Lifting an ES350
 

Okay... I'm kinda concerned, so I need some insight from all the car experts here.

I had a nail in my tire, so I drove to the closest Just Tires (national chain) to get it fixed. While I waited, I went across the street for breakfast. I watched as they lifted my car up. In the past I have only seen the lifts that shape like an "X" where a peg on each arm supports the outter beam of the chassis. This time, I noticed my car was slightly tilted as it was lifted. I ran over and took a closer look. They used a lift that shaped like an "H". If you would notice, many parts of the car's under-carriage is actually lower than the car's outter body. So the left side of my car was sitting on the left arm of the "H". However, the right side of my car, a part of the under-side was sitting of the right arm of the "H". I was like "I hope they didn't mess up my gas tank". Looking at the middle, I notice the thick metal pipe sitting on the horizontal portion of the "H" lift. When they finished fixing the tire, I called out the manager and their crew and pointed out perhaps this lift is unsuitable for this car. As expected, they all said, there should not be any problems.... they use this lift for all of the luxury cars and no problems. The manager pointed out that front components (transmission) are untouched. He also said the parts supporting the cars weight are pure metal, and can support more weight than you think.

So I am driving the car now, no noticeable problems. This place is a busy national chain shop. I really would like to think they know what they are doing. But what I saw was kinda scary to me...maybe I am paranoid. Question: Can the underside of the car (all those metal bulges and pipes) support the weight of the car? Is the "H" lift suitable for lifting cars with components protruding lower than the car's body?

Please advise... I dont want my car to blow up. Can a lexus technician tell if the under-carriage has been damaged?
Maybe a picture can explain it better. The gray "H" is the lift platform. The red parts were bearing some weight, which concerns me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28243855@N02/2634944192/

All tire chains SHOULD know the jacking points of the cars they deal with. The easiest way to make sure that nothing gets damaged is to verify that the car is lifted by the FACTORY jack points. That way the suspension will hang correctly and there will be no damage to anything else under the car. I have my own lift in my garage and although it is a ramp style I do use either suspensions members or the factory jack points to lift the car. You might want to just try to look under the car to see if they damaged anything. If they did it should only be surface marks. You would have known if they did any serious damage when you drove the car home. Good luck

well...no difference in feel or sound of the ride. I made an appointment with Lexus to have it checked out tomorrow. I'm sure everything is fine. I just want a peace of mind. :)

Just as expected...everything is fine. Not even a scratch on anything. The undercarriage components are built to withstand tremendous impacts. Now that's quality! Everything is metal down.... really sturdy according to the service tech.

That's good. But considering all the news reports of those chains ripping off customers in CA, I don't go to them anymore for maintenance.

And here I am thinking that this thread was about someone wanting to increase the vehicle ride height, as opposed to lowering it...then asking myself, why would anyone want to make their ES look like a 4x4? :D

yes ancient thread but uh nothing (i.e. "components") - other than dumb metal - i.e. frame rail, pinch weld, should bear any weight.
Are you certain ANY parts other than the dumb metal touched any part of the "H" lift ?