Lazoo

Can anyone recommend an independent alignment shop in the Dallas area. I can't seem to get the front-end aligned correctly at the dealership. After buying new tires, the front tires show significant wear after 5000 miles. I rotate the tires every 7000 miles. The wear is only on the inside 2-3 inches of tire. I have 60,000 miles on the car and just bought my third set of tires due only to inside wear. The dealership says they are setting the front-end to spec and don't know why the wear is like it is. They even gave me two new tires in Nov 2010 and all new tires were needed again this week. Any help would be appreciated.

Lazoo

Has anyone had similar problems with their LX570?

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

post up the alignment specs

medici78

That's too much wear in too short a time. Our tires lasted over 40k miles before we bought new ones!

pod

Your not alone with regard to abnormal tire wear. I have had the exact same problem with the inner 2-3 inches of the front tires. It has been described as scalloped wearing of the inside tread. If you run your hand along the inside tread in a clockwise direction you will feel the cross cuts of the tread of the tire...as though it had a grating effect. On the original set of tires, Michelin Latitude Tour I rotated the tires regularly and had a wheel alignment and managed to get 38,000 miles, however, the tires actually needed replacement at 20,000 miles due to the abnormal wear. I saw the gas mileage drop as well. I replaced the tires with the same Michelin tires at 38,000 and had a wheel alignment at Lexus. The car now has 48,000 miles and just had the tires rotated and high speed balanced and noticed the same problem with the front tires. When the car was first released a few 'car' magazines test drove the car and noticed a 'yaw' as it was described when hitting even subtle bumps in the road. I'm not an expert on what might be the problem in the design or specs that were set for this car....but there are problems that need to be addressed.
The other issue with this car are the windshields.. I just had my 4th windshield installed at Lexus. A crack can be caused by the smallest of stones. I have been told the glass has 3 layers instead of two. I assume each of the layers of glass are thinner than if it were the standard two and that could be the issue behind the ease at which the glass cracks.
The only positive note I have is I lease the car and only have a year to go!

John R.

[QUOTE=pod;7138519
The other issue with this car are the windshields.. I just had my 4th windshield installed at Lexus. A crack can be caused by the smallest of stones. I have been told the glass has 3 layers instead of two. I assume each of the layers of glass are thinner than if it were the standard two and that could be the issue behind the ease at which the glass cracks.[/QUOTE]

I have had no problem with the Michelin tires ( the Dunlops wore out at 20,000), but I even started a thread about windshields breaking. I too have had multiple windshields, but I still love my lx570. The funny thing is I was trying to get information about breakage but not many responded.
John

pod

After the first 2 windshields cracked I added full glass coverage. My insurance company just shelled out over $2100. If I were the insurance companies I would not insure the LX570 for glass coverage. When you see someone with an LTX ask the person how many windshields they have replaced. I'm sure they'll hold a few fingers up. With regard to the tires, the wear I have observed is far from normal wear and tear. If you have the Latitudes run your hand along the inner edge in a clockwise motion you will fill the scalloped edge of the tread. On the other end of the spectrum I have a '98 Ford Expedition with 177,000 miles with LTX M/S tires that went 85,000 miles and wore perfectly. I realize Latitudes won't have the treadwear rating of LTX's, however, abnormal treadwear is not acceptable when you have maintained balance, alignment, rotation, tire inflation and not driving the vehicle hard. I'm not a mechanic but I suspect the problem with the wear I observe is due to the 'toe' specs set at the factory for this vehicle.

pod

The Lexus dealer after checking the alignment on the car and finding that it fell within the specs concluded there is abnormal wear after just 10,000 miles on my Michelin Latitude tires. He described it as feathering on the inner portion of the tire. In any event I am now waiting for Lexus customer service to respond.

Lazoo

I started this thread a year age and I will be putting my 5th set of tires on my LX570. I too have been told it's unusual ware on the Michelin Latitude tires. I have talked with everyone at Lexus, including a tire specialist with not conclusion except I keep buying new tires. It is so frustrating. I'm ready to buy a new car, but after 3 Lexus Lx's I will try something other than a Lexus.