Change just one tire?
Thread Starter
Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: New Hampshire
Hi all,
went over it lastnight with that soapy water and couldn't see anything,maybe it is the valve stem.Its seems to lose about 3-4lbs every 24 hours.May have to take it to a tire place and remove it for them to test.I could try that with the dogs kiddie pool and see if I can get some bubbles.
mandyfig, tow owuld be less but that would still put extra stress/heat on that transfer unit from the other axle's tires I suspect.
Its frustrating that you can't call Lexus and get the go/no varience all you talk to is a customer service clerk who will tell you you have to go to a Lexus dealer as they are the only qualifed to do anything on a Lexus "including tires"
went over it lastnight with that soapy water and couldn't see anything,maybe it is the valve stem.Its seems to lose about 3-4lbs every 24 hours.May have to take it to a tire place and remove it for them to test.I could try that with the dogs kiddie pool and see if I can get some bubbles.
mandyfig, tow owuld be less but that would still put extra stress/heat on that transfer unit from the other axle's tires I suspect.
Its frustrating that you can't call Lexus and get the go/no varience all you talk to is a customer service clerk who will tell you you have to go to a Lexus dealer as they are the only qualifed to do anything on a Lexus "including tires"
Thread Starter
Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: New Hampshire
thats about what I am thinking.That soapy water was good trick for the tire but hard to get it to stay on the valve.I may try some fix-a- flat but doubt it probably just take it to someone and decide then if I need to do all four.I guess I could always try and sell the other 3 for a couple c notes to try and offset the cost of another set,thenit will only be a 5-600 leak fix
CL Community Team
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 17,329
Likes: 210
From: Miami, Florida
However, one experience I remember from a friend who took his Subaru on the beautiful Highway 85 (think Pacific Coast Highway but in the interior of Mexico in the mountains), lost two tires due to poor roads and he was way up in the mountains in Hidalgo. There was not another living soul up there.
One he repaired with his spare, and the other he used a fix a flat. Sure enough though as you stated G Man, it was an absolute mess to clean up.
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Thread Starter
Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: New Hampshire
Well it has now slowed to a couple pounds a day,darn near stopped(makes valve more suspect?).I will hold off on that fixaflat as reccomended.I am concerned the spare is even less in line wear wise than would be prudent as it has was in rotation up untill 13k ago.Tempted to trade the thing in but I am looking for a car and this one at 60k on it may have most of the bugs (defective rotors,rad and fee other things) worked out and I ma not looking forward to doing battle with Lexus when a new one has warranty issues.
MultiTasking Mom
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,662
Likes: 2
From: California
Well it has now slowed to a couple pounds a day,darn near stopped(makes valve more suspect?).I will hold off on that fixaflat as reccomended.I am concerned the spare is even less in line wear wise than would be prudent as it has was in rotation up untill 13k ago.Tempted to trade the thing in but I am looking for a car and this one at 60k on it may have most of the bugs (defective rotors,rad and fee other things) worked out and I ma not looking forward to doing battle with Lexus when a new one has warranty issues.
these tires have a pretty long life, and as long as you don't wear them out prematurely, i think you should be fine. my first set from the factory lasted about 50,000 miles - highway, city, mexico, countless road trips, ski trips thru blizzards, etc, etc.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 456
Likes: 2
From: CA
The advice I've always heard with AWD is to keep the circumference of all four tires as closely matched as possible. That said, I'd agree that 9k of variance isn't all that significant. In fact, a number of AWD vehicles (cough cough GM cough cough) come with a spare that's smaller in circumference than the four tires mounted on the vehicle. So...who knows?
You're more patient than I am, but even given that...my advice would be to spend an hour at the tire store. Have them test it to diagnose the problem and either repair or replace. If it's the latter, they can measure the tread depth of your other three tires and make a suitable recommendation with respect to replacing more than one tire.
You're more patient than I am, but even given that...my advice would be to spend an hour at the tire store. Have them test it to diagnose the problem and either repair or replace. If it's the latter, they can measure the tread depth of your other three tires and make a suitable recommendation with respect to replacing more than one tire.
Thread Starter
Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: New Hampshire
Well good news,
I bought these MXV4's at Sams so we went down and did some shopping while they looked at it.They foiund the smallest nail,more like a brad about the thickness of a toothpick and 1/3 the length.It took them a while as it was black and blended in.Put a plug in and so far so good.No charge as I bought them there,just gave the kid a 10 for finding it and had to almost force it on him.I will say so far Sams (or perhaps other Warehouse type clubs) as worked out fine for my tire purchase,free rotation, found my leak and saved 300 over what the Lexus dealer wanted for the same tires!
Happy to have that done with
I bought these MXV4's at Sams so we went down and did some shopping while they looked at it.They foiund the smallest nail,more like a brad about the thickness of a toothpick and 1/3 the length.It took them a while as it was black and blended in.Put a plug in and so far so good.No charge as I bought them there,just gave the kid a 10 for finding it and had to almost force it on him.I will say so far Sams (or perhaps other Warehouse type clubs) as worked out fine for my tire purchase,free rotation, found my leak and saved 300 over what the Lexus dealer wanted for the same tires!
Happy to have that done with
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,804
Likes: 139
From: MA
Plus a patch will have less of a chance of developing a slow leak. I have also heard of people who had their plug come off while driving. Thats usually when they try to patch a hold thats too big. From the description Dandg gave, it was a very small hole, so it should be fine.
A patch is also more expensive to do, since you have to dis-mount the tire and re-balance.
A patch is also more expensive to do, since you have to dis-mount the tire and re-balance.