Steering wheel vibration

Alex00 · January 26, 2022

Hello ! This is my first post here. Since yesterday , i am an owner of a 2018 Lexus IS300H F-sport 😎😎. After i arrived home with the car , i noticed something strange , when car is moving slow, almost idle,and i turn steering wheel maximum left or right , my steering wheel is vibrating like somebody inside it is hitting it . I noticed that this happens especially when i’m on paved stone road . I was thinking that is because car is with RWD and because of 18” wheels , but i’m getting a little bit worried , especially that car has warranity . Can somebody please help me ?

I’m sorry for my bad english , i’m living in NL.✌️✌️

royoftherovers · January 26, 2022

If you bought it from a Motor Dealer then take it back to him and tell him to fix it . He is required by UK Law to do so at his cost.

Jose DS · January 26, 2022

First post ever!

@Alex00 Nice colour, love it! I might be wrong but I believe this is due to tyre skipping. I took mine in to Lexus Croydon (Jemca) shortly after purchasing it from their Edgeware branch and was advised that this was the case. Also have a look at:

LenT · January 26, 2022

Not something I’ve been aware of myself, but it could well be the tyre skipping previously mentioned. Apparently this can occur on full lock in very cold conditions at slow speeds with worn, summer grade tyres.

It’s been discussed before on this site so it’ll be worth doing a search for the subject. Apparently it’s down to rear wheel drive pushing tyres with reduced flexibility over the road surface when the steering is at an extreme angle.

In brief…probably nothing to worry about, but check tyre tread, looking for uneven wear, and consider having the tracking checked. But as John mentioned earlier, these are faults that the selling Lexus dealer should have rectified before you bought it.

NemesisUK · January 26, 2022

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

If you bought it from a Motor Dealer then take it back to him and tell him to fix it . He is required by UK Law to do so at his cost.

1 hour ago, Alex00 said:

I’m sorry for my bad english , i’m living in NL.✌️✌️

He's in the Netherlands John..

NemesisUK · January 26, 2022

"Tyre skip" aka "crabbing" is quite common (on cars with wide low profile tyres) especially in the cooler months but this is more a sudden jolt rather than a vibration. When I experienced it for the first time (tight right turn out of my drive, frosty morning) i felt like I'd driven over a brick!

royoftherovers · January 26, 2022

22 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

He's in the Netherlands John..

Thanks Peter. Dozy me !

NemesisUK · January 26, 2022

12 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Thanks Peter. Dozy me !

To be fair not sure why the OP has put London as his location though. (is there a London in the Netherlands?) :confused1:

Alex00 · January 26, 2022

22 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

To be fair not sure why the OP has put London as his location though. (is there a London in the Netherlands?)

Sorry , I put London because i saw there was option to choose only cities from UK , but i find this forum very helpful .

NemesisUK · January 26, 2022

23 minutes ago, Alex00 said:

Sorry , I put London because i saw there was option to choose only cities from UK , but i find this forum very helpful .

Scroll to the bottom of the location list and there is Other/Non UK 👍

CypressPhil · January 26, 2022

I can’t help with the question, but just wanted to say love the car! Great choice of colour Alex. Looks great.

Alex00 · January 27, 2022

7 hours ago, CypressPhil said:

I can’t help with the question, but just wanted to say love the car! Great choice of colour Alex. Looks great.

Thank you ! ✌️✌️

Hadrian · February 2, 2022

I get this when pulling out of my driveway on full lock.

It's not something I've ever worried about.

Boooobs · August 15, 2023

I have this issue now. Its not due to the wheel slipping. Its a different noise. Im familiar with the wheel slipping and during searching for the rumble issue that alex has mentioned many people chime in to say its the wheel slipping issue.

Its slowing getting worse in my is300h. Rough ground, full lock, low speed seems to set this rattling going. Had a lexus technician verify its not the wheel lock slipping noise, its something else within the suspension or steering colum. Could even be drop links.

Im planning on putting it in for a check but at 190 an euro for diagnostics..... im holding off until i scour the interwebs for any else experiencing this or has solved this issue.

starrass-lex · November 5, 2023

I am having the same issue. What boobs said is exactly what I was thinking.

I took my is300h f sport to dealer to get it check and geometry got car back noise was gone car feel more stable on the road dealer told they tightened chassis bolt front and rear of the car

Boooobs · November 6, 2023

Thanks for the info.

Any idea what this Front and rear chassis bolt is or where it is?

Digifant · November 6, 2023

it's more likely all of them.

starrass-lex · November 7, 2023

Rear left control arm bolt he said was loose but they tightened up every bolt on chassis.

I had the car on ramp a few times to check for play in suspension, only thing I noticed was the steering rack making a horrible sound when steering is at full lock on both sides. Sound like metal to metal.

Mechanic said there is nothing wrong with the rack but the noise doesn't sound right.

lexus tec also told me there is nothing wrong with the rack

From what I rememberd The car hit an island in the road front left wheel from then the car feel unstable especially driving around town anything I go over on the road I feel it in the steering, knocking noise anything I go over. Front Wheel also feel like they are doing their own thing at low speed car start to pull to the left now last geometry was done in August.

question I want to ask can the ball joint be damaged by the

I check car today there is quite alot of play in stabilizer links ball joint got ABIT of movement that raise my concern.

Inna tie rod got play too.

I am going to change inna tie rod, stabilizer links, ball joints , to see if this sort out the knocking, & unstable steering.

Digifant · November 8, 2023

On 11/7/2023 at 2:47 AM, starrass-lex said:

Rear left control arm bolt he said was loose but they tightened up every bolt on chassis.

I had the car on ramp a few times to check for play in suspension, only thing I noticed was the steering rack making a horrible sound when steering is at full lock on both sides. Sound like metal to metal.

Mechanic said there is nothing wrong with the rack but the noise doesn't sound right.

lexus tec also told me there is nothing wrong with the rack

From what I rememberd The car hit an island in the road front left wheel from then the car feel unstable especially driving around town anything I go over on the road I feel it in the steering, knocking noise anything I go over. Front Wheel also feel like they are doing their own thing at low speed car start to pull to the left now last geometry was done in August.

question I want to ask can the ball joint be damaged by the

I check car today there is quite alot of play in stabilizer links ball joint got ABIT of movement that raise my concern.

Inna tie rod got play too.

I am going to change inna tie rod, stabilizer links, ball joints , to see if this sort out the knocking, & unstable steering.

A bit of movement!? ))) You have all the answers. According to Lexus repair guide, if balljoints doesn't have enough stiffness, it has to be replaced.

starrass-lex · November 21, 2023

Thank you diggifant I got the car checked by 2different garage yesterday

the 1st garage put it on a MOT ramp with shakers. They couldn't find any play in ball joints or inna tie rob. They told me car was firm no movement or play in suspension

They reckon it's the steering rack inna gear.

After leaving the garage I noticed the car feel alot better no knocking noise or pulling

But car still steer to the left.

2nd garage done a diagnostic test which stated lost communication to steering angle sensor.

So we unplug all connections on the steering rack one connection had quite ABIT of rush on it.

We agreed that it's the steering rack and the column uj joint that is the issues.

Sitting in the car the steering wheel got a slight play knocking noise when I rack it slowly from centre.

Steering wheel is not centered when driving straight it sit to the left and car pull to the left and got a slight movement when driving around town.

over 50mph steering doesn't move as much and feel the way it should.

Basically I got to keep correcting my car as I go along the road it's noticed more when I am driving around town.

The knocking noise has calmed down alot for now and the steering feels like I got more resistant since taken it to both garage.

Can anyone tell me if all is300h use the same steering rack. My car is a F sport.

Mr_Groundhog · November 26, 2023

On 11/21/2023 at 8:55 AM, starrass-lex said:

Thank you diggifant I got the car checked by 2different garage yesterday

the 1st garage put it on a MOT ramp with shakers. They couldn't find any play in ball joints or inna tie rob. They told me car was firm no movement or play in suspension

They reckon it's the steering rack inna gear.

After leaving the garage I noticed the car feel alot better no knocking noise or pulling

But car still steer to the left.

2nd garage done a diagnostic test which stated lost communication to steering angle sensor.

So we unplug all connections on the steering rack one connection had quite ABIT of rush on it.

We agreed that it's the steering rack and the column uj joint that is the issues.

Sitting in the car the steering wheel got a slight play knocking noise when I rack it slowly from centre.

Steering wheel is not centered when driving straight it sit to the left and car pull to the left and got a slight movement when driving around town.

over 50mph steering doesn't move as much and feel the way it should.

Basically I got to keep correcting my car as I go along the road it's noticed more when I am driving around town.

The knocking noise has calmed down alot for now and the steering feels like I got more resistant since taken it to both garage.

Can anyone tell me if all is300h use the same steering rack. My car is a F sport.