I have a ten-year old LS 400 with about 150K miles on it. I'm starting to think the old darling is going to run forever. Within the past year I have gotten the impression that the wheels (tires, whatever) make a rumbling sound when I'm going over rough pavement. Am I imagining this . . (just getting jumpy in my old age)? Possible causes?
The original equipment tires on my 03 GS started to get noisy at around
30,000 miles. The noise was most noticable on smooth roads. Since the tires were almost worn out, I replaced them. The noise disappeared. The Lexus is so quiet that tire noise is an issue that you would not notice in some other cars. How many miles do you have on your current tires?
The tires are comparatively new (less than 20K miles). Apparently different makes and models of tires have different ride/smoothness/handling characteristics. Perhaps the sounds are a feature of the tires.
Check the ball joints.
If the sounds are not there on smooth pavement, then the cause is probably due to the tread pattern and tire compound. If the sounds are there all the time regardless of road surface and change in pitch with vehicle road speed, have the wheel bearings inspected.
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