like a legitimate concern? The last few things I've had them look into at the dealership during other service visits have been returned to me as "no problem founds" and I'm starting to feel like I'm just going crazy.
After some additional googling, it seems like I'm describing something commonly called "bump steer"... how much bump steer is normal for this car with stock suspension, I don't know... all I know is that I seem to have become acutely attuned to it whereas I never noticed it before. Hopefully I don't get the "we didn't notice anything wrong" again if I mention it, and whatever it is, is covered.
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Saturday, I parked the car and tried to lock the doors with the fob. The car held a constant beep but would not lock the doors. They locked fine from the driver's door.
Later as I was going over a speed bump, the car bleeped, the cabin light came on and off, and the display showed 'key found' in a period of 10 seconds. This speed bump anomaly happened twice later that day. Dark, I want to wait until dawn before getting serious into the debug.
My first thought is a loose ground wire or 12V connector. The last work was the brake accumulator recall. If the technician did not torque down the ground connector, there would be high resistance leading to the key fob lock problem as well as the speed bump triggered reset.
I also have a miniVCI so before doing any work, I'll use it to look for error codes. There are more than one connector that could be loose and having the codes could give us a clue if it happens again.
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I think the yellow colored thing is a clip but it isn't latching onto anything and I try to force it up but it just moves back. Here's a pic. It's right below the ignition start button and is below the steering wheel column.
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it's strange, it feels like something is loose, not the steering wheel but the column that the steering wheel attaches to, this only happens when going over dips or bumps, any time the wheels take impact.
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Notice roughness/jumpiness in the transmission when slowing to a stop, or crawling along (like in a shopping center)? it's quite evident on my car, and perhaps i just have a problem that nobody else feels.
It's as if the tranny is downshifting when slowing to a stop, and I can really feel it...makes it difficult to come to a smooth stop. and then if I'm moving very very slowly in heavy traffic, it seems to be "wandering" between 1st & 2nd...something like that...and it's very jumpy. Not smooth at all.
I realize that Lexus may come up with some reprogramming for trannies (that happened on my '01 GS, and it made a big difference).
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Got my new truck last week and the steering is awful. Loose as a goose. Every bump that you hit jerks the steering wheel around. I changed the tires from the factory 80psi down to 60 for the front and 65 for the rear, didn't work much. On some big bumps it acts like I am losing control. It reminds me of the death wobble on my old 05 F250 which was 4wd. I thought that the 2wd independent suspension would be smoother.
It's got a sway bar up front can I add a steering stabilizer? If so who makes one? Everything else about the truck is great. The new 6.7 is quiet as a mouse and powerful. So far fuel economy is the same as my ecoboost. Haven't got to tow with it yet.
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Hearing a loose heat shield like rattle when hitting bumps...checked everything underneath , can't find anything loose..? 09 GX-470 56K miles
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I have a 430sc 2002. I have been noticing lately that it seems to be loose on bumps on the road in town. On the highway it is still very smooth. I was thinking about taking it to a alignment shop and having the bushings checked. Is there anything else I should get checked?
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I bought a 2007 GS350 April of this year and I love the car. Been wanting one since it came out and I was fortunate to find one with only 52k miles. When I purchased the car, it had 20" TSW wheels. Onto my problem, it just started a few days ago, at crawling speed, my steering wheel pulsates to the left. The faster I go, the less it will pulsate but it will pull to the left. The wheels aren't bent, tires are almost brand new, no bubbles nor knots. The balance on the wheels aren't off. I read somewhere the wheel bearing could cause the steering wheel to pulsate but I don't hear the hum nor grinding noise associated with bad wheel bearing.
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I have a '05 Accent GLS Hatchback. 5-speed, manual transmission with about 82 thousand miles on it. I bought the vehicle used about 2 years ago. Ever since I've had it, its been a little jumpy in first gear when going at very low speed. Especially during traffic jams, barely pressing on the gas will cause it to jump a little bit until you put the pedal down further. Lately its starting to do something similar when it 4th gear. When you push your foot on the pedal it jumps a little and does the same thing when you take the foot off the pedal. What may be the cause? O2 or TPS sensor maybe? It did give me a flashing check engine light for about 10 seconds this morning but it hasn't done that since.
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My wife has a 2006 GLS and the top strut mounts need replacing, they squeak during the winter when i go over speed bumps. Since i drive the vehicle more than her (i have a 92 accord that i drive to work daily lol) and i have to modify every car that i own. Since i will be taking the strut assembly apart to change out the mounts it gave me a good reason to purchase lowering springs ( coilovers are not in my budget).
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I'm in the market for an '09 Sonata 4cyl. I found a good looking one at a local Toyota dealership (supposed trade in). Unfortunately, the dealer claims there are no service records available...test drove it and heard noise coming from rear suspension when going over speed bumps. Dealer had tech look into it and said they lubed up the 'springs' and stabilizer/sway bar and now the noise is gone. Should I run away or take this thing in for an independent inspection, and if it checks out, buy it without the service records?
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So I have an 06 Sonata with 56k miles on it. A few months back it started squeaking by the struts. It got worse last month and was pretty loud when going over speed bumps. Especially in the mornings
During my research on replacing them I came across a you tube video of a guy using AT-205 resealer to fix the squeak. Of course I bought some and was about to try it out but noticed that there was a lot of dirt and grime around the struts and other rubber mounts.
I decided before using the AT-205 I should clean everything first. Took some degreaser and sprayed everything I could see, including any other rubber mounts in the area. Rinsed thoroughly with water. Let it dry overnight and before applying the AT-205 decided to see if there was any change. To my surprise, there is no more squeaking. (It has only been 2 days though).
Hopefully it will not come back otherwise will use the AT-205 and failing that, will have to take the plunge and replace the struts.
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I've got this irritating squeal sound when I ride over speed bumps, already for a few years. Every time I go to the dealer, they try to fix it, though never fixed it completely. Once they added some kind of lubrication, another time they changed one of the suspension parts. However I still have the issue.
The squealing sound can be heard here: [URL] ....
What the reason is? I'm going back to the dealer soon.
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I recently bought a CPO 2007 GX 470 with 110k miles. At no charge dealer made repairs re the Bulletin about clunk in rear when I slowly drive over speed bumps. Had all front and rear shocks raced with OEM shocks, and four new Michellin MS2 tires installed. Rear end still feels like is is bottoming out sometimes during regular local and freeway driving when going over different times of road bumps.
My 'i89 a Dodge Ramdharger ( only car I ever bought brand new off the lot ) with 174k miles and old shocks and original springs drives better over bumps and speed bumps than the GX. One Lexus dealer said the reason is because the rear air bags ( that are not leaking )do not fill up fast enough when going move bumps and that can cause the bottoming out feeling. My mechanic is going to check it over again. What could be causing the bottoming out feeling?
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2006 Azera Limited; 221k miles
I'm a new owner of an old Azera. It's become apparent I'll soon be busting my knuckles ferreting out suspension noises. I gather from perusing various forums that suspension noise is a common complaint with the Azera.
In my particular case, the car makes two distinct noises which seem to come from front right corner. I here "clicking" when driven over minor road imperfections, and "scrunching" when driven over speed bumps. It's likely two (or more) disparate parts have failed.
I noticed significant cracks in both sides of the bushing located where the shock absorber mounting fork (54682-3K000) bolts to the lower control arm (54501-3L000). I'll replace this bushing then determine if doing so remedies the clicking noise at this corner. If replacing this bushing fixes the "clicking" noise, I'll replace its counterpart at the other corner, then move on to identify the scrunching sound.
My problem is, I cannot find a part number for this bushing! ...nor can I find a procedure to replace it. I presume it's just a matter of digging out the old bushing and press-fitting (with soap) the new bushing in its place. Surprisingly, the service manual (first edition) does provide any guidance.
I need the part number for this bushing and tips/tricks for installing it into the lower control arm.
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For the past month or so my car is very twitchy and wanders a lot. The steering is so loose that it feels flimsy and sloppy. The front wheels grab every little rut and grooves in the road and pull my car left or right. I have to keep my hands on the steering all the time. I switched out my regular Lexus wheels/tires for my winter wheels/tires and the problem is still there so its not anything to do with the tires.
The car does not feel heavy or planted anymore. The steering feel is like an old Lexus ES from 10 years ago to be exact. At this moment I feel nervous driving the car. Never felt this way ever before.
I had my alignment done last year but haven't hit any potholes or anything. But this feeling feels like the steering pump leak, loose tie-rods, etc. I am not sure. Either way its unacceptable for a 2 year and 10 month old car with only 36k miles.
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I recently had an accident which was absolutely scary. I was driving on a residential block and my steering became loose and started spinning. It was continuously spinning towards the right and my car scratched up a parked car until I finally was able to press the brakes and put it in park. After keeping it in park the steering wheel kept spinning out of control and didn't stop until the car was powered off.
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Having this issue? 2016 IS350 F-Sport. Car has 2700 Miles on it.
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I have a 2007 Sonata Ltd (63000 miles) and had a clunk in the front suspension. I had the front upper control arms replaced (which were visually badly worn) and that fixed the problem. But now, a several months later another similar clunking noise has developed when I go over those small speed bumps in parking lots.
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I have a 2010 Elantra GLS with a loose steering wheel. When you hold the wheel, it can be moved about 1/2 inch up, down, left or right. The issue appears to be in the column, because the intermediate shaft joint under the dash does not move, i.e., no slop whatsoever from that point down. The front suspension is as tight as can be, the car just turned 40k. Im thinking maybe something with the tilt mechanism?
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