Rx400H Lower Control Arm Bushes (Picture Attached)

[tom123]

As per my previous post, the Lexus dealer has marked both lower control arm bushes of my 2005 RX400h (86K) as 'red' (excessively split and failed) and needing replacement. The steering definitely does feel loose and unstable at higher speeds on bumpy roads.

The Lexus warranty company have arranged for an engineer to inspect and road test the car next week as they initially said it wouldn't be covered due to wear and tear. However, the service manager said that he has had older cars with higher miles on them covered for this problem under the warranty, so hopefully the repair will be approved.

Just wondering how bad the bushes look to others? The picture shoes the driver's/OS bush, which looks to be the worse one to me. Although easy to see without taking the wheel off, I hadn't ever looked at them before now.

Have found a TSB for this (attached below), but pictures aren't that clear.

CP-0017L-0110-EN_IR TSB Lower Control Arm Bushes.pdf

[ColinBarber]

looking at your photo I'd say it falls somewhere between diagram 2 and 3 on the TSB which according to Lexus doesn't require their replacement.

[tom123]

looking at your photo I'd say it falls somewhere between diagram 2 and 3 on the TSB which according to Lexus doesn't require their replacement.

I think you're probably right. Doesn't explain why the dealer marked it as 'red' (i.e. needing immediate replacement) though. I'm just wondering whether it's likely that the bushes have been like this for the past 20k miles, or whether their appearance means that they're about to rapidly break down completely.

Would be interested to hear from other RX owners to see if they all in fact all look like this by this age.

[nelmo]

Doesn't explain why the dealer marked it as 'red' (i.e. needing immediate replacement) though.

I must be the most cynical, untrusting person in the world because I'm sure I've said this before; they want to make money so they make up/exaggerate issues, especially when a warranty is involved (won't get as many tricky questions from a warranty company). This is the main reason I hate taking any car in to a garage - I just don't trust them.

Just to point out that bushes are rubber covers to protect moving parts from grit/weather. They are not the cause of any 'loose' feeling and you will NOT notice any difference when they are replaced.

[tom123]

Doesn't explain why the dealer marked it as 'red' (i.e. needing immediate replacement) though.

I must be the most cynical, untrusting person in the world because I'm sure I've said this before; they want to make money so they make up/exaggerate issues, especially when a warranty is involved (won't get as many tricky questions from a warranty company). This is the main reason I hate taking any car in to a garage - I just don't trust them.

Just to point out that bushes are rubber covers to protect moving parts from grit/weather. They are not the cause of any 'loose' feeling and you will NOT notice any difference when they are replaced.

I don't trust my local Lexus dealer's service manager one inch. Not since they got me to replace the rear brake pads as "only 3mm left." When I was later going through the car's paperwork I found out that the previous owner had them replaced less than 10k miles previously. But whilst the car is still under warranty I will try and get any issues sorted.

An engineer from the warranty company is looking at the bushes next week. The dealer asked me to make sure there's enough petrol in the tank as the engineer wants to test drive the car as well.

I got a quote from a Toyota main dealer for the work in case I need to pay for it - they came out over £400 cheaper than Lexus.