dyeelitt

I have a 2008 LS460L with 25,000 miles and 245/45-19 tires. the OE Bridgestone Turanza ER33 tires wore out and after much research i selected the Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus. I bought them at Costco becuase of the price, warranty and lifetime balance. I had the car alignment done at an independent shop and the car was still drifting to the rigiht. i brought it to the dealer becuase the shop found a TSIB about the car pulling. the dealer realigned the car and still pulls to the right. Costco replaced 2 front tires and the drift decreased. I had the car campaign ALC done for the steering computer and the dealer said the car is at factory specifications. i went back to Costco and had them order the Pilot MXM4 tires as they are less aggressive.

anyone have any similar situations with the car pulling?

davedan

have 09 that had same problem dealer did the rotate- balance-alighnment-thing no luck they then refered to tbsl-sb-0174-08 l-sb-0035-08 they ended up replacing camber and caster brackets adjusted to e add combos a.5,b 2.2, c.2, d 1.4, f.2, g.2, h.2 ido not know what this all means but it fixed the problem

kaizan

If you cross rotate the front tires and road test it again you can determine if the pull is caused by a front tire or the alignment.

If you give us the alignment angles I can start my "diagnosis by internet"

snoylekim

Possible "tramlining" ?? Does it do this on all road surfaces ?? My Pilot Sports always seemed to have a tendency to 'tramline' ( be very sensitive to road surface irregularities) on two different cars I owned .. Would be very reduced on smoother surfaces ..

jlawr

I just bought new tires -- Continental DWS -- and I have the same issue. I had my Lexus dealership AND and an excellent local shop align my tires. Both places gave me a print out showing my alignment was within specs. My car still pulls to the right.

TSIB's: L-SB-0035-08 and L-SB-0174-08 are only good till 20k miles
(see: http://www.lambros.net/2007LS460L/tsib/)

I'll still try to have my dealer fix the issue

dyeelitt

FL FR
Camber -0.5 -0.5
Caster 6.2 6.5
Toe 0.04 0.03
SAI 8.8 8.9
Included Angle 8.3 8.4
Front
Cross Camber 0.0
Cross Caster -0.3
Cross SAI -0.1
Total Toe 0.07
RL RR
Camber -1.7 -1.7
Toe 0.11 0.14

REAR
Cross Camber 0.0
Total Toe 0.25
Thrust angle -0.01

kaizan

Your original message needs to be addressed then I will move on to the alignment measurements.

The Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus 245/45R19 is a directional tread tire. Directional tread design imrpves wet weather traction. The disadvantage of directional tread is that it complicates pull diagnosis. Tires that are not directional tread allow the mechanic to rotate tires as necessary to determine the cause of a pull easier. The Michelin Pilot MXM4 tread design is not directional and will make it easier to diagnose the cause of the pull in the future.

Campaign ALC does not apply to any 2008 LS. If you were given the impression that the ALC was completed on your vehicle, and it is truly a 2008 model, you are mistaken.

The TSIB mentioned by the independent shop is simply the factory recommended procedure to determine the cause of a pull on any 2007-2009 LS. No updated parts are mentioned in this TSIB. If the independent shop doesn't feel qualified to follow this TSIB thay shouldn't have worked on your car at all.


Based on your measurements, the alignment is "in-specs." However, I would have set the Cross-caster to -0.5 to compensate for road crown rather than -0.3. This is done by shifting the front suspension support member. You may still have a tire-caused pull that only multiple road tests and tire rotations can identify.

Also consider wind speed, unequal tire pressure, and off-center steering wheel as causing a perceived pull. Road test with the alignment mechanic if you chose to take it back to the dealer. Present your alignment measurements to this mechanic. State the exact sequence of events.

Good Luck. Multiple shops has complicated this situation. Stick with one shop and insist pull is not corrected until you are happy with it.

dyeelitt

The dealer applied campaign ALC becuase the VIN number was within their group of affected cars and the steering wheel did go off center when i made a U turn.

the first set of tires were cross rotated and the car still pulled. Tires were swapped front to rear and left and right (dismounted and remounted). the second set was put on the right side and still pulled then the new tire were put on the front (dismounted and remounted in the correct side). the car still drifted to the right.

i am waiting for the third set of tires (Michelin Pilot Primacy) which is a Summer tire and we'll see what happens. if it still pulls/drifts, then i am going back to the dealer and ask them to get the regional service rep involved.

kaizan

Looks like you've done enough rotating/flipping/replacement of tires to determine the pull is not caused by the tires.

Some other things to consider:

The alignment machine may need calibration.
(If the dealership only has one functional alignment machine the mechanic will not be able to verify this without taking the vehicle to another shop to compare measurements).

Not sure if a Lexus product engineer is necessary right now. Even small dealerships should have at least one mechanic experienced enough to correct the pull. You should talk to a service manager and request that you get someone more qualified this time or you will be contacting Lexus regarding your service experience.

dyeelitt

i put a 3rd set of tires on (Michelin Pilot Primacy) and the car still pulled to the right. i took it to the dealer and they realigned the car, checked the frame and then finally put on a set of wheels from another car. the pulling stopped. i will go tomorrow and see what they did and if in fact that fixes the problem. i can't see how i can get 3 sets of tires from Michelin that pull consistantly to the right. Costco ordered Bridgestone Turanza Serenity tires and i should get them next week.

kaizan

Did it pull when you got it back from the dealer? Did they give you another alignment printout? Did you road test with anyone at the dealership? Hope its fixed!

vitieubao

So what did the dealer do to fix the pull? I got the same issue and could not fix it for now.

jc3103

I had same problem, same tires. Alway correct air pressure. 12000 miles and edge of right tire worn out. Drifting to right. Probably like this since new. Had tires rotated and aligned at dealer. Still pulled to the right. I notified dealer. In two weeks, edge of right tire worn out again before I could return. Dealer blamed everything they could think of, except alignment. Finally got service manager involved, and car drives straight. Hope they did it right. Same tires. I will need new tires soon, and am thinking for the A/S Sport. Hope I don't wear them out too fast.
2008 LS 460.

vitieubao

Do you know what your dealer did to make the car go straight?

Rocs

I am at Lexus of Clear Lake here in Houston dealing with the same issue. They did alignment and it still pulled to right. Now they are rotating tires. Mine is LS 460 2007. They also are ordering right drivers window for wind noise although I told them about the triangular part at front of window and the fix on this forum.. They said they will try window 1st..