socwrkr

Hey,

Well, i just got back from Missouri after buying the gs from a friend's parents. Overall it's in great condition and has had every service (including oil changes, etc. done at lexus so i picked up those records as well). The car has 87k on it now and I have a few questions.

New tires were just put on 'cause the one's goodyear put on last october(ish) started to cup - good news is that my tires are brand new and i didn't have to pay anything, bad news is why the hell are tires cupping after 9k miles? (It has had alignments, etc.) - i did a search on this on the forums and found that this is fairly typical but any additional help with keeping my tires a bit longer would be appreciated.

The second question is that why I really get on it, it has a bad smell inside the car (like bad cats or something) - is this typical or should i be worried about the cats (there are no other signs that i can tell that the cats are going bad). If that is what it is, what are my options aside from lexus bending me over>?

Also, I have a Lexus Care Gold waranty on it until 100k or this october that is being transfered into my name - anyone know if this would cover cats?

I might just be paranoid but want to make sure.. still getting used to the car.

Thanks for all the help in advance!!

GWELEX

Here's a quote from a repair page on the net about cupping:

"Cupping can be caused by an unbalanced tire condition, faulty wheel bearings, loose parts, fatigued springs or weak shock absorbers. Check the condition of the shock by forcefully bouncing the front end of the car several times and releasing it on the down stroke. Failure of the vehicle to settle after two strokes suggests worn shocks or struts."

As for the smell it could be the cats, this does not mean they're bad. Could be you are running a little rich in the fuel mixture when ran hard. Both problems will require further investigation by a professional. I don't know what is covered by your warranty, stock is 7 years 70K on the cats.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

The smell could be carbon build up in the exhaust..With 87k miles thats plenty of miles to cause build up.. Maybe sprya some cleaner in the TB and see if that helps.. Then see if the O2 sensors have been replaced? You could be running rich?

t

socwrkr

Thank you for the replies.

If on the off chance i do end up having bad cats - what are my options (other than lexus).

By the way on an off note- i went to a lexus/toyota dealership (where the car was purchased by the original owner) to get a copy of the service records and decided to buy a keychain. Toyota and Lexus both had the same parts department so I went and looked at the keychains. All of them were exactly alike for Toyota and Lexus. When I asked the price they said.. oh, those are $8.00 and then after a short pause, they said, unless you are getting one that says Lexus, then they are $12.50!!!

chuckb

the cats should be covered by wareanty

AZDesertGS

iTrader: (4)

Have you checked the Cabin air Filter???? Maybe thats causing some odors coming into the car.