Hi! I have a IS250 AWD 2015 model, which I bought in 2017 June. It came with the brand new OEM tires, which are BridgeStone TURANZA EL400-02. The front size is 225/40 R18 88W and the back is 255 35R18 90W. I only drive for 2k since I owned.

Right now the left back tire is flat and it is not repairable, so I need to replace it. Here comes the complex issue:

1. The front right tire was replaced in 2019 December by the bodyshop after I had an accident on the highway. The bodyshop only replaced the front right one, but not the front left one. Right now the front left one looks much more used than the front right one, but also the rear ones as well. It doesn't look like I only drive it for 2k.
2. The left back tire is flat and I need to replace it. The right back tire looks pretty new, since I only drive for 2k.

I attached the tire imagines in the post.

The tire shop gives me three options:
1. Replace only the left back one with the same OEM tire ($381 in total)
2. Replace both rear ones with BridgeStone POTENZA RE980AS, which has similar pattern as the OEM one. ($510 in total)
3. Replace all four with some cheaper tires. I am looking at Michelin Pilot Sport A/S since it currently has good deals. (~ $800 in total)

I plan to keep the car for another 3 years. I live in Seattle, so mostly driving on wet roads and sometime snows during the winter to the mountains. Could anyone please share some suggestions? Do I need to do rotation and alignment? Really appreciate it!




This is the one that was replaced by the bodyshop a few months ago

 

Welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure there is any right or wrong, or good answer here.
Personally, I would replace the flat only, then drive until either the front or rear need replacement and replace as a pair with something completely different and better.
It doesn't seem like you drive much right now, so might as well get whatever life out of the tires you can.

You can't rotate due to the different size tires/rims, but it may not be a bad idea to do an alignment to maximize tire life.

 

Thank you so much for your suggestion! Based on your insight, do my front left tire and my front right tire in bad imbalance or its fine?

 

Tire balance can only be determined on a machine.
One obvious sign the front wheels are out of balance is at highway speeds the steering wheel will shimmy side to side.

 

I've heard that AWD vehicles should have matched tires on all corners. With that in mind, maybe you can find a used Turanza on eBay that you can "shave" down to match your other tires.
Here is a listing for one that you can "buy it now" for $165 (it's actually a new tire!):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-NEW-Bridg...e/174247762723 (non-RFT)
Here is a second-hand tire for $75: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-225-40...2/174279517053 (RFT)
Tire shaving: https://www.consumerreports.org/tire...ll-four-tires/
Your wheels are beaten up!

 

Based on the photo of the back right tire, I would at minimum replace both rears. That sidewall damage inline with the wheel damage just looks like a potential blowout waiting to happen. Based on how roughed up the front wheels are as well, I would inspect those tires for damage too. Just a curious side note, how did those wheels get so beat up?

 

I am a really new bad driver... I guess the wheel damage is from crashing on the sidewalk. Does the wheel damage matters?

If I replace both the rears, could I do BridgeStone POTENZA RE980AS on rears and leave the fronts as BridgeStone TURANZA EL400 02? This option is suggested by the tire shop.

 

ohh gotcha. Thanks! Maybe my question is silly, I see the wear on the front left tire is much more than the front right one. Do you know I should go check with tire shop using a machine, but from the image itself, we couldn't tell?

 

Check with Lexus. If you only change one tire on a Subaru AWD, there is a good chance you'll trash the center differential within a couple thousand miles. Bad center diff = transmission rebuild = $$$. Lexus may be different, mine has different sized tires front and rear from the factory.