2011 LEXUS ES350

112,500 miles

New Michelin tires (3000 miles).. 

oil changed EVERY 3000-4000 miles with OEM filter

location: Colorado

*****

Hello Scotty:

i purchased the Lexus new. Have maintained as outlined in the manual..it has never given me any trouble, until… recently.  My old mechanic for the last 17 years was a carbon copy of yourself.. he sold the biz and retired.. therefore, I am left with a new challenge .. 

the car was riding extremely rough .. almost like a straight front axle. felt every bump, etc.. steering was straight .. alignment was perfect .. no abnormal wear on the tires. ..

diagnosis:

it seems that my lower control arm(s) bushings needed replacing and what I thought was a blown-out CV joint (looked like grease on the boot)  was actually the power steering pump leaking on the CV.( the PS fluid was full). it wasn’t making noise but was leaking at a pressed fixed connection.. was told that this could not be repaired so it was replaced.. I had the rear sway bar bushings, rear sway links and front struts replaced at the same time.. 

****All replacement parts are OEM Lexus/Toyota.. no after market. ******* 

But …. the car is making noises .. sounds almost like a strut spring is shifting/moving  when turning in conjunction with the power steering pump is GROANING when sitting at a traffic light and when turning .. Oddly .. rpm dropping about 75-100-rpm when stopped in the driveway or garage and turning the wheel but stabilizes when you quit turning the wheel.. (this never happened before the replacement). The steering wheel has a very faint click or notch when applying the brakes RIGHT before it comes to a complete stop.. (can also be slightly felt in the brake pedal).. Not something I hear,  but feel..  it can also happen when starting to accelerate. The symptoms are intermittent happening approx 70% +/- of the time .. it feels like (I’m guessing) vertical/in-out slack but when trying to move the wheel in/out it’s tight.. there doesn’t appear to be any slack when sitting still and turning the steering wheel left/right.. maybe .. and I mean maybe .. 1/8 to 1/4 slack … but.. when backing out of the driveway it seems to be much more prominent 

Top it all off , the symptoms don’t appear to happen/less noticeable in the morning when the car is cold and the temp is cooler.. it gets worse as the temp rises and the car warms up. At the peak of the heat, yesterday.. the power steering pump and noises were very loud. It’s not a high pitch sound but sounds like it is laboring.. the steering when turning is smooth and easy.. I checked the reservoir and it was full and didn’t appear to have air .. to purge the air in the system a vacuum was used vs. lock to lock.

Because the car hasn’t given me any trouble for 13 years I decided to spend the 4700.00 to have it repaired .. but that may not have been the right thing..the car is clean on the outside and inside , maintained ,polished and  always been garaged .. etc.. 

I hope to not regret spending the 4700.00 for repairs. 

thank you 

Tim