Annoying Noise/vibration

Chris111 · July 21, 2015

Hello,

New to club and my first post as I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction to help eradicate an annoying noise/vibration that has developed on my Gs since Easter.

It sounds and feels like something is caught in the tyre tread with the resulting noise/vibration being from the wheels rotation when moving but I have checked all four tyres and there are no foreign bodies in them. To further confuse the issue I am only aware of the symptoms between 20 and 30 mph. Below 20 mph I cannot hear or feel anything. As soon as the car hits 20 mph the noise/vibration starts but once the speed hits 30 mph it virtually disappears, although I am still aware very faintly of something, but nowhere near as prominent as between 20 and 30. It is exactly the same when slowing down from speed. As soon as the car hits 30 mph from decelerating, whether off the throttle or on the brakes, the symptoms return and when the speed drops below 20 mph they are not noticeable at all. If I stay between 20 and 30 it is there permanently. To me it also does not appear to increase or decrease in tempo between these speeds but I wouldn’t swear to that. It also seems to me to be more audible when turning right between these speeds rather than in the straight ahead position or turning left, but again I can’t say for sure that is the case. The symptoms are the same whether the car is running on its petrol engine or on the batteries. There is no vibration at all felt through the steering wheel (as in say from an unbalanced wheel), but I can feel it slightly through the pedals and the floor. I have jacked the car up, spun the front wheels and checked for anything catching but there is nothing.

The car was serviced and Mot’d at Lexus Carlisle last month and I did mention it then but they informed me they couldn’t find anything wrong.

Apologies for such a long first post but I want to make sure I get as much info in as possible and any help, insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

The-Acre · July 21, 2015

Hello,

New to club and my first post as I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction to help eradicate an annoying noise/vibration that has developed on my Gs since Easter.

It sounds and feels like something is caught in the tyre tread with the resulting noise/vibration being from the wheels rotation when moving but I have checked all four tyres and there are no foreign bodies in them. To further confuse the issue I am only aware of the symptoms between 20 and 30 mph. Below 20 mph I cannot hear or feel anything. As soon as the car hits 20 mph the noise/vibration starts but once the speed hits 30 mph it virtually disappears, although I am still aware very faintly of something, but nowhere near as prominent as between 20 and 30. It is exactly the same when slowing down from speed. As soon as the car hits 30 mph from decelerating, whether off the throttle or on the brakes, the symptoms return and when the speed drops below 20 mph they are not noticeable at all. If I stay between 20 and 30 it is there permanently. To me it also does not appear to increase or decrease in tempo between these speeds but I wouldn’t swear to that. It also seems to me to be more audible when turning right between these speeds rather than in the straight ahead position or turning left, but again I can’t say for sure that is the case. The symptoms are the same whether the car is running on its petrol engine or on the batteries. There is no vibration at all felt through the steering wheel (as in say from an unbalanced wheel), but I can feel it slightly through the pedals and the floor. I have jacked the car up, spun the front wheels and checked for anything catching but there is nothing.

The car was serviced and Mot’d at Lexus Carlisle last month and I did mention it then but they informed me they couldn’t find anything wrong.

Apologies for such a long first post but I want to make sure I get as much info in as possible and any help, insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

Welcome to the LOC Chris. Because you say it may be more noticeable when turning, a wheel bearing comes to mind, but if you say it's been checked by Lexus then that should have been covered. Have you tried rotating the tyres? That's assuming the front and rear are the same size.

Connoisseur · July 21, 2015

Tyres on the GS are very sensitive to wear and lack of rotation. As per Phil I wolud start with them. When I bought my GS the tyres had 4 to 5 mm left but were noisy with thrumming etc. at certain speeds. They also tramlined like there was no tomorrow.

If not tyres then a standard GS fault is jammed brake calipers, esp at rear, whivch will cause differetn noises at speeds. Again worth checking as can't assume the Lexus techs will have had time to do a full check?

hth

Chris111 · July 22, 2015

Many thanks for the replies.

I will try rotating the wheels to see if that helps. When I bought the car it had the standard fit Yokohama tyres which I hated. Road rumble and grip were appalling. 18 months ago I sourced some Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 2 as they were rated best for wet weather (in Cumbria a must!) and had them fitted by Lexus Carlisle. The difference, I think, is incredible with greatly reduced road noise and much improved rided and handling.

I have owned this car for 4 years now and in that time Lexus Carlisle have done all the servicing, warranty and mot work on it. I don't think it is the rear brake calipers as one was replaced at last year's service and the other, along with a front one, was replaced in the 2013 service. However, I will get them checked. Lexus too initially said it may be a bearing but it appears that is not the case.

The noise reminds me of the time when as a child you stuck a piece of cardboard in your bike wheel spokes a with the resulting clacking sound when they went round but this is more like a dull thud, like I'm driving over something. It just started one morning, I got in the car and thought 'what's that noise' as I accelerated up the road. The house next door had some roofing work done at the time and I had found some roofing nails on my drive so I naturally assumed one of them was embedded in the tyre but thats not it.

Once again, many thanks for your replies.

Chris

Connoisseur · July 22, 2015

Chris,

Just one last thought then; I recently had part of my lower bumper sprayed to remove an ugly paint touch up job. A few weeks later when driving I too got a loud thrumming/clacking noise, but only above 70mph (ish). As soon as speed dropped below 70mph it went and so was a bu**er to find

Long story short - a piece of thick tape had got stuck under the car behind the front bumper which only reverberated once 70 was reached. Took me ages to find!! Might be worth looking for similar tape/cable/plastic under yours?

hth

CustomIce · July 23, 2015

I've had some odd behaviour with tyres, check that they are actually round and no sidewall egg or tread egg is present from a knock or pothole - delaminated ply can cause all kinds of wierdness (and a blowout)

Bearings should be more noticeable when cornering also, but are usually easily diagnosed by mechanics.

Chris111 · July 23, 2015

Thanks for the replies.

today I rotated the wheels in accordance with the cars manual and took it out for a drive. The result being I could not detect the noise! Hurrah!

However, I took the time to thoroughly inspect the tyres and wheels and it looks like what was the offside front is wearing more on the inside so it looks like the tracking is out or something else is awry with the suspension set up so I will get it booked into Lexus for a check.

Once again many thanks for replies.

Chris