RX300 Vibration Thru Steering Wheel Question

Bob. you've probably got one wheel that is slightly out of balance. It was on the rear, now it's on the front where you are noticiing it more. It is also possible the tire itself is defective and again, you're just noticing it more that it is on the front.

I'm sure the dealer will take care of it. They fiddle with these issues all the time.

- Mark

I had this happen with my 1999 RX. The dealer found that two of the tires had belt problems. They replaced all four under warranty and it was perfect.

I'd take it back to the dealership and ask them to check the balance. We have a 2002 RX300 and have found that the road vibration is VERY sensitive to the wheel balance. Chances are, the service was not done properly and somehow unbalanced one of your wheels, probably a front tire.

You'll notice the service intervals in your owner's manual recommends tire rotation with each oil change. I've never seen that before and find it REALLY annoying. However, we've also found it necessary.

Thanks Marks,

I called the Lexus dealer and, while they are polite, they are mechanical. I still miss Infiniti service. When I had a situation like this with my Infiniti, I called the service dept. and they said "bring it in at your convenience and we'll take care of it right away" and they did. Lexus tells me, "The next available appointment is Thursday August 28th"..I explained that I just had the 10,000 mile service done and that the problem didn't exist before the service was done. They acknowleged that, then said, "the next available appointment...". No, it's not an emergency so I took the 28th appointment. But with Infiniti, I drove into the parking lot, spoke to the service manager, (not advisor, manager) and the problem was corrected in a few minutes. With Lexus, it's going to take me a half hour to go through the "Valet check in" and speak to the service advisor. It's ashamed that Infiniti doesn't have an SUV that I like.

Bob

My experience with Lexus has been about the same for my wife's car. My local Honda dealer knows who I am and provides better service when I bring my Prelude in or one of our Civics.

I took it back to Lexus this morning. The mechanic said that he didn't notice any excessive vibration but said if I wanted, he could balance the wheels. Since I drove 30 miles to get to the dealer and felt that there was a problem, I told him to balance the wheels. After he did, I test drove the vehicle and the vibration was gone. I was charged $85.00 for the balancing. They explained that the 10,000 mile service that I had done included rotation but not balancing. Balancing is included in the 15,000 mile and 30,000 mile service and every 15,000 service thereafter. Considering that they resurfaced the brake rotors at no charge at the 10,000 mile service, something that I felt might NOT have been covered by the warranty, I didn't put up a fuss about the $85.00 charge. But if I had waited 4 months, it would have been done at no charge as part of the 15,000 mile service. However, this Lexus dealer's service dept. is FAR nicer to deal with than my selling dealer. No, it's not Infiniti who would have balanced the wheels at no charge w/o question, but overall, I've found Lexus service to be inferior to Infiniti's service.

Bob