Hi, this is my first post; 2026 Luxury plus. after about 3,000 miles, 3 months...i cannot for the life of me believe a luxury vehicle, or any vehicle for that matter, even a truck, could be this jiggly, wobbly, rough of a ride. I owned an F-150, it was smooth compared to this. I have tried "comfort" and all the settings. Even just expansion joints cause reverberations throughout the vehicle. on some roads you can hardly have a conversation for being jiggled around so much. I know, the 22" wheels... but that should not cause this much wiggle jiggle. I find myself apologizing to passengers. Is this for real, or could there be something wrong? Again, I know it's a truck, but this is ridiculous.
Suspension Wiggle Jiggle (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter maasthor
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I recommend sticking closely to the 33psi cold inflation pressure, as that made a big difference for me. You might also consider tires with a softer sidewall, as the factory tires seem to have very stiff, sporty sidewalls.
I found that after 10k miles, the ride in my car seems considerably softer and much closer to the experience I'd expect from a fat boat like the GX. Good luck.
I found that after 10k miles, the ride in my car seems considerably softer and much closer to the experience I'd expect from a fat boat like the GX. Good luck.
- Thread starter
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thank you for the replies. I actually like the 22" wheels but may get different tires (AT Dueler Ascent are appealing), still, the full-vehicle jiggle seems more about the overall suspension than wheels/tires. I had Acura, Audi and know what tight/harsh rides are like with little rubber and tight suspensions. I own a Jeep wrangler and I swear the jeep is a smoother ride. I experienced a "death wobble" in that and fixed with new shocks. This GX reminds me of what the Jeep was doing just before full death wobble.
My first drive after delivery shocked me due to exactly what you’re describing. I checked the tire pressure to find the tires were at 44 PSI. I took them down to 33psi and that helped greatly. Since then I have still been sensitive to the ride to the point I had the service manager drive it with me. He said it felt like all the other GX’s. After 5,000 miles I can say the ride is much better so either we have gotten used to it or the suspension has “settled in”. I hope you have a similar experience.
would also expect more tire sidewall would make a difference. I've got a nice ride with my Toyo AT3s 275/70/18 EV SL on my OT. I had a 94 Jeep with that horrific Death Wobble a few times and unless you've experienced it, no way for someone to appreciate how that feels at >50 mph, like either or both the front tires flying off or steering components coming apart.
I agree with @280driver, regarding the ride softening up and tire pressure. To add…make sure to monitor the tire pressures and make adjustments when cold. Not after driving.
I’m changing mine fairly regularly and I adjust them to plan for the outdoor forecast. When it’s warmer out, I use 33 PSI and when it’s colder, 35PSI. Geographical location also comes into play but after owning and driving a big RV, I realized the true importance. Also, I’m still running my stock P+ 20” wheels at about 6,500 miles.
My wife has been a jeep wrangler owner since I met her. Though I’ve never experienced the death wobble myself, she has a few times. It doesn’t sound enjoyable.
I’m changing mine fairly regularly and I adjust them to plan for the outdoor forecast. When it’s warmer out, I use 33 PSI and when it’s colder, 35PSI. Geographical location also comes into play but after owning and driving a big RV, I realized the true importance. Also, I’m still running my stock P+ 20” wheels at about 6,500 miles.
My wife has been a jeep wrangler owner since I met her. Though I’ve never experienced the death wobble myself, she has a few times. It doesn’t sound enjoyable.
You need to give the suspension components time to break in etc. Make sure tire pressure is correct (33-35psi cold). Road Force Balance to see if any tires are out of round.
Look that has also been something I have noticed in my 2026 overtrail. Even with the 18 in and the softer tune... It jiggles too much for my taste ... And i come from a J150 Land Cruiser Prado Vx with kdss and Passive dampers....
3k miles is little still for the shocks to completely adapt to the every day situations.. maybe they are still learning...
If you actually want a better tire on 22 in the yokohama Geolanders XC-V will be softer ....
Or maybe some michellin...
Stay away from all terrain tires.
In the 22in wheels...
I had a bmw x6 with adaptive air suspension and yes that dude with tires 275/35R22 and 315/30R22 rode sooo softly that i was almost impossible to beleive... But this is the price we pay for a very sturdy frame....
You caan change the shocks to the Mt64... There is already a post in the forum about that changee.
Good luck.
For a body on frame fwd, it’s actually really good imo. I have an OT though. The 18 inch wheels help. Remember that this is a dressy Land Cruiser with a better power train. (Which is exactly what I was looking for.) It’s not a unibody. (My previous Honda Ridgeline, which is unibody, felt like a magic carpet…)
I also find the ride to be noticeably better in sport+, my wife drove the other day & says “hey… what did you do? Something feels different, its driving like so-and-so’s car (bmw x5)” now while I think that comparison is a stretch the point is its a noticeable difference, I read about changes to suspension & steering response being possible causes. I would enjoy a detailed document showing the commands software executes when changing modes
Best drive mode IMO
I actually did some testing if anyone wants to know. Based on my very bad roads here in panama, it vibrates and jiggles too much , so i thought what if i select MTS in auto mode, based on what the service manual said, its constanly adapting to situations and the ride settled so much more.
in terms of sport s+, yess it almost stops wiggle but then its to hardly damped... but it indeed is better.
Yess and no.
If you had available a Land Cruiser Prado 150 series, you will notice the ride quality is very different.
my j150 prado has zero wiggle or jiggle.. its strange but almost a unibody ride... just saying. so when i drive my 250 series gx550 i wish the ride settled like the prado.
my is hardly damped, more controlled...
Since our vehicles are body on frame, you have to separate suspension movement (which includes the body and the frame) from "scuttleshake" (where the body vibrates against the rubber insulators mounting it to the frame) to diagnose NVH issues.
If you feel high frequency, almost "ringing" vibrations, as though the hollow cabin is vibrating like a gong, that's likely to be scuttleshake and it's an inherent reality of body on frame trucks. Lexus has drastically improved this for the GX550, IMO, as older Lexuses had atrocious scutleshake I suspect from extremely soft body mount isolators.
Larger, lower frequency movements are likely to be due to suspension calibration and unsprung mass. These 22 inch wheels and tires are pretty heavy and it's hard to control the motion of giant spinning flywheels, alongside the balance of softness and body roll.
Unibody vehicles like BMWs, Audis - basically anything other than pickups, wranglers, and our SUVs - can ride significantly better, with both smoother ride and better handling at the same time. They can dissipate vibrations through carefully engineered flex throughout the body, and can use much thinner metal in structural areas, as the entire cabin acts as a structural member.
But they can't tow heavy things or utilize weight distributing hitches because the body simply isn't stiff enough to handle that kind of force (or else it would ride like our car). The frame weakness also means most unibody cars aren't designed to regularly do heavy axle-crossing off road stuff - some cars are so floppy you can't open the doors if the wheels aren't level. If you've ever driven a BMW sedan or coupe, you know what I'm talking about; you can hear the doors & windows squeaking when you enter a steep driveway because the entire body is twisting from just the weight of the car sitting on one wheel.
Some of our ride problems are just inherent to the design & intent of our vehicle. I'm generally quite happy with the balance Lexus engineered, but it is definitely, noticeably worse than most unibody vehicles.
If you feel high frequency, almost "ringing" vibrations, as though the hollow cabin is vibrating like a gong, that's likely to be scuttleshake and it's an inherent reality of body on frame trucks. Lexus has drastically improved this for the GX550, IMO, as older Lexuses had atrocious scutleshake I suspect from extremely soft body mount isolators.
Larger, lower frequency movements are likely to be due to suspension calibration and unsprung mass. These 22 inch wheels and tires are pretty heavy and it's hard to control the motion of giant spinning flywheels, alongside the balance of softness and body roll.
Unibody vehicles like BMWs, Audis - basically anything other than pickups, wranglers, and our SUVs - can ride significantly better, with both smoother ride and better handling at the same time. They can dissipate vibrations through carefully engineered flex throughout the body, and can use much thinner metal in structural areas, as the entire cabin acts as a structural member.
But they can't tow heavy things or utilize weight distributing hitches because the body simply isn't stiff enough to handle that kind of force (or else it would ride like our car). The frame weakness also means most unibody cars aren't designed to regularly do heavy axle-crossing off road stuff - some cars are so floppy you can't open the doors if the wheels aren't level. If you've ever driven a BMW sedan or coupe, you know what I'm talking about; you can hear the doors & windows squeaking when you enter a steep driveway because the entire body is twisting from just the weight of the car sitting on one wheel.
Some of our ride problems are just inherent to the design & intent of our vehicle. I'm generally quite happy with the balance Lexus engineered, but it is definitely, noticeably worse than most unibody vehicles.
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Beautiful explanation, simply beautiful.
I do remmber my bmw x6 G06 and literally i compare it in spirit to the Gx.
It simply can not be compared... Its no fair to the platform....
Thats why i do compare it to my J150 platform and indeed they ride extremely different.
I will say I haven't driven the new Tahoe / Suburban / Yukon / Escalade, but journalists seem to say it has the best body on frame ride available. I rented a new Silverado from UHaul and it does ride much better than our cars. Clearly somebody can engineer these trucks to ride well, but Toyota has never been that company, even with the fancy Citroen-derived hydraulic suspension in the LXs.
📷 Lexus GX 550 Random Images
📷 Lexus GX 550 Random Images
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