I have a 15 rx350 base fwd. About a year and a half ago I had an alignment done, afterwards still chewed up the front tires on the outside of the tires. Got 2 new tires, threw the new ones on the back and moved the older backs to the front. Now the fronts are getting chewed up again on the outside of the tire only. Just had another one today and he said it's not my alignment it's my lower control arms and struts that are bad.
getting home and looking at the alignment sheet, the numbers dont look great. Now I don't know if thats because it isn't a good alignment or now it's trying to fix the alignment with the worn tires.
Need help, is it really the suspension thats causing this or bad alignments being done.

Uploading the alignment sheet I was given, and will try to upload photos of the suspension parts tomorrow, i haven't had time to get under the car and take a look yet.


Edit: just checked the bushings on the lower control arms on the front and they don't appear to be cracked or damaged at all, so thinking it might just be the ball joints (which should be an easier fix).

Contemplating on just replacing as much as I can and going back in to have another alignment done and telling them to do it until I get as close to factory specs as possible with all of the new parts.

What are your thoughts? Obviously I'm not a pro at this. Just change the parts I can on my vehicle to try and keep a couple dollars in my pocket.

 

How many miles are on it?
Who did this alignment?
What symptoms do you have besides the worn tires?

I am surprised they would do an alignment on a vehicle with worn tires.
Most of the alignment sheets I see have red and green print to indicate what is out of specification before and after.
This sheet looks like someone did the alignment in his backyard with a yardstick and it is difficult to determine what is or is not in spec.

I would find another shop to check it out. A local independent shop with a good reputation on Google and Yelp.
Or look at the regional forums here for your area as maybe someone has recommended a shop.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/loc...al-forums-156/
Do not take a 10 year old vehicle to the dealer for repairs.

 

Around 146k on the vehicle, as far as i know all original suspension components.
They of course printed the sheet in black and white. It was firestone that did it. With a 4.2 rating on Google with 415 reviews.
Thing is, it doesn't pull any which way but does feel like it's tough to turn, compared to when I bought it. So it makes me think somethings worn out.
Lower control arm bushings are showing no signs of worn or cracking, but I can change the ball joints in that easier. Thought about doing the ball joints on the lower control arms, the inner and outer tie rods and struts. Then getting new tires and a new alignment.
Just don't want to keep chewing through tires.
Don't know much about cars, just try to do the stuff in capable of to keep some money in my pocket

 

Curious what the other side of the tire (inside) looks like? How many miles? Were those front tires ever rotated? The first set of front tires on my Tundra wore like that due to under inflation.

 

your alignment sheet indicates something is out of whack. if they cant get it into spec, then something is wrong. ive just stated the obvious. Not sure if anyone can help by looking at photos. usually the car is put up into the air, and crow bars are used to see how easy things move around to give an indicator of bad suspension parts. did Firestone tell you they did that, or are they just guessing?

 

Don't just start throwing parts at it in the hope that you may remedy the alignment. That is a waste of time and money.
You need another shop, not a chain shop like a Firestone place where the techs are of questionable experience and their business tactics not of the best reputation. You need a locally owned place that has a great reputation for honest, quality work to inspect and analyze your suspension and alignment.
Maybe this vehicle was in an accident prior to you owning it and it was not repaired properly

 

There are things as DIY, I would do and then there are tings that I would pay for, just because I don't have the equipment. And when I have to pay some one for something, I make sure that I get best possible return of my money.

I go to speed shop for my alignment needs. I show them the issue I have and they have the right lift to test out the suspension issues. They identified my suspension issue and I drove back and fixed the worn put parts and brought the vehicle back. They are so killed that they can tweak your specifications to what you prefer [The specs have a range and they can still be within range and push the adjustments to your liking].

Just be prepared that they may charge you 1.5x to 2x the run of the mill shops.

With unibody some of the adjustments can not be made. The speed shop may need to order special bolts. So have that discussion with them.

Where to find speed shops ... they are usually near the racing circuits in your city [or the next city over]. Some do engine tuning [I would suggest stay away from that] but mostly they do suspension and tire work.

Not saying you had bad tires, but the quality of tire, rotation sequence/interval, inflation level all play a part in wear pattern.

Salim
PS: My lesson learnt is based on alignment work done by chain store and even at the dealership.