2026 OT Front clunking noise. (2 Viewers)

[Oli]

New 2026 OT - I have the same clunking going over bumps at about 40kph. Varies with comfort settings and sometime random clunks going down freeways with no bumps. Keen to understand cure as this is not right for a brand new vehicle. Now with Dealer to diagnose and hopefully find a remedy

Any news from the dealership? I’m wondering if it’s not the EKDSS that disconnecting the swaybar on some mode to add more confort…

 

[GSRider]

My trip to the dealer was not productive. The mechanic could not reproduce the noise driving it. I went for a ride with him and was also unable to hear any noise. On the trip home, it started again. The troubleshooting was after the tire rotation, so it may be masked by having it on a lift for a time. Might be an EKDSS characteristic as mentioned above. Will continue to monitor the thread...

 

[GR8Santini]

My trip to the dealer was not productive. The mechanic could not reproduce the noise driving it. I went for a rude with him and was also unable to hear any noise. On the trip home, it started again. The troubleshooting was after the tire rotation, so it may be masked by having it on a lift for a time. Might be an EKDSS characteristic as mentioned above. Will continue to monitor the thread...

Or 2 adults in the front seats

 

[coffeecigars]

When you are coasting at like 40mph and you move the steering wheeling wheel to the right do you feel any movement in the steering column? Like feel a knock

 

[GSRider]

Or 2 adults in the front seats

Had 2 adults in the front seats on the way home from the dealership when it reappeared.

 

[GSRider]

Another thing to consider is the RX450h I had as a loaner had a similar clunk when going over sharp bumps.

 

[Oli]

Any updates from the stealership troubleshooting?

 

[Oli]

Had 2 adults in the front seats on the way home from the dealership when it reappeared.

Any news for the dealership troubleshooting?

 

[GSRider]

Any news for the dealership troubleshooting?

Haven't been back to the dealership, so unfortunately no.

 

[coffeecigars]

History 2025 gx OT plus build date October 25
traded a 24OT I. January got it.
Noticed clunk right away brought in for service told the guy exactly how to drive and what to feel and hear
Boom he heard it
Lexus gave the dealership money to retorque the front end the original test driver went on vacation
They said torque worked drives normal
But it’s still not right ….making an appointment at another dealership for a second opinion also reached out to Lexus Brand management to help me through this.
I do notice that the first drive of the day is the worst and it seems to kind of correct itself sometimes or I’m going insane
So I inputted as much information into chat GPT …model, build date, service fix, what’s happening now it then searches manual and every forum (Reddit,twitterX…) and came up with things for them to check now getting a dealership to investigate is difficult someone has to pay these workers
Time so not sure I’ll get anywhere unless the test drive is full of clunkyness
If anyone has information would be helpful I will post findings maybe end of this week

 

[Hoffy1337]

History 2025 gx OT plus build date October 25
traded a 24OT I. January got it.
Noticed clunk right away brought in for service told the guy exactly how to drive and what to feel and hear
Boom he heard it
Lexus gave the dealership money to retorque the front end the original test driver went on vacation
They said torque worked drives normal
But it’s still not right ….making an appointment at another dealership for a second opinion also reached out to Lexus Brand management to help me through this.
I do notice that the first drive of the day is the worst and it seems to kind of correct itself sometimes or I’m going insane
So I inputted as much information into chat GPT …model, build date, service fix, what’s happening now it then searches manual and every forum (Reddit,twitterX…) and came up with things for them to check now getting a dealership to investigate is difficult someone has to pay these workers
Time so not sure I’ll get anywhere unless the test drive is full of clunkynes
If anyone has information would be helpful I will post findings maybe end of this week

Mine isn’t present at all times either. Seems mostly for the first 10-15 miles then it’s fine. The other day I drove it over the same roads and it didn't do it at all. They have a suspension part ordered (sway bar link) for me but have no idea on when it will arrive since none are in stock. I really believe it’s the EKDSS not working the way it supposed to. In other words if in sport or eco mode the sway bay is supposed to be locked in place and I don’t think it necessarily does all the time. I’m not a mechanic by any means but my conclusion comes from the hours upon hours of research. Maybe it’s quite normal because of the EKDSS. I’m hoping someone can come up with a clear answer

 

[coffeecigars]

Owning a 24 OT
Before this it drive like butter zero issues
Maybe when they add the one inch lift
Something didn’t line up right
Your info is very helpful thank you

 

[CantComplain]

Mine isn’t present at all times either. Seems mostly for the first 10-15 miles then it’s fine. The other day I drove it over the same roads and it didn't do it at all. They have a suspension part ordered (sway bar link) for me but have no idea on when it will arrive since none are in stock. I really believe it’s the EKDSS not working the way it supposed to. In other words if in sport or eco mode the sway bay is supposed to be locked in place and I don’t think it necessarily does all the time. I’m not a mechanic by any means but my conclusion comes from the hours upon hours of research. Maybe it’s quite normal because of the EKDSS. I’m hoping someone can come up with a clear answer

eKDSS should not be impacted by sport vs. normal suspension. KDSS is a mechanism that can detach the sway bar to allow increased articulation when off-road. the "e" part of KDSS does it electronically, rather than hydraulically (older style KDSS) or manually (via a manual switch). In any event, the sway bar is either connected or not, and if it were disconnected while you were driving on the road, it would be pretty apparent when you took your first turn. This is a very good description, and even worth disabling ad block: https://www.motor1.com/features/707999/toyota-ekdss-how-it-works/.

I think my problem could be a sway bar bushing or mount because it seems to affect both sides equally, but it's still different than the KDSS itself. Changing modes does not change anything for me and it doesn't change over any period of time, so as I mentioned in a previous post there may be different reasons for a similar symptom we're experiencing. Changing the driving mode in an Overtrail should affect the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) which could impact something else and if it makes a difference on your rig it's definitely worth mentioning to the dealer for troubleshooting.

Any clicking or clunking noise is NOT "quite normal" in any circumstance. I've had a 2024 GX OT that did not do this, and I put 20k miles on it. My '26 does this. My old Land Rover didn't do this. My modern Jeep JL (a Jeep!) doesn't do this. So please don't give up--not that you are. Very unfortunately my dealer is a haul for me and I haven't had the opportunity to take it in but I'll have them take a look at my 5k.

 

[cmfhsu]

I don't have an EKDSS car, but sway bar end links are always the first place I start when investigating a suspension clunk, followed shortly by sway bar bushing mounts.

I'm sure there are all sorts of weird forces on the EKDSS sway bar, especially as those end links seem to be mounted to the control arm via a bushing, rather than a ball joint, maybe leading to more compliance / flex in some directions than a ball joint would have. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those fasteners needed to be re-torqued or torqued to a slightly higher spec.

 

[CantComplain]

I'm going to do an early oil change hopefully this week (just hit 2k), and I'll take a good look at these components with the skid plate off. Suspensions aren't really in my wheelhouse but I'm hoping I can get my bearings (and bushings!) under there.

edited to add image of OT suspension from here

 

[cmfhsu]

Once it's safely on jack stands, give each part a good shake in all directions with your whole body weight. If you still can't find it, try jacking one tire (careful!) or one control arm (safer) up and see if you can hear any faint pops or clunks.

 

[klakeman]

Check all bolts related to rock rails or steps. My westcott rock rails were causing a loud popping or creaking noise where they attached to the frame. I ended up putting a 1/8 inch rubber washer on the forward mounts. Completely solved the problem

 

[coffeecigars]

So took mine to second dealer for another opinion
when I drove to the dealership I heard the clunks
once I took it on a highway for 30 min its like everything smoothed out
so our test drive produced nothing. He was super nice and suggested
I leave it, he will do any updates they have listed and will take it for a cold test drive in the morning.
One of the updates was a special new bracket for the CATBACK exhaust that has to be replaced.
.....Maybe temperature has something to do with my issues how much the car is warmed up
not sure.
ill update tomorrow if it ends up being normal well ill address it again at 10k service
and do more research and trouble shooting

 

[GR8Santini]

Owning a 24 OT
Before this it drive like butter zero issues
Maybe when they add the one inch lift
Something didn’t line up right
Your info is very helpful thank you

Hope y’all figure this out, as it’s unnerving. Our ‘23 Sequoia had a pop that turned out was the TRD skid plate torqued wrong. The guy who figured it out I was a Toyota service manager that goes to my church. Saw him recently & we were talking about LC & GX being close in many things & generalizing he said that they see LC w/ 2 common areas causing undercarriage noises -
1 - Aftermarket parts. He said skid plates, puck levels (especially) & bolt on rails cause the most headaches. His way of testing for them is to go up on a lift to get full extension of suspension, then very slowly come down with several techs around vehicle (1 in drivers seat/ vehicle running), & apply ever-more weight slowly back to the suspension while turning the steering wheel back & forth. Insulators on skid plate are a must in his opinion. Proper torque on step rails, and he said they see pucks miss-installed all the time on Tundra, Tacoma, 4Runner & occasionally on LC.
2 - Sway bars. They add grease to the sway bar brackets & retorque as a first step if it’s a bone-stock unit. He also added they have found wheel lugs will pop if the locking nuts aren’t torqued smoothly in the criss cross pattern. Said some places tighten 5 lugs w/ impact & then hand torque the locking nuts & that causes rim to talk back to you. Said aftermarket wheels without the need for hubcentric lugs are known for noises.

I went home & greased my sway bar brackets.

 

[coffeecigars]

All good stuff to watch out for they did find a service bulletin on the catback exhaust software and new brackets
The old brackets caused vibrations
And they are keeping the car to test drive more
Hope to have back Monday