gs430ondubz

Hey guys, I need your technical expertise. My front right tire is wearing out fast on the inner portion of the tire. The car pulls to the right a little bit. I took it to the dealer 3 times and they told me that the alignment is fine.They told me that this is natural for the GS because of the aggressive stance. I think they are full of sh@#t. Has this happened to anyone? If so, how did you resolve this issue? Thanks in advance.

GS4Will

yeah, i have heard from several GS guys that this is a poblem...as your tech told you, this is quite common on the GS

cmc5dc

Brought my 99 GS400 in to balance tires (always had a vibration issue ),as well as, the oil change. The manager tells me I have cupped tires and my reply, " These tires had GREAT reviews with Tire Rack, is this a manufact. defect?" He couldn't say and I could honestly say I couldn't see anything with the wear of the tire. So I get a flat a few months later and bring it in to Big O tire, they can't fix the flat because my tire has worn on the insided beyond the legal limit. How did that happen?? Well he says it is an alignment problem and the tires are not cupped. I buy new tires, dropped shipped from TireRack and have them re-align my car ( Computor alignment all @ $50 vs. dealership @ $150 ). They print out the specs and explains what it means ( out of alignment ).

I don't feel the vibration now @ 65mph. I believe Lexus didn't want to do the alignment and absorb the cost since it is and still is under warranty. Lexus does not just check to see if you need it, its either do it or don't do it. Needless to say, I have little confidence in what the dealership says now.

gs430ondubz

I feel the same way cmc5dc about having no confidence in the dealer. The thing is I had the alignment done twice at the dealer and had the dealer check it again yesterday. I honestly feel that there is something wrong but the dealer/lexus will not admit to it. I guess I will do what you did and have the alignement done somewhere else. Can you guys reccommend a place in So. Cali? Thanks guys.

salimshah

My understanding is that alignment is not a warranty item unless it falls out of spec at first inspection (1000 miles/ 1 month). After that owner pays for it. ... even to get it checked.

The Z rated tires are soft and any wear .. normal or abnormal is exessive. My first set were gone between 12& 15,000 miles. Best is to rotate tires every 3000miles or less.

I too had abnormal wear of tires but not any more, .... eversince I got LTuned Suspension.

Salim

biggadan-u

Hey just as a reminder don't forget to get a printout with before the alignment specs and after the alignment specs...Most inner tire wear stems from irregular camber adjustments, granted a car
corners a whole lot better when the camber is offset more negatively than positively....But when
your burning tires up...You would be better off having the camber within the specified range....

Hope this helps...

Vlad_Stein

Wear on the inner portion of the tire means that either:
1) There is too much negative camber, or
2) there is too much toe out (I think).

Camber problem is more likely.
You have to be more specific with the dealer (and any mechanic, for that matter) about your alignment settings. There is a certain range for different parameters that constitute proper alignment. You can be within range (probably what your dealer calls "Normal"), but still screwed up in terms of handling or tire wear.

Try to find a racing-type shop and see what they say.
My guess is that adjusting camber on that wheel (less negative) should help, but I am no suspension expert. You would want to make sure that the alignment is done with the latest and greatest equipment (usually, HUNTER machines).

gs430ondubz

Thank guys. I will take all your advices. The dealer did tell me that the specs were in the normal range. I also asked them about the camber, toe, and castor. He said that they were all in the "normal" range. I think I will take it to some shop that has a hunter machine. Does anyone know of any in the so. cali. area?
Thanks in advance.

Coolguy949

Do you have any lowering springs on your car? Since they dont make camber kits for the GS yet, lowering your car will definately cause inside tire wear to increase. It's called negative camber. Camber kits allow you to push out the top of the wheel by extending the upper control arm or shortening the lower control bar. I'm suprised no camber kits are available yet.

MRC

The "normal" range for alignments is very wide in to enable the dealers to avoid fixing problems. I recommend taking the car to an experienced alignment shop to get the job done right. A good independent shop will tune the alignment to perfection, far better than any dealer would do.

I've been through tire & alignment hassles with Lexus about their *****ty OEM tires. My GS430 has the factory 17" wheels and original OEM Bridgestone RE030 tires. These tires have an excellent warranty on paper, but nobody honors it. Lexus won't support their customers when they have problems with the tires. Lexus would rather point the finger at Bridgestone than fix the problem. And Bridgestone points the finger back at Lexus, saying the alignment is not done right. Then Lexus says alignment isn't warranted. And this is not just the dealer, but comes straight from Lexus of North America customer "service". Lexus builds a superb car but their customer service is almost bad enough to make my next car a BMW or Mercedes.

Anyway, Bridgestone RE030 are absolutely horrid tires and I will never use them again. It's not worth fighting them over the warranty because even if you win all you get is a new set of the same crappy tires they put on the car to begin with. I replaced mine with Conti Extreme Contact 245x45x17 which have 3 times the tread wear rating, same good dry traction, better wet traction, run quieter, and are less expensive.

gs430ondubz

Thanks MRC,

After some investigation, I found out the hard way that the tires were causing most of the problem. The RE030's are a piece of crap. But, I do plan to take my car into the dealer with a new set of S03 and have them align it again. I have already been there 3 times with the alignment issue and this will be my fourth. If they can't fix it, then I will take it up with Lexus and try to claim a lemon law case. The reason being is because I have been ****ed around for a few months on this issue with everyone pointig the finger. Well, thanks for your input.

MRC

I would strongly recommend using an independent shop for the alignment. Tire Rack has ratings and recommendations for shops all over the USA -- look for a 4 or 5 star rated shop. Or go to a local SCCA event and ask where people get their competition cars aligned. A good indy shop will do a better job and probably be cheaper than the dealer. As a general rule I try to avoid dealers as much as possible, using them only when necessary for warranty or recall stuff.

On the lemon stuff... it's pretty easy to file a complaint with the state attorney general's office (bureau of automotive repair). I don't know whether they do anything about it but it sure made me feel better doing it. Ever heard the phrase BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again)? That's the Lexus customer service motto.

Just venting... GS430 is a great car. Too bad the service & support is so bad.