CardinalRG

My dealer says alignment is within specs and problem is that the Goodyear tires do not wear very well. That does not make sense to me since the wear problem is only on the inside of the tire, not the entire tread. I have 21,000+ miles and was told to get Michelins as they wear better.

But what if I get the expensive Michelins and still get the wear on the inside edge?

Who can we take this problem to in Lexus besides the local dealers? The problem seems to be widespread enough to make it an issue.

Lexmex

When I used just plain air to fill my tires on my RX300, I noticed uneven wear on each tire, they just never did last that long, 1.5 years if I was lucky and I just drive locally. You lose 1 psi at the rate of a month, more or less, but air is not as stable as say nitrogen which I have been using for about 3 years, much better wear, hardly a drop in psi.

tdt5648

Same inside tire wear with the RXh, worse on the rears than on the front ones. Finally replaced the Goodyears with Michelin MXV4 at 25,000 miles at Discount Tires for $150 each... and the ride is so much better!!! Dump those Goodyears.

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

taht wouldn't be a good replacement for the stock tire size, a better one would be 255/50/18.. but i really dont see the need to move away from 235/55/18 (the original size)

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

I just found out that my 2006 model has the same problem..
The dealer wasn't sure what to do, so i have to call Lexus tomorrow morning.

I am 99.9% sure they will deny that the problem exist..
What do i do?

vulpasin

A curiosity: how and where do you get nitrogen to inflate your tires?

neelratna

One place I get this is at Costco.

Lexmex

Yep, Costco is one place to go both here in Mexico and in the U.S.

However, given my considerable connections in the tuning world here, I get free nitrogen at an exhaust shop I use here in Mexico City.

vulpasin

Thank you a million for reply (to both of you)....amazing, everyday you learn something new, I newer knew that you can inflate the car tires with nitrogen
And getting curious, I've done some research to see: why nitrogen? This is what I found...just in case there are others (related to this subject)..."born yesterday"...like me...
http://www.getnitrogen.org/why/index.php

Back on topic, discussing about the different tire brands (Goodyear vs. Michelin) I don't have my 400h yet...it's a special order and it should arrive sometimes in August...maybe I should request to have Michelin tires on it...just to make sure I'll not have all the headaches many of members here had with their Goodyear tires!?!

Stokdgs

And cant believe the number of alignment complaints here. We have an '05 Acura MDX with just over 28k miles, just put a new set of tires on it, and the old Michelins MXV4's were perfectly worn down with no problems. The only reason I changed all 4 was because one got a cut in it and I didnt want to deal with that type of repair if it could be done. I have never had to re-align the MDX and its of course, AWD like most of your SUV's. What gives? Is it a weak type of suspension problem that doesnt hold the alignment ? If they are wearing on the inside edge it suggests a caster/camber issue, doesnt it ?? Why is it so hard to keep it in alignment? Does everyone hit huge potholes and run their tires up hard against the curbs, etc., to actually knock the wheels out of alignment ?? We also had an '01 BMW X5 for 3 years and when we traded it in , it still had the original tires on it, all wearing evenly.. I also cant believe they would put a performance type soft rubber tire on an SUV in the first place... The tires should have a minimum rating of 400 to be able to wear for awhile on such a heavy vehicle. Wow, this is discouraging to say the least.. DanF

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

Here is my alignment sheet.. The Lexus dealer charges $250 for an alignment. As you can see.. even 2 hours on the rack, they could NOT zero out the toe. And look at the front camber.. I will guarantee that my 2nd set of tires will wear in the inside again.

mandyfig

Do they not guarantee that the tires will not wear out due to alignment, after you have them align it? Of course they can come up with 100 reasons why the the tires wore out,except the alignment.

katzjamr

actually we dont abuse our tires and most of us take better care of this vehicle than any we have ever owned. my 400h is an incredible vehicle however it doesnt stay in alignment. i have the goodyears, they are wearing evenly except for the left rear that has excessive inside wear. The wear issue is a combination of the poor tire life rating of the Goodyears, and the incredible torque this SUV applies to each wheel. I am in the process of asking Lexus to replace two of the four tires, i will pay for the other two, that to me is fair compensation. To the person who has a 400h on order, do not accept the car with goodyears, the michelins will last twice as long and dont seem to have the wear issues. as much as i love this vehicle it bothers me that Toyota would offer two different tires at random with so large a variance in wear. Its obvious the michelins should be on every vehicle. BTW i have 25,000 miles on my 400h and have rotated every 5K and kept 34 to 36 psi inflation.

sjpobox

Hi, all rx's have this problem with the goodyears. I do recommend replaceing your tires with michelins, since they do wear more evenly. when I do alignments on rx's and the car is in the air on my lift, I loosen the strut <front> and shock <rear> bolts which allows it to fall out causing the tire to contact the road even.

Stokdgs

Thanks for the input. I didnt mean it to sound that Lexus owners abuse their vehicles - I just cant for the life of me figure out why such a fine vehicle should go out of alignment so easily. I totally agree with you that the combination of the electric and gas powered motors should put alot more torque on the system than normal but Im afraid I dont understand how even this would put the wheels out of alignment so easily. When you ask Toyota about this, what is their reply?
Totally agree that the tires with a low treadwear rating will go faster, as they should - they are a softer compound for grip at the expense of faster wear. A little harder compound should last longer and if you are getting 25k out of your set, then that sounds more like what Im used to seeing on SUV's that are well maintained and have tires rotated at least at 5k intervals. Thanks, I feel better now, and appreciate much knowing this little tip of info on the tire brand. Will go look at one again and see what they have on them here in Bellevue. Where in WA are you located ?? Thanks again for all the help ! DanF