Billwic

I just had the first 5,000 mile/6 month service performed on my 2009 RX 350. The owner's manual specifically recommends that the spare be included in the tire rotation which is part of the service. I asked the Lexus dealer to do this. The dealer refused. He said that they only rotate the 4 tires, front to back, and do not include the spare. Is this a common practice by Lexus dealers?
Also, why is the spare tire placed under the car where it is difficult to remove and replace? Why is the spare not put under the floor in a well as in practically all other cars?
BillWIC

thangd

iTrader: (2)

This is the same reason why I've held out til 2010 RX350. Same here in Reno, NV Lexus will not do spare tire rotation. I didn't like the 2007-2009 RX350 for another reason of still having a cassette tape player, come on Lexus we are in the 21st century now. I got the 2010 RX350 and the spare is under the trunk and no more Cassette and have USB for IPOD and USB drive to play MP3 files.

kiwi

they probably refuse cuz it takes more time to rotate the tire, unless you want to pay the extra money to have them include it.

i would recommend to you that you do include it, i bought a 2004 and took the spare down for the first time, and the alloy wheel is severly damaged, the clear coat is peeling right off the rim. not to mention it keep the winch moving and working. last thing you want is to go get the spare in 3-4 years and find out that it is seized and/or never worked to begin with.

then you have the issue of having that extra tire and possibly matching it with 3 others down the road.

i cant see them charging more than an additional .2 of an hours labour to include the spare

Scottydog

Many don't bother rotating tires at all, much less including the spare. A lot of trouble for not much gain. It might even increase the chance of having a flat and finding your worn out spare is no good. You also will end up having to buy 5 tires.

Putting the spare under the car increases the available space inside. My Jeep GC has the same configuration.

09RX350AWD

Wow - REFUSING to rotate all 5 tires! Just had my 5K service done as well and they did all 5 as I requested no arguing or extra charge. I agree with kiwi - why not get 20% extra life out of each tire. When its time to replace, I'll replace 4 and keep the best as the spare. As for the '10, I believe Lexus has done away with the full size spare so while it may be in the trunk, its not a full size one like the 04-09.

Boognish

At least your dealer was honest with you. We asked Lexus of Pleasanton to include the spare in the rotation and they said, "we normally don't, but since you asked we will". I did the next oil change my self and as part of my maintenance routine I check the spare tire. It still had the sticker on the tread and was obviously not rotated. It was also pumped up to 45psi.
Scottydog,
rotating the tires on an awd vehicle with a viscous center differential is very important. You will fry the center diff by running worn tires on the front if the rears still have plenty of tread left.

Scottydog

Boog- I wasn't suggesting not rotating at all, but the extra work involved for a mechanic in rotating the spare say 7 times in the life of the tires seems a bit much. That's why dealers aren't doing it, or may charge extra. You don't really get 20% extra life out of tires. You just have to buy 5 tires less often, unless you want a spare that is worn out.

But come to think of it using the spare would make home tire rotation easier, since I won't have to jack up two wheels at once. Guess I'll rotate the wife's rx when she returns this weekend!

And you are correct, running baldies in the front (or back) is not a good thing...

kiwi

the other issue is if you dont do your maintenance then you prob. dont check your spare tire pressure. at least when they rotate all 5 they will check the pressure in all 5, in my case i lowered my spare to find a damaged rim, and brand new tire and the pressure was at 15 psi, so lucky for me i checked this before i needed it.

Scottydog

Did the TPMS go on with the low spare? I got the tire pressure light, turned out to be an overinflated spare (from the factory).

larrs

Following your logic, what then is the effect of introducing one brand new tire (the spare) when the others are already worn 5000 miles? Especially since some owners are only getting 20K out of the Goodyears.

kiwi

my tpms light did not come on which kinda surprised me, i will mention it to the dealer at my next service.

secondly, if running newer tires on the rear and older tires on the front were to wear out any item on a vehicle that would be a huge design flaw.

i could see if the tires were different sizes, and only then if they were vastly different.

miniz

Follow the advice of the dealer and don't ever use the spare on the road. An unused factory spare is one of the first things many people look for on a used or classic car. I like to see an unused spare, unused tool kit, and unused first aid on used cars.

Boognish

When I go to the mountains and drive in snow, my TPMS goes off because the spare gets cold and reads low.


I tend to agree with you, although the owner's manual specifically calls for rotating the spare. Our tires have 12k on them now and are in very good shape, so I expect we'll get at least 35k out of them. Since the dealer skipped the first rotation, I have not, and will not rotate the spare going forward.

Scottydog

I just looked at the recommended rotation diagram in the manual for my 09. It calls for front to back without cross-rotation, rotating the spare with the passenger side tires only.

That makes absolutely NO sense at all. Using that rotation your left tires would wear out faster than the right! It's bad enough having differing tread wear front to back but left to right?? NO way I would do that...

tromly

+1 miniz, these are the things I look for when buying a used Lexus, somehow it tells me how the car has been treated.