ctonjes

Went to tire store to get 1 or 2 new tires and was told uneven wear on front tires was caused by bad shocks and springs. My 2007 es350 is a recent purchase, one previous owner who drove mostly highway miles. BTW the guy who made the diagnosis did not put the car up on a lift - just bent over and looked at it.

While the ride on this car is pretty firm, it doesn't flunk the bounce test. My previous es300 at 140k miles with original shocks and springs..is it possible this car has worn through its suspension so soon?

jcat_350

shocks and springs won't cause uneven tire wear. The guy is a bonehead and trying to sell you service. I would however be suspect of ball joints and tie rods at that mileage. If it passes the bounce test your shocks are fine, and if you don't have any broken coils and the car isn't sagging any particular direction, your springs are too.

RickC5

I smell a rat! Get a second--or even a third--opinion. Maybe take it to a Lexus dealer for an opinion. The uneven wear on our ES's tires was caused by bad alignment, which is a common problem with the ES. Once properly aligned & with new tires, our ES drives beautifully.

Do you know the previous owner, or were you told about the highway miles by a salesperson? IMHO, salespeople will tell you anything to close the deal.

garsarno

At 85,000, the suspension is "tired" but not necessarily needing replacement if you don't object to the current ride. New suspension parts (struts, shocks etc) coupled with new tires and an alignment restore the new car ride.

ctonjes

Do you know the previous owner, or were you told about the highway miles by a salesperson? IMHO, salespeople will tell you anything to close the deal.[/QUOTE]

The PO helpfully left all of his service receipts in the car and I called him to ask if he had the wheel lock key (he did not) and we talked. The car was also only serviced at len stoler lexus, so its carfax had a complete service history. The wheels do seem to be out of alignment. Would rather not do the 2K shock and spring replacement if I can avoid it.

A lovely car. The interior really makes me feel special. I had previously had super old es300s (also carefully purchased with complete service histories and garage kept) so having modern features like push button start, rain sensing wipes, nav, and intuitive park assist (not to mention heated AND cooled seats) is really nice! like most people on here i love these cars and will keep buying them.

Not to mention the fun of passing on the highway! the 2GR-FE is brilliant!

Dave Mac

I suppose possibly shocks but not worn out springs. And with highway miles even the shocks may not be bad. Most tire wear problems are cause be alignment issues. And how can anyone tell by just looking under the car. I would probably consider another shop for all my future needs..

Dave Mac

jcat_350

Then skip the springs/shocks, take it somewhere else and spend <$100 on a good (computerized/laser!) alignment. During the alignment if the tech can't get the car back within specs, it usually means suspension bits (ball joints, tie rods) are worn out, and that will be your cue to replace those.

in some cases, all you need to do is have the car on the ground, and look directly down the side. You can see if the tire's leaning in at top or bottom, can you see more of the tread or more of the sidewall, is it dead parallel to the body, etc., not to mention seeing irregular tire wear from underneath the car.

As for springs and shocks, like I say springs usually don't 'go' over time like shocks do. More often than not you'll have a coil break if anything at all. If the shocks are leaking or it fails the bounce test (down, up, half down), with higher mileage you may want to replace them at the same time, since the suspension will wear over time and the new stiff shocks might be too much for the old settled springs.

SW17LS

Where in Maryland do you live?

Take it to my guy in Rockville:

LXT Automotive, ask for Nelson...shoot me a PM and I'll tell you my full name and you can tell him I sent you.

(301) ********
http://www.******************

He was a Lexus Master Tech for 16 years, you can trust him to look at the car and tell you what it does or does not truly need. My experience with dealers is that they replace things WAY before they "need" to be replaced.

EDIT- Apparently the site won't let me post his number and website, but shoot me a PM and I'll give it to you. Very knowledgable and honest, a real find.

DIYDaisy

Alignment guy is the one who told me I needed new shocks. My tires were wearing in a pattern that caused excessive road noise and that was the reason I took the car in with 106K on it and the tires should not have been wearing so poorly. I replaced all four and then bought new tires. Had car aligned and the ride is significantly better. Didn't know the difference before doing the work.

Lots of mechanics try to take me since I am female so I always try out a few location offering free inspections before doing work and then either let them make suggestions or tell them the recommendations I have had. Don't always take the first opinion and do your research.

Shop quote for strut replacement was over $2000 so I did some research and purchased parts online. Given I had over 100K on the car I decided to replace the springs too since I was riding on bad strut I reasoned that the springs might have some metal fatigue.

I used KYB struts and boots(bellows):
Strut Assembly - Front Right - KYB 339023 $75
Strut Assembly - Front Left - KYB 339024 $75
Strut Assembly - Rear Right - KYB 335059 $85
Strut Assembly - Rear Left - KYB 335060 $85

Strut Bellows - Front - KYB SB102 $15
Strut Bellows - Rear - KYB SB101 $15

I used MOOG Springs:
Coil Spring Set - Rear - Moog 81429 $55
Coil Spring Set - Front - Moog 81540 $105

TOTAL COST (Labor)= $510 (parts only)

I chose not to use kits because I didn't feel like they would have the durability I wanted. Reused a portion of the existing rubber boots (cushioning gasket at the top of the spring mounting) just cut away the lower level. But you can purchase the mounts for $45 each. Getting the springs compressed to remove and then compressing the new spring was a bit frightening given the force behind it but most part stores rent a compression tool for nothing (deposit only).

Removing the back seat is pretty easy but removing and reinstalling the bolts for the rear was a very tight operation. I referred to several you tube videos before undertaking this repair. None I can specifically recommend so I wish I had done my own.

I ordered everything I used from Parts Geek.