Mike_TX

I had my LS in for service about a month ago because I was getting some 'feathering' wear on my front tires (like little stairsteps on the outer tread blocks). They confirmed the alignment was off and corrected it and rotated the fronts to the rear.

So I've gone on a long road trip since then, and after 4,000 miles I again check the tires and they are again feathering. The passenger-side front especially, and even worse than before. I have an app't. to take it back in in the morning for them to look at it again.

The good news is that the wear on the tires that were on the front has evened out since being on the rear.

Anyone else seeing accelerated front tire wear like this? They're the Dunlop Sport MAXX OEM's and my car is an '08 with about 8,000 miles on it.

.
.

daryll40

As reported here, my Bridgestone Turanza's were close to shot at 8000 miles as well. Cut this business with the "touring" tires, Lexus and put on REAL tires that last for NORMAL mileage cycles.

Nospinzone

Daryl, if your Bridgestone Turanza EL42's were shot at 8000 miles, it has nothing to do with the tires. You could put top of the line Pirelli or Michelins on and you would get even less mileage. You definitely have an alignment problem.

Mike_TX

Was the tread just worn off, or did you have the kind of uneven wear I described? 8,000 miles is crazy bad wear.

I've seen this kind of 'feathering' wear before, but it was on front-wheel drive cars, where it's fairly common. But my rear-wheel drive cars have usually worn the tires evenly across the tread surface.

.
.

daryll40

No alignment problem. The tires were 60% worn....evenly.

Nospinzone

Something is wrong, maybe the alignment is off. Tires can still wear evenly depending on the type of misalignment. You should definitely have an alignment done before you put on a new set of tires.

I just replaced this tire on my wife's Jaguar. They had 46,000+ miles on them and still had a good amount of tread left. The only reason I replaced them is they were just over 7 years old and I could detect some slight cracking along the edge of the tread.

I do agree that Lexus should outfit their flagship car with a better tire, but it would take a far higher performance tire than this one to wear out in 8000 miles.

jlawr

What make and Model of tire got 46k miles on the Jag?

Mike_TX

Well, you'll love this. Just got back from the dealer, and a 30-minute discussion with the Service Manager.

He tells me the Dunlop tires on my car are basically crappy (my term, not his). So much so, in fact, that Lexus has stopped putting them on new LS460's at the factory.

He told me he got an inquiry from corporate several months ago asking if he had been seeing "unusual wear" on Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. His reply was an emphatic yes. This was wear (like mine) that didn't seem to have any obvious source, but was bad enough to warrant early replacement.

At their request, he then sent two sets of the Dunlops with premature wear to California for evaluation. He was advised shortly afterwards that they wouldn't be using them any more. So apparently, they were getting lots of grief from customers around the country.

His advice was to keep rotating them to even out the wear, get all the good I could out of them, then replace them with another brand. Ordinarily, that would irk me, but I've long ago learned that 45,000-mile leases involve a tire replacement somewhere along the line, and to get the most of those tires, I usually change them out by 25,000 miles or so anyway. I can easily get 15,000 more miles out of these skins, so I'm not going to fret about it.

The message here, though, is that Lexus is no longer fond of the Dunlops for the LS460, and if you have them, keep an eye on them and rotate frequently.

.
.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i don't understand, if the tires are bad on the car, should you be eligible for a new different set of tires?

Nospinzone

The same as on my LS460, the Bridgestone Turanza EL42.

BTW, I did inspect my tires today. I have a little over 5000 miles on them and there is no apparent wear. Obviously they have worn some since new, but I would need a gauge to measure it. I would expect these to last at least the same 46K.

daryll40

Yeah, I should be. But I'm sure Lexus will claim that I did this or that and that the tires only last 20,000 miles under good conditions. IN other words, for the few hundred dollars involved (the new tires cost $710 installed), I decided not to burn up my "goodwill chit". But it does burn my tailpipe that they don't install REAL tires that last on REAL American roads.

Mike_TX

If you were talking to me, Rom, the deal is that the tires aren't actually "bad" - that is, they aren't structurally deficient, or defective, or anything like that. They're just not performing as well on the LS as Lexus wants them to, and they've therefore stopped using them.

It's actually a Dunlop issue, apparently, and Lexus is caught in the middle (along with me).

But don't misunderstand - the wear is something most people wouldn't even notice. I'm **** about stuff like this, and I check treadwear regularly.

.
.

jc3103

I agree. I have OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL42's. Driver's side front tire was smooth on outside edge at 10,000 miles. I have since been to the dealer 3 times for correct alignment. Two more tires worn out in same position. I now have 13000 miles and dealer says that alignment is OK but tires are all worn out. I told them I didn't agree. Lexus customer service is not what it once was. I would like to get new Michelin's, but don't want to take the chance that alignment is not right.