Ride Quality

[Jaylee]

Hello

Have just bought a GS450h  (2008) with very low mileage.

Getting used to the car, the experience is good but I can't get over the hard ride. This is in Normal, not Sport mode- frankly its awful! I feel every jolt and bump quirk in the road.

Could there be something wrong with the suspension?  Does it need pumping up or something? Ring a bell with anybody?

[royoftherovers]

Welcome James. Good to have you in Membership.

Have you/ is it/ set to Sport mode as that would introduce a firm ride ?

Have you read the Handbook for your (new to you) car ?

When you get the time please tell us why you bought a Lexus and the GS 450h in particular and send a  photo or two.

[serbarry]

Welcome James. Did you buy it from Lexus Sheffield? Was it the one with only 7,230 miles at £ 11,350?

[Malc]

look first for the cheaper option ,,,,,,,, tyre issues maybe ....... underinflated ?

Malc

[OldTrout]

Welcome James,

Is it perhaps still on its original tyres? These are probably hard by now. Ride can be harsh on bad roads and we have a lot of these. But it is good on reasonable roads. The tyres should be 36 psi all round.

Are there any MoT advisories for dampers? The dampers are a weak point with normal mileage.

John

[Mossypossy]

Would describe ride as on the soft side of firm.

Put out the call to meet up with another owner and compare rides maybe?

I will be crossing Dartford on Friday about 2pm.

[Jaylee]

7 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Welcome James. Good to have you in Membership.

Have you/ is it/ set to Sport mode as that would introduce a firm ride ?

Have you read the Handbook for your (new to you) car ?

When you get the time please tell us why you bought a Lexus and the GS 450h in particular and send a  photo or two.

Thank you Roy  I checked that its in Normal mode. Bought the 450h because its an affordable alternative (for me) to my 2003 XJ6 running on LPG. Lot of outlets have closed just recently and autogas price has hiked to around £0.80;   I ran diesel cars since 1972 (yes I was a pioneer!) as it was considered cleaner, until the particulate  issue became a  hot potato for an eco worrier (mis-spelling deliberate!) like me. Since  2001, I've run a succession  of  LPG cars including an Austin Montego (awful car! -  carried gaffa tape with me because occasional back-fire exploded the air cleaner!) an XJS, Mercedes 300 32v, XJ8 and the '03 XJ6. Surveying the available Lexus hybrid models, my heart said mmmmm LS 600h  but my eco head said no!  When Europeans went the Diesel route the Japanese went hybrid, and I think its turned out to be the more prescient move. Ideally I would have an estate car but the only hybrid to my knowledge (I'm not in the Panamera wealth class) is the Auris. Aside form being only 4 cylinder 1.8 litre, I don't want to upset  anyone but I think they are so ugly - the fussy styling is - well, vulgar I M O! 

Old Trout suggested are they original tyres,  which seems possible: in answer to serbarry, this one bought in North  London from an independent,-  rather weird history, having had no record of any road use until 5 years after purchase in 2008, and having only covered 18k miles from 2013 until now. - which is backed up by service stamps and MOT history on DVLA website.  I could have been had I suppose , the paint has a few scratches, but the interior is immaculate/spotless, so who knows?!  I thought £7850 a good deal for a 18k miler.  My only faux pas was to assume I could carry my bike on a tow hitch rack,  but now read that Witter don't do a tow bar for the 450h and recommend against it even for a bike rack.

Malc says are the tyres under inflated- which is interesting but counter-intuitive? (wouldn't  that make for a softer ride?)

I'd like to thank all you responders for your attention. including Steve Mossy for his kind offer.   I will make the tyre checks tomorrow.

[ThE_0nE]

GS450h is my first luxury car, so I can't complain about the comfort as i don't know any better. What I do have to complain is the head room, none existent for a tall guy. I'm 1,90 meters (6.2 foot) and my hair keeps rubbing against the ceiling.

Besides that it is a great car.

[OldTrout]

James,

if you put it in sport mode does the ride stiffen up? Amongst other things the dampers are stiffened in sport mode. I wonder if they are stuck in sport mode even though the other settings are back to normal.

Even in sport mode the ride is not hard on mine. I don’t use sport mode much because the throttle is much more sensitive and over the potholes I find it difficult to keep right foot steady.

John

 

[Jaylee]

1 hour ago, Jaylee said:

Thank you Roy  I checked that its in Normal mode. Bought the 450h because its an affordable alternative (for me) to my 2003 XJ6 running on LPG. Lot of outlets have closed just recently and autogas price has hiked to around £0.80;   I ran diesel cars since 1972 (yes I was a pioneer!) as it was considered cleaner, until the particulate  issue became a  hot potato for an eco worrier (mis-spelling deliberate!) like me. Since  2001, I've run a succession  of  LPG cars including an Austin Montego (awful car! -  carried gaffa tape with me because occasional back-fire exploded the air cleaner!) an XJS, Mercedes 300 32v, XJ8 and the '03 XJ6. Surveying the available Lexus hybrid models, my heart said mmmmm LS 600h  but my eco head said no!  When Europeans went the Diesel route the Japanese went hybrid, and I think its turned out to be the more prescient move. Ideally I would have an estate car but the only hybrid to my knowledge (I'm not in the Panamera wealth class) is the Auris. Aside form being only 4 cylinder 1.8 litre, I don't want to upset  anyone but I think they are so ugly - the fussy styling is - well, vulgar I M O! 

Old Trout suggested are they original tyres,  which seems possible: in answer to serbarry, this one bought in North  London from an independent,-  rather weird history, having had no record of any road use until 5 years after purchase in 2008, and having only covered 18k miles from 2013 until now. - which is backed up by service stamps and MOT history on DVLA website.  I could have been had I suppose , the paint has a few scratches, but the interior is immaculate/spotless, so who knows?!  I thought £7850 a good deal for a 18k miler.  My only faux pas was to assume I could carry my bike on a tow hitch rack,  but now read that Witter don't do a tow bar for the 450h and recommend against it even for a bike rack.

Malc says are the tyres under inflated- which is interesting but counter-intuitive? (wouldn't  that make for a softer ride?)

I'd like to thank all you responders for your attention. including Steve Mossy for his kind offer.   I will make the tyre checks tomorrow.

PS oops must've been 24 valve mustn't it

[Barry14UK]

I run the tyres on my RX450h slightly under inflated to help soften the bumps my back objects to.  The situation was also greatly improved when I replaced the Dunlops that came with it to Michelin Cross Climates. 

[cruisermark]

9 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

I run the tyres on my RX450h slightly under inflated to help soften the bumps my back objects to.  The situation was also greatly improved when I replaced the Dunlops that came with it to Michelin Cross Climates. 

This is good news as I have a set of Cross Climates waiting to shod my 430 which currently has Dunlops.

[Malc]

over the years I'm reading that it's often the tyres that cause a little heartache to owners ....  very very good brands sometimes just don't sit well with a specific model 

I had / inherited very expensive Pirellis on my Honda Legend and was so glad when they wore to a level that I could financially justify changing them to Falkens ..........  and oh my !  what a transformation to the ride comfort 

BTW I have Falkens for some years on my Ls400 too

Malc

[LexIS200Sport]

On 4/26/2021 at 2:02 PM, Jaylee said:

Getting used to the car, the experience is good but I can't get over the hard ride. This is in Normal, not Sport mode- frankly its awful! I feel every jolt and bump quirk in the road.

Could there be something wrong with the suspension?  Does it need pumping up or something? Ring a bell with anybody?

No, that sounds about right.

Sadly, ride and handling is not a strong point for the 3GS. A suspension setup that is too firm for comfort and yet, somehow, with handling that does not inspire confidence. Then flick it to "sport" mode and the ride becomes comically stiff. This has been my experience with my former 2007 GS450h. A complete shock absorber refresh improved it somewhat, but still far from the kind of ride and handling refinement that you'd get from a Jag XF of its era or even the IS200 that I had before it. I've tried different combinations of tyres (all non-runflats) and pressures but the difference is marginal at best. In the end, I just learned to live with it in exchange for the awesome straight-line performance and (to me) graceful looks.

I have not driven the GS450h Sport with APSSS so maybe things were better on that car.