I test drove the sc 430 the other day, I found it very smooth and very soft ride. I noticed that when I accelerate the car feels heavy as if it lacks the torque. Is this normal?
Also, the steering felt loose at high speeds above 60mph. Is this normal?
My Sc430 with 95k has a steering wheel wiggle . Tires balanced, worn lower ball joint and front end alignment been done. Seems to come and go at various speeds.
View 14 RepliesI was driving my mother's 05 GX (non-kdss suspension).
The steering seems to be quite loose at speeds above 100kph (60mph).
There is also a vibration at these speeds (likely relating to balance).
How tight is your steering?
If alignment/balance doesn't fix things, what other parts might be the culprit?
Just done a five mile journey at urban speeds (20-40mph). I find that any kind of unevenness in the road is distinctly felt inside the car. Things like drain covers. I'm not sure if this is normal or a fault?
The car is a new to me 07 ls460 with air suspension, 19" wheels and fairly new Dunlop Sport tyres. I've set the car to comfort mode.
I'm thinking that I should get the suspension checked out, so if there is something wrong hopefully I can get the dealer to rectify it now. Are there any particular things to check?
I recently got an 02 Sc430, it is completely stock, color is Egyptian Sand Pearl. I'm wanting to add a little HP and torque. What are the simplest upgrades I can make to increase the torque/ HP? Also, I would like to put the newer Sc430 tail lights on it.
View 14 RepliesIve read here that our trucks can lose all of their AC fan speeds except High - mine has done that as well. However, even High on my truck doesn't blow much air. I looked behind the glove box for an interior air filter, thinking it might be clogged but couldn't find one. What could be stopping my blower from putting out?
View 2 RepliesLess than a week of driving the GS, the power steering suddenly seemed to stop working. After starting the car, the steering felt heavy (actually a good thing) but near impossible to turn during a standing stop.
Good thing I still have warranty. What turned out to be causing this?
I'm curious how many Gen 3 Prius II owners are having the same steering issue that I've been having. It's an occasional bumping/clunking or loose feeling when steering hard at low speeds. I've had the dealer look at it twice without their claiming to reproduce it. Part of the problem is finding the right words to describe it. It's more of a feeling in the steering wheel than a sound. Sometimes I feel it when turning into/out of a parking lot from/to the street. I'm not sure if it is just a normal characteristic of the electric power steering, or a defect in the power steering motor, coupling, or rack and pinion.
View 1 RepliesOne thing I cant clear is how to fix the annoying door clicking. The one bolt behind plastic cover on body side isn't a torx 40 its a bolt/philips and its tight. My 2 bolts on door side dont seem to be getting tight. The doors still clik seems to be in join in middle of door arm.
View 11 RepliesLast week when I had my car at Lexus dealership for the air bag recall, they took it upon themselves to do an inspection and came up with a few "recommendations".
The one that intrigues me is "found transmission mount worn/loose" recommend "replace transmission mount".
I will take car to my friendly local repair shop this week (never go to Lexus dealership unless it's free).
I'm no mechanic but I've been around cars for a long time and I've never heard of this before: besides the car only has 50000 miles on it.
Am I possibly being scammed or is this legit?
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?
View 14 RepliesAfter a rough winter here in NJ there are a ton of pot holes and I think I may have jolted loose the rear view mirror. It now shakes so bad I can't even look at it. It makes me dizzy. It seems like it is loose where it connects to the windshield, not where the actual mirror connects. I took off the smaller of the two covers but didn't see anything I could tighten. It also doesn't appear that the actual mirror comes apart. I have to point it away from me at night, it's like a strobe light!
View 4 RepliesMy SC430 takes left turns like a boss, even while accelerating into the turn. But right turns always seem to feel a little stiff and awkward, even when not accelerating. I don't really know how to describe it other than that. The back will feel like it bounces or skips a little in a right turn. Is this pretty typical with the SC430 or is there something I should get looked at?
View 5 RepliesMy SC430 '02 has developed a problem with the VSC. Unfortunately it s not the light but the VSC engages at slow speeds. If I accelerate from low speeds, engine does not rev up and the VSC lights comes on. It works as if I was skidding and tries to correct the direction of the car. Just as it should if I was on ice or experienced aquaplaning, but I am on a dry road. I did a reset of the ECU, had the car at Lexus (they were able to duplicate my issue) for a zero-calibration. They found no problem with the sensors. All did not work. Presently I drive with the VSC disengaged. I do suspect the speed sensors to act up as I had Tein-Coilovers installed, but how can I get to the source of the problem?
View 12 RepliesI have a high mileage 2002 SC430.
I have noticed that when I start the engine on a cold morning and start driving right away I hear a distinct "cracking" sound from behind the air vents (dash area) when accelerating. This only occurs when the engine is cold and when I am accelerating, this does not occur when the car is parked (I have not tried revving the engine when the car is parked, since it doesn't seem like a good idea).
A a side note, I do typically move the temperature setting to the max of 85 degrees on cold mornings, but the cracking sound often comes up 5-10 minutes after I change the temperature setting. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it.
I am having an issue with the car not feeling stable on the highway or at speeds over 50mph when I am on a curve and go over a roadwork patch. The cabin of the car seems to float way too much to the side, almost like hydroplaining although the wheels stay put on the road.
After describing this to a mechanic, he said it sounds like my lower control arm bushings are gone. He looked at them and confirmed it, the rubber bushings that control the side to side action are cracked and worn out. He said that he is unable to just replace the bushing and has to special order the whole arm from the dealer (approx 200$ each arm).
I went to get a second opinion and another mechanic basically told me the same thing except the price on the part went down to 175 per arm with 2-3 hours labor.
With just above 100K miles our Honda has been wobbling, wiggling and shimmying for a couple of years and a half-dozen trips to our mechanic and to the tire shop have found nothing. The wobble occurs at all speeds and can really be felt even at sub 15mph speeds to the point where my knees can be seen shaking in time.
When it first happened I thought it was the brakes, so I had a major brake job done to no effect (it did need it, so it wasn't wasted money). My mechanic was a winner on the recommended shops on your website and has done all my work, except tires, for more than 6 years and he has been real good at avoiding unnecessary work, taking the time to check things out without charge. He's had it looked over thoroughly and can't find anything in the tie rods, CV joints, etc. that could be fixed.
My local tire shop, also a long-term customer, has been over the tires twice and can't find anything wrong either. It's shaking pretty bad and I'm getting even more nervous about high speed driving.
I have a small amount of play in my steering wheel. Very noticeable on the highway at high speeds. The steering wheel shakes in my hand.
1. Checked the tires for balance.
2. Checked the tie rods.
3. Brand new stabilizer bars on both sides.
Is there something I am missing or overlooked.
I am feeling a vibrating in the steering wheel in my SUV, particularly at high speeds (the highway). I just had front brakes replaced a month or so ago. But the tires I have were new a year and a half ago, I think. Is the vibrating a tell tale sign that I need new tires? Or is it something else? Could I rotate them and get more miles out of them?
View 5 RepliesI replaced my rear brake pads this weekend. I used oem pads and used the shims with CRC lubricant. I also compressed the brake calipers and made room for the new pads. I also tried to take off one of the rotors but it would not come off even with putting screws in the rotor.
Everything seemed fine and brakes were strong but when I went for a test drove there is a clicking sound at low to medium speeds come from the rear passenger side. I checked the retainer pins and they are on correctly.
What the problem may be? I would like to spin the wheel but the parking brake is on. Is it okay to take off the parking brake while jacked up if I block the wheels??
Car: 2003 Jetta GLS 1.8T
The car is starting to produce a heavy shake in the steering wheel when above 45mph up through highway speeds. The kicker is that the shake only occurs on-center, because turning the wheel just a few degrees off creates a relatively smooth result.
Checked the wheels for balance, tire wear [which is good, no cupping], lower control arm (LCA) bushings, and complete a lock-to-lock steering test on the ground to confirm steering rack mounting bolts are tight. What's the next pieces of hardware I'm needing to verify?