RX450 Suspension

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

I've just traded in an LS460 for an RX450h. It's like driving around in a bouncy castle. Is there anything that can be done to soften the suspension?

It's the Luxury model. I guess in hindsight the Advance might have been a better choice as that has air suspension I understand. Or is that just as bumpy?

Herbie · May 28, 2021

Only the 3RX Premier had air and none of the 4RX variants have it at all.

Don't forget you're comparing a luxury saloon with an SUV that has a different centre of gravity and will be very different in lots of ways. Having said that, neither my 3 nor 4RX has ever felt like a bouncy castle so maybe there's a problem somewhere?

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

Just now, Herbie said:

Don't forget you're comparing a luxury saloon with an SUV that has a different centre of gravity and will be very different in lots of ways. Having said that, neither my 3 nor 4RX has ever felt like a bouncy castle so maybe there's a problem somewhere?

Yes after 12+ years of driving LS4s I've clearly been spoiled. I had an idea that it might be a shock to the system. It's turned out to be exactly that. I've dropped the tyre pressures to 33psi (which is what they're supposed to be apparently). The Lexus dealership I bought it from had them above 35. I'm wondering how low I can go without all the warnings firing off. Not that I think it's going to help much anyway.

Looks like I'll just have keep an eye out for an LS600h. Which is what I really wanted anyway.

Spottedlaurel · May 28, 2021

I think the ride of my 2014 Luxury is one of its least good aspects. I suppose trying to get reasonable handling and body control out of a tall, heavy car means they had to go for fairly firm springs.

My Mk1 LS400 is much better in that regard.

Phil xxkr · May 28, 2021

7 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I think the ride of my 2014 Luxury is one of its least good aspects. I suppose trying to get reasonable handling and body control out of a tall, heavy car means they had to go for fairly firm springs.

My Mk1 LS400 is much better in that regard.

I agree Nigel, my 450h is quite different from my XKR 😱 but not always in bad way. For example, on a flat surface it glides along and my new tyres have made a big difference. On some uneven rural roads however its a bit jangly, the chap from High Peak Autos compared it to one of those pneumatic Michelin men you used to see outside garage forecourts🤣. But as mentioned earlier this is a very heavy car and is a big imposing, tall SUV and darn sight more practical than my Jaguar in all sorts of ways. Fantastic to get in and out of and let's you look down on lesser mortals. 😈

Phil xxkr · May 28, 2021

1 hour ago, Phil xxkr said:

I agree Nigel, my 450h is quite different from my XKR 😱 but not always in bad way. For example, on a flat surface it glides along and my new tyres have made a big difference. On some uneven rural roads however its a bit jangly, the chap from High Peak Autos compared it to one of those pneumatic Michelin men you used to see outside garage forecourts🤣. But as mentioned earlier this is a very heavy car and is a big imposing, tall SUV and darn sight more practical than my Jaguar in all sorts of ways. Fantastic to get in and out of and let's you look down on lesser mortals. 😈

I should also mention that I had the rear trailing arms replaced by the dealer shortly after delivery which made a big difference to both noise and ride

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

I'm assured by the Lexus dealer I bought it from that the ride is as it should be.

I guess it's just not for me. Looks like I'm stuck with it, at the very least until the Registration document comes through.

Spottedlaurel · May 28, 2021

32 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

I'm assured by the Lexus dealer I bought it from that the ride is as it should be.

I guess it's just not for me. Looks like I'm stuck with it, at the very least until the Registration document comes through.

That's a shame. Are you within the 30-day period where you can exchange it, even if they may not immediately have the right LS as an alternative?

Phil xxkr · May 28, 2021

34 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

I'm assured by the Lexus dealer I bought it from that the ride is as it should be.

I guess it's just not for me. Looks like I'm stuck with it, at the very least until the Registration document comes through.

How can you get reassurance from elsewhere?

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

10 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

That's a shame. Are you within the 30-day period where you can exchange it, even if they may not immediately have the right LS as an alternative?

I've literally had it 2 days. I didn't think that the 30 days applied unless the vehicle is faulty in some way.

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

10 minutes ago, Phil xxkr said:

How can you get reassurance from elsewhere?

I don't think there's actually anything wrong with the car. There's dozens of forum posts about the harshness of the ride in RX models. It is what it is. I'm going to take it in to my regular service centre next week to see if they can fit a security device on the cat. I'm sure they'll confirm that all is as Lexus intended.

I guess 25 years of driving LS's and SC's (Soarers) has made me very hard to please.

royoftherovers · May 28, 2021

27 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

I've literally had it 2 days. I didn't think that the 30 days applied unless the vehicle is faulty in some way.

Read the Terms very carefully as I think you could be wrong in that assumption Jake.

Herbie · May 28, 2021

15 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

There's dozens of forum posts about the harshness of the ride in RX models

I just don't understand this at all.

Almost all of my cars have been top of the range, although not necessarily 'executive' ones. Cars like Ford Granada (I, II and III, last one I had was the 2.8i Ghia X Sapphire Edition), Rover 800 Series Sterling, Nissan Maxima QX SE+, to name just a few, and they've always been very smooth comfortable rides. The 2005 RX300, the 2013 RX450h Advance and my current 2018 RX450h Luxury have all carried on that tradition in spades, the latter being THE best one of all - and I speak from a position of having a serious back injury that really does let me know if something is harsh and uncomfortable.

Maybe I'm just weird eh? :laughing:

Spottedlaurel · May 28, 2021

24 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

I've literally had it 2 days. I didn't think that the 30 days applied unless the vehicle is faulty in some way.

I don't have the paperwork with me to check, but I don't think it has to be faulty for an exchange.

I had to use it when I got an RX, in that case there was something I wasn't happy about but that the dealership wouldn't fix or acknowledge as a fault, and it wasn't apparently covered by the warranty, so to save it getting a debate about it we agreed to go the exchange route and I ended up with another one (which I still have).

In my experience the firm ride is exaggerated by noise from the rear seats/loadbay. Difficult to pin down exactly what is making the noise, I'm hoping a new full set of tyres later this year will improve things.

With nearly four times the mileage and all sorts of issues my aged LS is more hushed and refined.

Spacewagon52 · May 28, 2021

21 minutes ago, Herbie said:

I just don't understand this at all.

Almost all of my cars have been top of the range, although not necessarily 'executive' ones. Cars like Ford Granada (I, II and III, last one I had was the 2.8i Ghia X Sapphire Edition), Rover 800 Series Sterling, Nissan Maxima QX SE+, to name just a few, and they've always been very smooth comfortable rides. The 2005 RX300, the 2013 RX450h Advance and my current 2018 RX450h Luxury have all carried on that tradition in spades, the latter being THE best one of all - and I speak from a position of having a serious back injury that really does let me know if something is harsh and uncomfortable.

Maybe I'm just weird eh?

I wonder if people read that the suspension is hard then they think it is? Herbie's experience of some very smooth cars and his two RX models, coupled with a bad back, seems to contradict this idea that the ride is harsh. I have never been in a 450h but was wondering how people, who have owned a RX400h and a RX 450h, compare the ride comfort?

I find both the RX 300 and RX 400h very comfortable - particularly on a rough dirt track.

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

30 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Maybe I'm just weird eh?

Maybe i'm the weird one.

28 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I don't have the paperwork with me to check, but I don't think it has to be faulty for an exchange...

...With nearly four times the mileage and all sorts of issues my aged LS is more hushed and refined.

I was reading up on the "short term right to reject". It does tend to suggest that it would need to be not fit for purpose. It would be pretty ****ty for me to try that. Also, as a friend of mine in the car business pointed out, the car now has one more owner and so it's value has changed. Also I traded in a 2007 LS460 for it. They were sending that to auction so that's presumably already gone.

And yes, my LS, with 114k on the clock was way more hushed and refined too. Then again, new it's nearly twice the price of an RX450.

13 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I wonder if people read that the suspension is hard then they think it is? Herbie's experience of some very smooth cars and his two RX models, coupled with a bad back, seems to contradict this idea that the ride is harsh. I have never been in a 450h but was wondering how people, who have owned a RX400h and a RX 450h, compare the ride comfort?

I find both the RX 300 and RX 400h very comfortable - particularly on a rough dirt track.

For me it was the case that the initial drive home on the M25 and M4 was very pleasant. The following day, driving it around locally, every pot hole and crack in the road was extremely evident. You've got two RX's and an LS. Surely you notice a big difference, no?

Spacewagon52 · May 28, 2021

5 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

Maybe i'm the weird one.

I was reading up on the "short term right to reject". It does tend to suggest that it would need to be not fit for purpose. It would be pretty ****ty for me to try that. Also, as a friend of mine in the car business pointed out, the car now has one more owner and so it's value has changed. Also I traded in a 2007 LS460 for it. They were sending that to auction so that's presumably already gone.

And yes, my LS, with 114k on the clock was way more hushed and refined too. Then again, new it's nearly twice the price of an RX450.

For me it was the case that the initial drive home on the M25 and M4 was very pleasant. The following day, driving it around locally, every pot hole and crack in the road was extremely evident. You've got two RX's and an LS. Surely you notice a big difference, no?

Yes of course, but even the LS 400 does not enjoy pot holes! All I am saying is that my RX cars are more comfortable than I expected from a large SUV.

Ride / handling is a compromise and I feel Lexus have got this just right in these two cars. As I have stated, I have no experience of riding in or driving a 450h.

Herbie · May 28, 2021

48 minutes ago, Jakeuk said:

I was reading up on the "short term right to reject". It does tend to suggest that it would need to be not fit for purpose. It would be pretty ****ty for me to try that.

Did you get it from a Lexus main dealership because if you did, that's not how I read it. Have a look here for the 30 day/1000 mile exchange policy:

https://www.lexus.co.uk/pre-owned/lexus-select/#benefits

Jakeuk · May 28, 2021

33 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Did you get it from a Lexus main dealership because if you did, that's not how I read it. Have a look here for the 30 day/1000 mile exchange policy:

https://www.lexus.co.uk/pre-owned/lexus-select/#benefits

You're right. And it was indeed a Lexus main dealer. Unfortunately they'll only exchange and they don't have anything in the LS range.

Nick W858 · May 29, 2021

It’s definitely different to the LS - I owned the LS for 16 years and for nearly 10 of those I ran a 2011 RX alongside it (my wife’s vehicle). As you say smooth on the motorway but definitely more crashy and creaky around town - ours drives better with luggage and kids in the rear than when driven solo. Still I think it’s a great car - we are almost 140k miles in now and as a do it all car that’s utterly dependable it’s hard to beat. I have driven 600h and of course it’s different to the RX in many ways but we are talking about very different cars. I have even had the use of a friends RR Vogue worth about 6 times what the RX is worth but I wasn’t overly impressed with the ride in that and that was without taking into account the potential reliability issues which you don’t have with the RX. Still you need to be happy with what you are driving so I hope you find a resolution soon.

The-Acre · May 29, 2021

I've just gone from 3 previous LS's to a Honda SUV and the ride is certainly harder but I did my research so I expected it. Saying that, I love the driving position and the fuel economy, and as others have said, it's much smoother with people onboard. I can't see me ever going back to a "normal" car now.

Phil xxkr · May 29, 2021

Me neither Phil but its since I had mine have I realised how many SUV type vehicles there are now on the road around me🦧

Malc · May 29, 2021

4 hours ago, Phil xxkr said:

but its since I had mine have I realised how many SUV type vehicles there are now on the road

and if you was ever alongside even a new fangled mini estate in an Ls400 you would realise that it, the Ls400. is just dwarfed by it ........ :wink3:

Malc

Phil xxkr · May 29, 2021

5 hours ago, Malc said:

and if you was ever alongside even a new fangled mini estate in an Ls400 you would realise that it, the Ls400. is just dwarfed by it ........

Malc

Yes Malc, it's the new lexicon, up is down, right is wrong, left is right, yes is no and of course mini is max 🤠