Grim1

Hi Guys, I am in need of some of your collective wisdom. I know very little about cars other than how to drive one and roughly how it works but am aware enough to take the car in to the dealer when it starts making a large grinding/rubbing noise when on full lock (left or right).

I took the my 2010 IS250 F Sport in to the dealer who sold me the car 9 months and 6k miles ago then waited for 2 hours while they looked at it. The service guy came back and said that the brake disks had bent inwards and that was what had caused the grinding noise. The mechanic had now bent it back in to shape and the service guy went on to try and sell me new tires.

This I found odd as 6k miles ago I was told that they were "nearly new" but when I saw the details about them I got quite concerned. The inspection sheet read:

NSF 2 / 4.6 / 4.8 225/40x18 88y Bridgestone
OSF 1.8 / 5.3 / 2.0 225/40x18 88y Bridgestone
NSR 4.8 / 5.4 / 4.5 225/40x18 88y Bridgestone
OSR 2.1 / 2.1 /2.8 225/40x18 88y Bridgestone

Looking at it the tire wear is all over the shop, also after a brief look round the internet shouldn't the rear tires be 255/40?

The car is still under warranty but I have no idea what to do now. I drive the car sensibly, to work and back, not tracked, not thrashed about etc. The explanation of bent disks worried me, how did they bend while I have been driving them round? Could this be the cause of the odd tire wear or is it just set up really badly?

I appreciate any input from you guys, as I previously said this is not my field at all...

Cheers

Matt

SC400MAN

iTrader: (1)

Brakes, not breaks.

Grim1

Yeah fair point, typo's fixed.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

Yes, you are right about the staggered tire sizes on a RWD 2nd Gen IS.

Brake Rotors (discs) don't bend they either wear down and get too thin to use, or they build up deposits that make the surface uneven and you get brake judder, not a rubbing or grinding noise on hard turns.

Seems like you got snookered. Was the car bought from a Lexus dealer and was it a Certified Used Vehicle?

And, I'm just spitballing here, but I'll bet you paid much to much for the tires and was there for "straightening" the rotors? Sound the the dealer should be reported to Lexus and the BBB

Lou

Grim1

Yes, from a Lexus dealership and a certified used. I have to say after what they did the problem has gone away, no more grinding noise and the car drives nicer. Though I am now paranoid about every bump in the road now...

I didn't buy the new tire yet, they quoted me £99 for fronts and £177 for rears. No mention of fitting.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

Lexus Certified Used Vehicles must go through the following:

http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...t-brochure.pdf

Look at the brake checklist and the tire check list. Note 5/32 tread depth is ½ the tread depth depth of a new tire. But, from what I have read on the net, most Lexus dealers replace the tires with new ones on a Certified Used Vehicle.

Again, Report the dealer to Lexus (they lied to you). They used the wrong size tires. They performed a service that is impossible to do. In a Word they are crooks

Lou

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Before claiming Lexus lied to you, check the sizes of the tires on the car. They quoted you different prices for the front and the rear, so they seem to know they are different. My guess is they just typed in the same size for all 4 on the page for the first bit.

As for something being bent with the brakes, only thing I can think of is if something bent the backing plate and it was contacting the rotor. That would make some noise.

Jeff

Grim1

Thank you. I went and checked the tires when the rain finally let up and they are indeed 255's, so it was just a typo.

Any idea what would cause such random wear in just 6k miles though?

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^Again, Read the checklist - 5/32" on a set of summer tires is about 10K miles on a set of All Seasons, it's more, depending on the brand. Sound like you are a conservative driver, so should be no reason for excessive tire wear. However accelerated uneven tire wear could be caused by a misaligned vehicle. Was your IS250 ever aligned (4 wheel alignment)?

Lou

Grim1

Hi Lou, I have had a good look through my documentation and I do not have checklist for my car so I have no idea what the starting values of the tires.

I have not had the car aligned, is that sort of thing not done at one of its regular services?

nosurprise

iTrader: (1)

Wheel alignments are optionally done during a tire change -- they're around $120 to align all 4. The alignment probably lasts a few tire changes unless you notice uneven wear.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

If you don't have the checklist, look at the PDF link I posted above. It clearly states 5/32s" as the minimum tread reading for a Lexus Certified Used Vehicle. You may want to ask your dealer where the checklist is. As said above alignments are done when changing tires or when abnormal tire wear is noticed.

Lou

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

OP is in the UK I believe, it's possible Lexus UK doesn't have the same requirements for Certified Used. I don't know for sure, just a thought.

Jeff